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I ended up throwing some betpoints on the Giants for tonights game but I'm not putting real money on it. Should be a hell of a game tonight I'm anxiously waiting for 6 pm to get here so we can get it on.Leave a comment:
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Not putting money on it, just sitting back and enjoying the drama tonight!Leave a comment:
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I have a Giants future ticket to win the World Series in my pocket that I placed the day before the playoffs started so I'm not sure if I'm going to actually wager on the game tomorrow. I have the day off work so I'll be watching from the comfort of my home with a couple of cold ones in hand but I'm a little nervous so I think I might pass on betting this one with real money. It's literally a coin flip and I've seen the tickets split down the middle pretty much so I don't know what to make of that. That's why I think I'll just watch this one as a fan and hopefully root my boys on to a huge win.Leave a comment:
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The Padres’ trade deadline explorations included some talks with the Cubs about first baseman Anthony Rizzo, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes as part of a reader mailbag. It isn’t known how far negotiations might have developed between the two sides, and the Cubs eventually ended up moving Rizzo to the Yankees in another deal.
With Rizzo now set to enter the free agent market, it stands to reason that the Padres might still have interest in the veteran, especially since the power is a continued need for the team. While Rizzo’s slugging percentage over the last two seasons is a modest .432 (a significant dropoff from his .513 SLG with the Cubs from 2014-19), the first baseman did hit 22 home runs last year. Rizzo’s power numbers were also markedly better than those of Eric Hosmer, the Padres’ incumbent first baseman.
It’s probably safe to assume that the Padres’ inability to move Hosmer at the deadline contributed to the lack of movement on a potential Rizzo trade. San Diego was reportedly looking into ways to move Hosmer earlier this year, and Lin figures the team will again try to unload Hosmer and/or Wil Myers to alleviate their payroll and luxury tax burdens. Hosmer is still owed $59MM from 2022-25, with a luxury tax number of $18MM based on the annual average value of Hosmer’s original eight-year, $144MM contract.
Even if National League teams have the DH as an extra lineup spot to work with in 2022, Hosmer stands as the largest obstacle to Rizzo or any other first base addition, barring a trade. Since Hosmer has provided barely more than replacement-level production (0.5 total fWAR) over the last four seasons, Rizzo would provide an upgrade, even if Rizzo’s own production has taken a step back over the last two seasons.
Rizzo hit .240/.343/.432 with 33 homers in 819 PA since the start of the 2020 season, good for an above-average but unspectacular 109 wRC+. His hard-hit ball numbers have also been on the decline over the last two seasons, and his nine percent walk rate in 2021 was his lowest since 2012. On the plus side, Rizzo has continued to be one of the game’s tougher hitters to strike out, which would naturally appeal to a Padres team that prizes contact — San Diego has the fourth-lowest strikeout rate of any team in baseball over the last two years.
There’s certainly still enough in Rizzo’s recent track record to merit a multi-year contract in free agency, and the 32-year-old is likely to land a healthy eight-figure salary. While Rizzo wouldn’t necessarily represent huge savings in terms of pure dollars over Hosmer’s deal, the luxury tax savings may make it particularly worthwhile for the Padres. Rizzo also isn’t attached to any draft pick compensation, since his midseason trade makes him ineligible for the qualifying offer.
If Rizzo did happen to wind up back in San Diego, it would represent something of a full circle move after he began his MLB career with the Padres back in 2011. Initially a Red Sox draft pick, Rizzo was dealt to the Padres as part of the Adrian Gonzalez blockbuster in December 2010, and played only one season in San Diego before the Friars shipped him to the Cubs in January 2012. From there, Rizzo ended up becoming a Wrigleyville icon, hitting .272/.372/.489 over parts of 10 seasons in Chicago and playing a major role in the team’s 2016 World Series title.
