Astros terrible last night
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I got money on the Dodgers. Gausman will get a no decision and loseComment -
Giants left their bats in San Francisco. Dodgers tough to beat when you only score 3 runs in 2 games. Luckily for the Giants they get to play the Diamondbacks starting Thursday but this is going to be a dogfight til the bitter end with the Dodgers and Padres starting to pick it up.Comment -
In one of the first deals of the summer trade season, the Blue Jays announced they’ve right-handed reliever Adam Cimber and left-handed-hitting outfielder Corey Dickerson from the Marlins in exchange for infielder Joe Panik and minor league righty Andrew McInvale. The swap comes barely a week after Toronto GM Ross Atkins acknowledged a desire to add bullpen help (and after the team was reported to be seeking left-handed bats on the trade market).
It’s a bit of a surprise move on a number of levels. Dickerson is presently on the 10-day IL with a foot injury, and it’s unclear when he’ll return to the field (although he’s eligible at any time having already spent more than 10 days on the shelf). Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets that Dickerson is still in a walking boot but feeling good as he progresses through rehab. Meanwhile, it’s a bit unexpected to see the Fish taking back a struggling veteran infielder such as Panik, but Miami does have a pair of infielders (Brian Anderson, Jose Devers) on the injured list at the moment.
What’s not surprising, from a broader perspective, is that the Marlins would be seeking a trade partner for Dickerson. The 32-year-old has been a roughly league-average bat since signing a two-year, $17.5MM deal with Miami in the 2019-20 offseason and is hitting .263/.324/.380 through 225 trips to the plate in 2021. But the Marlins have multiple young outfielders they’d like the chance to evaluate for the remainder of the 2021 season, including Jesus Sanchez, who now figures to get the bulk of the time in left field. The 23-year-old decimated Triple-A pitching, slashing .349/.400/.643 with nine homers, five doubles and three triples through 140 plate appearances prior to his promotion. He now has a clearer path to everyday at-bats in Miami than he would’ve with a healthy Dickerson eventually returning from the injured list.
For the Blue Jays, Dickerson figures to slide into a part-time outfield role. Toronto currently has Lourdes Gurriel Jr., George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk in the mix for outfield and DH at-bats, but all four bat right-handed. Dickerson’s left-handed bat makes for a nice fit, particularly given his longstanding platoon splits. He’s held his own against lefties in his career, hitting .268/.305/.408, but has thrived against right-handers with a .287/.333/.514 output.
While Dickerson is the more recognizable name of the two going back to the Jays in this deal, Cimber is perhaps the key piece of this trade for the Blue Jays. The 30-year-old sidearmer has pitched in 34 1/3 innings so far with the Marlins and notched a 2.88 ERA — albeit primarily in low-leverage situations.
Cimber doesn’t miss many bats, but that’s often the case with sidearm and submarine pitchers. He’s posted just a 15.9 percent strikeout rate so far in 2021 — about nine percent lower than league-average — but also sports better-than-average walk and ground-ball percentages (7.9 and 49.5, respectively). He rarely gives up premium contact, sitting in the 81st percentile of MLB pitchers in terms of opponents’ average exit velocity and the 96th percentile in terms of opponents’ barrel rate, per Statcast.
For his career, Cimber has been far more effective against righties than lefties, but he’s been an absolute nightmare for left-handed opponents so far in 2021. It’s a sample of just 55 plate appearances, so the small-sample caveat certainly applies, but left-handed opponents have posted just a .196/.327/.283 slash against him. Right-handers, meanwhile, are slashing .269/.329/.333 against him.
Dickerson is a free agent at season’s end, so he’s a pure rental for the Blue Jays whenever he’s able to return to the field. Cimber, on the other hand, is controllable via arbitration through the 2024 season. He’s playing the current year on a $925K salary after avoiding arbitration as a Super Two player over the winter and will have three more trips through the arb process before he qualifies as a free agent. His inclusion in the deal gives the Jays a reliever with a career 3.69 ERA and 4.01 SIERA both for the remainder of the 2021 season and perhaps for multiple years to come.
Looking at the Marlins’ end of the swap, Panik will give them an experienced bench option and help provide some cover for those injuries and any others that may arise. (Both Miguel Rojas and Jazz Chisholm have already spent time on the IL in 2021.) He could also see increased time at third base, freeing versatile Jon Berti up to bounce around the diamond as he has in seasons past. Panik was productive in the first couple years of his career with the Giants, but he’s settled in as something of a journeyman utility player. Dating back to 2018, the former first-round pick is batting .246/.313/.332 — including a .246/.293/.351 hitter in 123 plate appearances so far in 2021.
