Ugh the Giants looked to have one in the bag and then Rogers gave up a 3 run homer to D'Arnaud in the 9th inning. These are the ones you have to put away because when the Dodgers lose you have got to take advantage of it and handle your business. 
-
Comment -
d'Arnauld has a lotta pop.
When he was in NY he was hitting 16 out a year splitting catching duties.
If he DH'ed he would hit 25 homers a year regularly.
I was watching the Brewer game.
The Cubbies couldn't cough up a four run lead fast enough, than the Brews busted it open in the eighth.
My boy Lo-Cain with a clutch hit.
I like Rowan Wick, that's not like him to gag like that.Comment -
The Giants just won after tying it up with 2 out in the 9th on a pinch hit homer by Donovan Solano. Then they won in the bottom of the 11th on a sac fly by Kevin Gausman. I swear sometimes you can't make this stuff up. It would be an epic series if the Braves and Giants end up meeting each other in the playoffs.
Comment -
The Reds and pitching guru Kyle Boddy are ending their relationship after two seasons, per a press release from Boddy himself. Boddy and Driveline Baseball, his player development organization, surged into the public sphere not long ago as major disruptors in pitching innovation and date-driven development. The Reds’ hiring of Boddy as their minor league pitching coordinator suggested buy-in on Cincinnati’s side, as did their promotion of Boddy to Director of Pitching. That makes this split somewhat surprising, but the relationship clearly did not progress as planned.
What this means for the future of Reds’ development is unclear. Changing philosophies organization-wide can be a slow and clunky process, but it’s certainly possible that the Reds don’t plan to make wholesale changes. Still, moving on from such a public and outside-the-box hire suggests that the Reds will be moving in a different direction in terms of their minor league development strategy. Elsewhere around the game…
- The Nationals are planning on avoiding a full-scale rebuild, according to comments made by GM Mike Rizzo, provided by Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Perhaps most interestingly, Rizzo says that the players on the squad now will make the foundation of their next championship club. Juan Soto fits the bill, for obvious reasons, but it’s unclear who else might be a part of that supposed core. Keibert Ruiz, Luis Garcia, and Carter Kieboom are the most obvious candidates given their age and prospect status, but none of the three is yet clearly established as an above-average regular. Time will tell if Rizzo is right about this current crop of Nats.
- The Athletics continue to take steps towards relocating from Oakland to Las Vegas. Per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A’s will winnow a list of potential sites down to a few finalists sometime in November. Although Vegas’ involvement might have seemed like a bargaining ploy to start, there’s clearly a real possibility of a move. This saga is far from done, however, as the city of Oakland remains in negotiations with the A’s about the prospect of building a new stadium.
Comment -
I have not watched baseball for about a month...too painful
Just look at the box scores.Comment -
Vladdy hits #46, but Twins counter with 3 homers in a row.
Jays lose first of seven stretch games vs Twins, 0-1 vs Minnesota on the year.Comment -
The Jays can't lose anymore games vs the Twins.Comment -
Vladdy or Ohtani is the question, hard to say.Comment -
Cardinals are hot. They always get hot in SeptemberComment -
Love me some Vladdy, keep it going young gun!!Comment -
Jake?
What happened here?
Looks like Machado want a big piece of Tatis.
Look: Heated Scene In Padres Dugout On Saturday Night (msn.com)Comment -
getting excitingComment -
Jays win and Yankees lost yesterday!!!Comment -
Robbie Ray!
1,241 strikeouts MLB record for the most strikeouts by a pitcher over the first 1,000 innings of their career.
Broke Yu Darvish's 1,222.
Comment -
Noah Syndergaard is close to returning and might jump straight to the big leagues without another rehab assignment, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The fireballer has had no shortage of obstacles to deal with this season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020 and started his first rehab stint in May of this year. Unfortunately, that assignment was stopped when Syndergaard experienced some elbow inflammation and he didn’t get back on the mound until late August. Due to the small amount of time remaining in the season, the plan then was for him to return as a reliever, rather than the lengthier process of getting stretched out to start. But that second rehab assignment was shut down when he tested positive for COVID-19.
Despite the fact that there are only two weeks left in the MLB season now and the Mets seem to be fading out of the playoff picture, Syndergaard’s form in the remaining games is potentially very important for both he and the team. The 29-year-old is about to enter free agency and is a candidate for a qualifying offer. The quality and quantity of his appearances in the next two weeks could impact the club’s decision about whether or not to hand him that qualifying offer, as well as Syndergaard’s decision about whether or not to accept it.