With power bats standing out as such a need for the Padres, Rizzo might not be the only former trade target who could again emerge on the team’s radar. San Diego also had interest in acquiring Nelson Cruz and Joey Gallo before the two sluggers were respectively dealt to the Rays and Yankees, and Lin believes the Friars might look into either signing Cruz as a free agent (probably again depending on the status of the universal DH) or perhaps working out a Gallo trade with New York.Leave a comment:
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Rays reliever David Hess announced today (via his Twitter feed) that he will be undergoing chemotherapy after doctors discovered a cancerous germ cell tumor in his chest. “As we’ve started on this journey we’ve had people circle around us and shower love, prayers, and support in ways that have been so amazing I don’t think we can even put into words how grateful my family and I are,” Hess wrote. “As we get ready to go into this treatment time, we are confident this will all be gone from my body and I’ll be back doing what I love on a baseball field soon and be healthy while doing it.” We at MLBTR wish all the best to Hess in his treatment and we’re hoping for a full and quick recovery.
More from around the league…
- Braves third base coach Ron Washington can’t interview with other teams about managerial openings until Atlanta’s postseason run is over, so Washington told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien) that he has yet to hear from the Padres or Mets. Washington is happy in his current position but admitted he would like to “get back in the room” for a second stint managing a big league club. It’s possible Atlanta’s playoff run could interfere with Washington’s job prospects, as if the Braves were to advance deep into the World Series, the Padres and Mets might potentially hire new managers before Washington becomes available to talk.
- If not Washington, could the Padres turn to another veteran skipper in Rockies manager Bud Black? The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders is doubtful, writing that “realistically…I don’t think the Rockies would let go of Black and I don’t know if [Padres president of baseball operations A.J.] Preller would even consider him as a candidate.” After all, Preller did fire Black back in 2015, ending Black’s previous nine-year run as the Padres’ manager. Black is under contract to the Rockies through the 2022 season, though team president Greg Feasel recently stated that the Rox had yet to speak to Black about a contract extension. The Padres’ search for a new manager has thus far connected them to several experienced former bench bosses, and Black would certainly fit the description after 14 seasons managing in San Diego and Colorado.
- Longtime Astros pitching coach Brent Strom told FOX 26’s Mark Berman that this could be his final year, though he and his wife will discuss the situation once the Astros season is over. “I’ve been doing it a long time. I’m going to be 73 years old…and so there’s a lot of life out there besides baseball that I might want to experience, but I haven’t made any decisions as of yet,” Strom said. Strom has been the Astros’ pitching coach since the 2013-14 offseason, the latest stop in almost 40 years’ worth of work in baseball as a coach and as a minor pitching instructor and coordinator for six different organizations.
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Rays backstop Mike Zunino had the best season of his career in 2021, and his durability and strong production behind the dish have upped the price it’ll cost Tampa Bay to retain him in 2022. Zunino re-signed with the Rays on a one-year deal with a $4MM club option this past offseason, but as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times points out, it was reported at the time of the deal that Zunino’s option would increase from $4MM to $7MM if he appeared in 100 or more games this season.
Zunino topped that mark by reaching 109 games, and he swatted a career-best 33 home runs in the process. That mark, reached in 375 plate appearances, matches Zunino’s combined home run total from 2018-20 (778 plate appearances). The 30-year-old still strikes out at a prolific rate (35.2 percent in ’21), but he also posted the second-base walk rate of his career (9.1 percent) and played his usual brand of strong defense (7 Defensive Runs Saved, plus framing marks — albeit with a league-leading 10 passed balls). Overall, Zunino’s .216/.301/.559 batting line translated to a 134 wRC+.
It’s probably not realistic to expect Zunino to repeat that offensive season in 2022. His 30.3 percent homer-to-flyball ratio was the highest of his career by more than six percentage points and tied for the 19th-highest single-season mark of any player with at least 350 plate appearances, dating back to 2010.