Panik’s inclusion in the deal also serves as something of a financial counterweight to the Blue Jays’ additions of Dickerson and Cimber. The Marlins are also sending the Jays about $2.65MM as part of the trade. Overall, the Jays are adding about $4.4MM of Dickerson’s remaining salary and $482K of Cimber’s remaining salary, but shedding the remaining $982K on Panik’s deal and getting this $2.65MM in cash considerations. That leaves about a $1.3MM sum remaining to be added to the Toronto payroll.
As for the 24-year-old McInvale, he’ll add another arm to the upper levels of the Miami system. Although he was one of the Blue Jays’ final picks in 2019 (37th round and No. 1107 overall), McInvale has risen to Double-A and fared quite well this season. He’s pitched 20 2/3 innings out of the bullpen an impressive 31.8 percent strikeout rate and a massive 63.6 percent ground-ball rate. Command has been an issue, however, as McInvale has walked 13 batters (14.8 BB%), hit another pair and tossed three wild pitches.
McInvale didn’t rank among the Jays’ best prospects, as one would expect for a recent 37th-rounder who didn’t pitch in 2020. However, the Marlins are parting with an outfielder they’ve deemed superfluous and a right-hander they acquired from the Indians this past winter in exchange for cash ($100K, to be exact). Saving some of Dickerson’s salary and adding a pitcher who’s performed well at the Double-A level seems like a solid outcome to the whole gambit for them. As for the Jays, they’re effectively purchasing an experienced righty and rolling the dice on a veteran hitter with a strong track record against right-handed pitching. It’s not the flashiest of trades we’ll see this summer, but it’s one that ultimately feels fairly sensible for both clubs — even if it looks a little odd at first glance.Comment -
Dickerson will do good thereComment -
Tommy Pham has been red hot the past month.
Props to him, I thought he was done earlier in the season but has come on very strong of late.Comment -
Rockies pitcher gave up 1 hit in the 9th but got the double play. Too badComment -
It was a banner day for Trea Turner, as the Nationals shortstop celebrated his 28th birthday and tied a Major League record with his third career cycle. Turner joins Adrian Beltre, Babe Herman, Bob Meusel, and Long John Reilly as the only players since 1890 with three cycles on their resume, putting Turner in good position to claim sole possession of the record before his career is over.
Unfortunately, the achievement wasn’t without some pain for Turner, as he jammed his left middle finger while sliding into third base for the triple that completed the cycle. Turner told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com) that his finger was “pretty sore,” and manager Davey Martinez said Turner is day-to-day for the time being. Turner’s big day (which also included two stolen bases) only continues what has been a big season for the shortstop, who is now hitting .318/.367/.513 with 14 homers, 18 stolen bases, and an even 50 runs and 100 hits over 341 plate appearances.
Some more injury news from around the NL and AL East divisions…
- Jeurys Familia is expected to be activated off the 10-day injured list this weekend, Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Mike Puma of the New York Post). A right hip impingement sidelined Familia on June 21, so he’ll miss only slightly more than the 10-day minimum. Despite an ungainly 14.3% walk rate, Familia has a solid 3.63 ERA/4.31 SIERA over 22 1/3 IP, with a 58.5% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact helping offset his lack of control.
- Brandon Nimmo could also potentially be back on the Mets roster this weekend. Nimmo hasn’t played since May 2 due to what was initially called a left index finger contusion, then re-diagnosed as a potential nerve problem, and then as a small ligament tear. This confusion led to a couple of stops and starts in Nimmo’s rehab, and an initial thought that he would be activated off the IL yesterday was held off since the team wanted him to get a bit more prep work in the minors. Given all the setbacks, it probably shouldn’t be considered a sure deal for Nimmo until he is actually back at Citi Field, but things look promising for the outfielder.
- Chris Sale threw live batting practice today at Fenway Park, tossing two simulated innings and reaching the 94-95mph threshold with his fastball, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams and other reporters. Sale is slated for another live BP session at the team’s Spring Training facility this weekend, and a rehab assignment could be the next step for the left-hander. Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and has been projected to return by late July or early August, so he certainly seems to be on track with that timetable. The Red Sox are leading the AL East despite some struggles within the rotation, and those issues could be greatly mitigated by a Sale who is healthy and anywhere close to his past superstar form.
- The Blue Jays’ injury woes have extended to the minors, as GM Ross Atkins said that star catching prospect Gabriel Moreno suffered a “minor fracture” of his thumb after being hit by a pitch. Atkins told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Moreno will “most likely” miss several weeks, and surgery hasn’t been ruled out. Moreno has a whopping .373/.441/.651 slash line and eight homers in 145 PA at Double-A New Hampshire this season, and Baseball America ranks the catcher 32nd on their top-100 prospect list. While this injury certainly hampers Moreno’s trade value, his development had seemingly made him more of a cornerstone piece for the Jays than a potential trade chip as Toronto approaches the deadline. Any of Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, Reese McGuire, or Riley Adams could be more likely than Moreno to be dealt as the Jays look for upgrades on the trade market.