More injury notes from around the league…
- Johnny Cueto is nearing a rehab assignment, per Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. The 35-year-old has been out since September 1st with an elbow strain but is scheduled to throw a bullpen tomorrow. It’s unclear what the rehab plan for Cueto is, but there’s not a lot of time left in the season for him to be stretched out as a starter. The Giants have largely been able to weather the storm without him, clinging to a narrow lead in the NL West in spite of having the occasional bullpen game. The club has of late been using a four-man rotation of Kevin Gausman, Logan Webb, Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani. Cueto has been solid when healthy this season, throwing 112 1/3 innings with an ERA of 4.09.
- The plan for Stephen Strasburg is for him to begin throwing in November and be ready for spring training, Nationals manager Dave Martinez tells Todd Dybas of Inside the Clubhouse. Despite the Nationals stripping things down at this year’s deadline, it seems the club may be attempting a quick return to contention, as evidenced by their holding onto Juan Soto and targeting MLB-ready returns in their trades. A big wild card in that plan will be Strasburg’s health. The 33-year-old is a dominant pitcher when at his best, as evidenced by his excellent 2019 season, wherein he threw 209 innings with an ERA of 3.32 and then added 36 1/3 postseason innings with an ERA of 1.98, helping the club win the World Series and garnering himself World Series MVP honors. It was on the heels of that incredible performance that the Nationals and Strasburg agreed to a seven-year, $245MM contract. However, since then, the righty has only been able to throw 26 2/3 innings due to various injuries, most recently going under the knife for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome.
Comment -
Had my eye on him most of the season.
Always was big on him, I knew he had this in him, he's shown flashes of greatness in the past.Comment -
Who knows why the Padres got Jake Arrieta...Comment -
I will say it again, trotting Arrieta out there is outright tanking.Comment -
Ray has always been solid but to be among the favorites for the AL Cy Young award is pretty impressive considering there are some pretty damn good pitchers he's mentioned in the same breath with this year pitching in the AL.Comment -
The Cubs have activated Nico Hoerner and Keegan Thompson from the 10-day injured list. To create two roster spots for the returning players, outfielder Nick Martini was optioned to Triple-A while right-hander Dillon Maples was designated for assignment.
Maples is out of minor league options, which is why Chicago had to take the DFA route to remove the 29-year-old from the active roster. A veteran of parts of five MLB seasons, Maples had an 8.49 ERA over 23 1/3 career innings for the 2017-20 Cubs before posting a 2.59 ERA in 31 1/3 frames in 2021.
However, Maples has benefited from a .203 BABIP, as his SIERA is 4.64 and his walk rate is an ungainly 18%. Control has been a persistent issue for Maples at both the Major League and minor league levels, and the Cubs seem to have seen enough.
“There’s some people in the organization that feel like we’ve just run out of time,” manager David Ross told NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer and other reporters. “We wish [Maples] the best in his career and hopefully for his sake he catches on with somebody, and he’s able to have a long, successful major-league career. It just doesn’t look right now at this time like it’s going to be with us.”
Thompson will start today’s game against the Brewers after missing a little over two weeks due to right shoulder inflammation. The right-hander has shuttled up and down from Triple-A Iowa a few times this season, with a 3.54 ERA to show for his first 48 1/3 career innings in the big leagues. Working mostly as a reliever, Thompson has managed that respectable ERA despite some unimpressive peripherals, including a 12.8% walk rate.
Hoerner suffered a right oblique strain at the end of July, and thanks to previous IL trips due to a left hamstring strain and a left forearm strain, Hoerner has played in only 39 games. The former top prospect has at least hit decently well (.312/.388/.388 in 152 PA) when he has been able to play, and the Cubs will certainly be interested in evaluating Hoerner over the season’s last two weeks to help determine his role with the 2022 team and beyond.Comment -
Jays' Berrios 'enjoyed' facing and beating his former Twins with 5 runs support in first inning, including a Bo homer.
Jose said, 'I felt like I was playing back in Puerto Rico in my backyard with a lot of friends I know from a long time ago...'
Vladimir 3 hits and an rbi, Jays 15-3 in September.