That said, Zunino’s power surge doesn’t look like a total fluke, either. Statcast shows that his average exit velocity jumped from 88.9 mph from 2018-20 to 90.7 mph in 2021. His rate of barreled balls exploded from 12.8 percent in 2018-20 to 24.3 percent this past season, and his hard-hit rate jumped by more than five percentage points to 46.5 percent — second-best of his career. He’d be hard-pressed to repeat that showing across the board, but it’s reasonable to expect a middle ground between Zunino’s big 2021 and the underwhelming three prior seasons.
Regardless of the increased price, Zunino’s option looks like a relative bargain. The Rays owe him a $1MM buyout regardless, making it a net $6MM call on their end, and the free-agent market isn’t deep with alternatives. None of the available names can match Zunino’s blend of power and defense, and it stands to reason that were he set back out into the open market, he’d top the price of next year’s option with relative ease.
The Rays do have a potential successor on the roster already, as switch-hitting 25-year-old Francisco Mejia posted a solid .260/.322/.416 slash in a career-high 277 plate appearances this year. He’ll be arbitration-eligible this winter — as will a whopping 18 other Rays — but the combination of Zunino and Mejia should still be an affordable and productive pairing. (Anecdotally, keeping both for the 2022 season also curbs Mejia’s playing time and thus curbs future arbitration raises, though that’s unlikely to be a major part of the calculus.)
At the end of the day, any notable increase in salary (or potential salary) for a Rays player is worth mention, because the Tampa Bay front office makes surprising decisions driven by perennial payroll constraints every offseason. It’s tough to imagine moving on from Zunino after a 33-homer, All-Star season, but the very fact that it’ll cost them a few extra million dollars could also lead to some tougher decisions elsewhere on the roster.Leave a comment:
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Yeah it's tough man I stayed away from the Giants game today but I leaned Over with Desclafani on the mound I just didn't bet it and it would've cashed. Totals especially have been giving people problems but I've had some success betting sides. I did lose with the White Sox today I thought they would tie the series up with the slight pitching edge but they obviously got shellacked and the bats this time couldn't bail their pitching out.Leave a comment:
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Just had to bet against anyone in Central divisions and you made bank again this year.Leave a comment:
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Albert Pujols was 2 for 2 and the only one with hits, and Roberts pulls him out. Brilliant!Leave a comment:
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Brandon Crawford has been the Giants MVP this season and its mostly because of plays like the one he made in the 7th inning of game 3 against the Dodgers. Obviously the award will go to someone else with better stats but I'll take Crawford on my team anyday because of what he does with both his bat and the glove.Leave a comment:
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As the Giants do battle in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Dodgers, Kris Bryant will be manning first base. Before the game, the versatile Bryant offered John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle a positive review of his time out west, drawing comparisons to the fun, winning culture cultivated during the Cubs’ 2016 playoff run and suggesting openness to a longer-term arrangement. Whether there’s enough mutual interest in a reunion will likely come down to dollars, but this endorsement will only serve to intensify reunion rumors between Bryant, a West Coast native, and San Francisco in the months ahead.
A couple other notes out of the Bay Area…
- Left-handed reliever Tony Watson is working his way back from a shoulder strain in hopes of returning to a potential Giants’ NLCS roster. The veteran acknowledged to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic however that he may be running out of time. Advancing past the Dodgers is the Giants’ chief objective at the moment, but if they do just that, it would be a boon to their pitching staff if Watson returned. Acquired in a mid-season trade with the Angels, Watson dominated for the first-place club down the stretch— in 26 appearances he produced a stingy 4.4% walk rate, a sub-3 ERA (140 ERA+), and was among the best in the league at limiting hard contact.
- J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group meanwhile offered some insight into another barrel-dodging left-hander. Alex Wood spoke to Hoornstra about his decision to sign with the Giants this past offseason after securing a ring with the Dodgers during last year’s campaign. Wood spoke glowingly of his time in LA but cited his relationship with Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and a clearer path to consistent starts as a reason to move on. Signed to a one-year, $3MM contract, Wood’s performance has been one of several unmitigated successes for the upstart Giants this year. Boasting above-average strikeout, walk, and groundball rates of 26%, 6.7%, and 50%, Wood helped his club across 26 starts to win the NL West by the thinnest of margins. His 3.83 ERA looks sustainable in the eyes of advanced metrics, a factor likely to play into yet an even more competitive offseason for the starter’s services.