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I miss Schwarber and Darvish so much, sucks.Comment -
And Caratini…Comment -
Stupid Yankees cost me a 3-1 day in MLB today giving up 7 runs in the 9th. It's unreal how I bet against them yesterday and they beat me so today I took them against Ohtani and of course the game started out good for me and then went downhill from there after a lengthy delay. I'm just glad we're out of June because I had a rough month betting bases after getting off to a great start in April and May.Comment -
Cubs with a gutting loss after being up 7-0, so much for that vaunted bullpen..Comment -
Happy Canada Day! (and Bobby Bonilla Day)Comment -
Trent Grisham with that Slam DiegoComment -
Astros laid a big egg. Colorado continues to win at homeComment -
Salvador Perez named to seventh All-Star Game
https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/salvador-perez-voted-starting-al-catcher-for-all-star-game
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Giants lost their 4th in a row for the first time all season. I know that there is no excuse for losing to the Diamondbacks but its starting to look like the Giants could use the All star break coming up soon.Comment -
Major League Baseball announced the starting lineups for the 2021 All-Star Game this evening. The starting lineups are determined by fan vote. This year’s All-Star Game will take place in Coors Field on Tuesday, July 13. The starting pitchers and reserves will be announced at a later date.
National League
- Catcher: Buster Posey, Giants (7th selection)
- First Base: Freddie Freeman, Braves (5th selection)
- Second Base: Adam Frazier, Pirates (1st selection)
- Third Base: Nolan Arenado, Cardinals (6th selection)
- Shortstop: Fernando TatÃs Jr., Padres (1st selection)
- Outfield: Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves (2nd selection)
- Outfield: Nick Castellanos, Reds (1st selection)
- Outfield: Jesse Winker, Reds (1st selection)
American League
- Catcher: Salvador Pérez, Royals (7th selection)
- First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (1st selection)
- Second Base: Marcus Semien, Blue Jays (1st selection)
- Third Base: Rafael Devers, Red Sox (1st selection)
- Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox (3rd selection)
- Outfield: Mike Trout, Angels (9th selection)*
- Outfield: Aaron Judge, Yankees (3rd selection)
- Outfield: Teoscar Hernández, Blue Jays (1st selection)
- Designated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Angels (1st selection)
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Gutting loss for the Padres with Melancon blowing it in the 9thComment -
Almost the entire AL starting lineup in the upcoming All Star game comes from the East.Comment -
He's been lights out his entire career.
And to think the Yankees traded him to Houston for Lance Berkman once upon a time.