Comment -
Vlad continuing to make his MVP case.Jays' Berrios 'enjoyed' facing and beating his former Twins with 5 runs support in first inning, including a Bo homer.
Jose said, 'I felt like I was playing back in Puerto Rico in my backyard with a lot of friends I know from a long time ago...'
Vladimir 3 hits and an rbi, Jays 15-3 in September.
Comment -
Robby Ray Cy Young and Vladdy MVP!!!!Comment -
Looks like Tatis' attitude won't get him the MVP winComment -
Cardinals unbelievable right now, hate to see it.Comment -
The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Luis Severino from the 60-day injured list and cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by releasing right-hander Sal Romano.
Severino, 27, will make his return to a big league mound for the first time in nearly two years. His last regular-season appearance for the Yankees came back on Sept. 28, 2019. He hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since his Game 3 start against the Astros in that year’s ALCS. Severino underwent Tommy John surgery in Feb. 2020, and his return has been delayed in 2021 by setbacks throughout the recovery process, namely some shoulder and groin injuries.
Even including Severino’s postseason work in 2019, he’s pitched just 20 1/3 innings for the Yankees since Opening Day of that season. He missed nearly the entire 2019 campaign due to shoulder and lat strains, and his 2020 season was wiped out entirely by the aforementioned Tommy John procedure. It’s obviously not how the Yankees drew things up when signing Severino to a four-year, $40MM contract extension in Feb. 2019. That contract spanned the 2019-22 campaigns and gives the Yankees a $15MM club option for a fifth season.
Manager Aaron Boone suggested over the weekend that Severino’s return was imminent. However, the two-time All-Star and 2017 third-place finisher in American League Cy Young voting won’t return to the Yankees’ rotation this year. Severino did not have time to build up to the point where he could work as a starter, so he’ll work as a reliever down the stretch, perhaps being called upon for two- or three-inning stints.
Moving forward, there’s little doubt the Yankees hope to reinstall Severino near the top of their rotation. It’s been three years since we last saw a full season from Severino, but he’s among the best starters in the American League when healthy. From 2017-18, Severino logged 384 2/3 innings with a 3.18 ERA, an impressive 28.8 percent strikeout rate and a similarly excellent 6.2 percent walk rate.
Assuming Severino’s injury troubles are behind him, he’ll join Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Jameson Taillon and Domingo German as the top rotation options for the Yankees in 2022. Prospects Deivi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Medina and Ken Waldichuk are among the top options in the upper minors, and it’s of course possible that the Yankees will make an offseason move or two in an effort to deepen and strengthen their collection of MLB-caliber arms.
For Romano, today’s release marks the latest in a dizzying stretch of transactions this season. Since beginning the year with the Reds organization — where he was originally drafted and developed — his transaction log reads as followed:
- May 14: Designated for assignment by Reds
- May 17: Elects free agency
- May 22: Signs minor league deal with Yankees
- July 22: Selected to MLB roster by Yankees
- July 31: Designated for assignment by Yankees
- Aug. 3: Claimed off waivers by Brewers
- Aug. 10: Designated for assignment by Brewers
- Aug. 13: Elects free agency
- Aug. 14: Signs minor league deal with Yankees
- Sept. 9: Selected to MLB roster by Yankees
- Sept. 10: Designated for assignment by Yankees
- Sept. 13: Elects free agency
- Sept. 14: Signs Major League deal with Yankees
- Sept. 17: Placed on 10-day injured list (sprained finger)
- Sept. 20: Released by Yankees
Romano has allowed a pair of runs in 3 1/3 innings with the Yankees this year and has been tagged for a 6.12 ERA on the season overall between Cincinnati, Milwaukee and New York. Romano has had a nice season in Triple-A and had some success as a rookie with Cincinnati back in 2017, but it’s begun to feel as though he’s spent nearly as much time in DFA limbo and minor league free agency this season as he has as an active member of an organization’s MLB or Triple-A roster. He’s gotten service time and big league pay for all of the time spent in the Majors and in DFA limbo, but the manner in which he’s been pinballed on and off MLB rosters has to be nevertheless frustrating.
Given that Romano was on the injured list at the time of his release, it remains to be seen whether he can get back to good enough health to return to the mound in 2021. If not, he’ll look for a more stable opportunity in free agency this winter.Comment