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Correct, Diaz gets awarded two bases from first to third.
Now I believe if Diaz had rounded third before the ball got deflected he could have been awarded home too.
It's a moot point however.
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Baseball Rule 5.05(a)(8) states: “Any bounding fair ball is deflected by the fielder into the stands, or over or under a fence on fair or foul territory, in which case the batter and all runners shall be entitled to advance two bases.”Leave a comment:
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For those who still think Tampa got ripped off yesterday I say "get over it, you have no beef"
If Diaz had rounded third base when the ball ricocheted into the stands off of Renfoe for a grounds rule double and was forced to go back to third base then yeah, you'd have an argument.
Fact of the matter is Diaz never went past third base when the ball went out of play.
Rules are rules, back to third base you go, run scored is disallowed.
Second and third, two outs is the proper call.Leave a comment:
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The Rays first looked into acquiring Drew Rasmussen from the Brewers last offseason, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes, well before Tampa finally landed the right-hander as part of the Willy Adames trade in May. However, Tampa Bay’s interest in Rasmussen really dates back to when the Rays selected him with the 31st pick of the 2017 draft, though a signing never took place because a post-draft physical revealed elbow damage, and led to the second Tommy John surgery of Rasmussen’s young career.
The lack of a deal was a disappointment for both Rasmussen and for veteran Rays scout Paul Kirsch, who brought Rasmussen to the team’s attention after evaluating his high school outings. Kirsch did finally get to see Rasmussen pitch for the Rays in Seattle this past summer, which by that point counted as a rare trip to the ballpark for Kirsch after a three-year battle with ALS. Kirsch passed away in September, and Rosenthal’s piece serves as a moving tribute to Kirsch, a beloved figure in the Rays organization and around the scouting community.
More from around both the AL and NL East…
- The Phillies haven’t yet had any talks with manager Joe Girardi about his contract, though president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski admitted to media (including The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber) earlier this week that he “didn’t even know” about the Phillies’ club option on Girardi for 2023 until asked by a reporter. 2022 is the last guaranteed season of Girardi’s original three-year contract with the club, and Dombrowski didn’t believe the manager would be bothered by the lack of longer-term security, and added that “I think Joe did a good job for us.” Girardi is 110-112 in his first two seasons in Philadelphia, a lack of success that has largely been attributed to the Phillies’ leaky bullpen and flawed roster construction moreso than any specific failings on the manager’s part. Former Phils GM Matt Klentak hired Girardi after the 2019 season, before Dombrowski replaced Klentak last winter.
- Cedric Mullins’ tremendous season cemented him as a building block for the Orioles, and Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun figures Mullins, Austin Hays, and Anthony Santander have become the team’s top outfield combination heading into 2022, with Ryan McKenna likely the top bench option. The O’s have enough young outfield depth, however, that the position could be an area of surplus for the offseason. If the Orioles look to trade from this surplus, Santander’s name has surfaced in trade rumors in the past, but his stock has likely fallen after an injury-shortened season.
- Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo has already prioritized some offseason changes in how the Nats scout and develop their players, due to a lack of recent help in the minor league pipeline. The draft is the most glaring example of this issue, as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman notes that Anthony Rendon (picked sixth overall in 2011) is the last Washington draft pick taken in any round to generate more than 1.0 WAR for the team. Of course, the Nationals have lost their share of picks for compensation purposes, and they’ve also traded some prospects (Lucas Giolito, first and foremost) who went on to become established big leaguers for other teams. While these moves culminated in Washington’s 2019 World Series title, the thinned-out farm system has become more glaring in the wake of the Nationals’ 91-131 record since winning that championship.
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