Year Age Tm Lg W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W 2009 24 NYY AL 0 1 0 3.86 13 0 4 0 0 0 16.1 13 8 7 0 10 0 10 4 0 3 74 122 4.44 1.408 7.2 0 5.5 5.5 1 2010 25 TOT MLB 2 0 1 4.22 22 0 4 0 0 0 21.1 19 13 10 2 8 0 22 1 0 2 90 99 3.5 1.266 8 0.8 3.4 9.3 2.75 2010 25 NYY AL 0 0 9 2 0 2 0 0 0 4 7 5 4 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 19 52 4.83 1.75 15.8 2.3 0 6.8 2010 25 HOU NL 2 0 1 3.12 20 0 2 0 0 0 17.1 12 8 6 1 8 0 19 1 0 2 71 129 3.19 1.154 6.2 0.5 4.2 9.9 2.38 2011 26 HOU NL 8 4 0.667 2.78 71 0 47 0 0 20 74.1 65 28 23 5 26 6 66 2 0 1 309 137 3.25 1.224 7.9 0.6 3.1 8 2.54 2012 27 BOS AL 0 2 0 6.2 41 0 17 0 0 1 45 45 31 31 8 12 1 41 3 0 2 194 68 4.58 1.267 9 1.6 2.4 8.2 3.42 2013 28 PIT NL 3 2 0.6 1.39 72 0 24 0 0 16 71 60 15 11 1 8 0 70 1 0 6 279 256 1.64 0.958 7.6 0.1 1 8.9 8.75 2014 29 PIT NL 3 5 0.375 1.9 72 0 48 0 0 33 71 51 15 15 2 11 1 71 3 0 3 277 190 2.09 0.873 6.5 0.3 1.4 9 6.45 2015 30 PIT NL 3 2 0.6 2.23 78 0 63 0 0 51 76.2 57 22 19 4 14 2 62 2 0 3 293 174 2.82 0.926 6.7 0.5 1.6 7.3 4.43 2016 31 TOT NL 2 2 0.5 1.64 75 0 67 0 0 47 71.1 52 16 13 3 12 0 65 1 0 4 270 258 2.42 0.897 6.6 0.4 1.5 8.2 5.42 2016 31 PIT NL 1 1 0.5 1.51 45 0 39 0 0 30 41.2 31 10 7 2 9 0 38 1 0 1 163 276 2.67 0.96 6.7 0.4 1.9 8.2 4.22 2016 31 WSN NL 1 1 0.5 1.82 30 0 28 0 0 17 29.2 21 6 6 1 3 0 27 0 0 3 107 237 2.07 0.809 6.4 0.3 0.9 8.2 9 2017 32 SFG NL 1 2 0.333 4.5 32 0 18 0 0 11 30 37 16 15 3 6 0 29 1 0 2 130 96 3.22 1.433 11.1 0.9 1.8 8.7 4.83 2018 33 SFG NL 1 4 0.2 3.23 41 0 8 0 0 3 39 48 18 14 2 14 2 31 1 0 4 174 118 3.39 1.59 11.1 0.5 3.2 7.2 2.21 2019 34 TOT NL 5 2 0.714 3.61 66 0 34 0 0 12 67.1 71 28 27 4 18 2 68 2 0 4 284 122 2.86 1.322 9.5 0.5 2.4 9.1 3.78 2019 34 SFG NL 4 2 0.667 3.5 43 0 16 0 0 1 46.1 49 19 18 3 16 2 44 2 0 3 195 122 3.32 1.403 9.5 0.6 3.1 8.5 2.75 2019 34 ATL NL 1 0 1 3.86 23 0 18 0 0 11 21 22 9 9 1 2 0 24 0 0 1 89 124 1.83 1.143 9.4 0.4 0.9 10.3 12 2020 35 ATL NL 2 1 0.667 2.78 23 0 19 0 0 11 22.2 22 8 7 1 7 3 14 2 0 1 95 178 3.72 1.279 8.7 0.4 2.8 5.6 2 2021 36 SDP NL 1 1 0.5 2.27 35 0 29 0 0 25 35.2 28 11 9 4 15 3 30 0 0 1 145 163 4.2 1.206 7.1 1 3.8 7.6 2 13 Yrs 31 28 0.525 2.82 641 0 382 0 0 230 641.2 568 229 201 39 161 20 579 23 0 36 2614 142 2.97 1.136 8 0.5 2.3 8.1 3.6 162 Game Avg. 3 3 0.525 2.82 68 0 41 0 0 24 68 60 24 21 4 17 2 61 2 0 4 277 142 2.97 1.136 8 0.5 2.3 8.1 3.6 PIT (4 yrs) 10 10 0.5 1.8 267 0 174 0 0 130 260.1 199 62 52 9 42 3 241 7 0 13 1012 210 2.27 0.926 6.9 0.3 1.5 8.3 5.74 SFG (3 yrs) 6 8 0.429 3.67 116 0 42 0 0 15 115.1 134 53 47 8 36 4 104 4 0 9 499 112 3.32 1.474 10.5 0.6 2.8 8.1 2.89 ATL (2 yrs) 3 1 0.75 3.3 46 0 37 0 0 22 43.2 44 17 16 2 9 3 38 2 0 2 184 148 2.81 1.214 9.1 0.4 1.9 7.8 4.22 NYY (2 yrs) 0 1 0 4.87 15 0 6 0 0 0 20.1 20 13 11 1 10 0 13 4 0 3 93 96 4.52 1.475 8.9 0.4 4.4 5.8 1.3 HOU (2 yrs) 10 4 0.714 2.85 91 0 49 0 0 20 91.2 77 36 29 6 34 6 85 3 0 3 380 135 3.24 1.211 7.6 0.6 3.3 8.3 2.5 BOS (1 yr) 0 2 0 6.2 41 0 17 0 0 1 45 45 31 31 8 12 1 41 3 0 2 194 68 4.58 1.267 9 1.6 2.4 8.2 3.42 SDP (1 yr) 1 1 0.5 2.27 35 0 29 0 0 25 35.2 28 11 9 4 15 3 30 0 0 1 145 163 4.2 1.206 7.1 1 3.8 7.6 2 WSN (1 yr) 1 1 0.5 1.82 30 0 28 0 0 17 29.2 21 6 6 1 3 0 27 0 0 3 107 237 2.07 0.809 6.4 0.3 0.9 8.2 9 NL (11 yrs) 31 25 0.554 2.48 585 0 359 0 0 229 576.1 503 185 159 30 139 19 525 16 0 31 2327 159 2.79 1.114 7.9 0.5 2.2 8.2 3.78 AL (3 yrs) 0 3 0 5.79 56 0 23 0 0 1 65.1 65 44 42 9 22 1 54 7 0 5 287 76 4.56 1.332 9 1.2 3 7.4 2.45 Comment -
Might start blindly betting oversComment -
Trevor Bauer off the shelf for awhile, not good for him and the Dodgers.Comment -
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Bauer might be going to jail, what a terrible story.Comment
