[EmpireMaker]

Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar are all playing well for the first-place Mets, making the team’s investment in the trio look like a canny move. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman looks back at how the Mets added all three players during a frenzied span of around two days prior to the lockout, and how newly-hired GM Billy Eppler “emphasized on-base percentage, defense, versatility and players with strong reputations as good teammates,” with a particular focus on how well such free agents could adapt to Citi Field. Sherman’s piece contains several interesting details about the Mets’ pursuit of the three players, as well as some other info on some of the other suitors.
The Rangers (another of the winter’s more aggressive teams) and Dodgers were interested in Canha, while “the Mets saw the Giants as a threat” due to Canha’s ties to the Bay Area. As for Marte, New York was a relatively late entry into that chase, as agent Peter Greenberg said he met with roughly 20 other teams before touching base with the Mets, since Eppler wasn’t officially hired until midway through November. However, the Mets made up plenty of ground by offering Marte a big four-year, $78MM contract that outpaced the other bidders. “What stands out to me is that the Mets came in and in less than 24 hours we had a deal,” Greenberg said.
More from around baseball….

• Martin Perez has been one of the surprises of the 2022 season, as the veteran lefty has an AL-best 1.56 ERA over 69 1/3 innings, plus a 54.7% grounder rate and just a single home run allowed. With encouragement from Rangers coaches, Perez has re-established his sinker as a big part of his arsenal, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News writes, and Perez also took a tip from the legendary Pedro Martinez about throwing more pitches outside the strike zone, to induce more chases from batters. The results speak for themselves, as Perez is having a career year at age 31, and setting himself up for a much more lucrative trip to free agent this winter. After the Red Sox declined their club option on Perez last fall, he told Grant that the Pirates and Nationals each had interest prior to the lockout, but Perez instead chose to return to a familiar environment and signed with Texas for a one-year, $4MM pact in March.
• The Padres placed right-hander Robert Suarez on the 15-day injured list due to right knee inflammation earlier this week, and manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including reps from 97.3 The Fan radio) that Suarez recently had surgery to remove “loose impediments.” A specific recovery timeline isn’t known, but Suarez will miss “at least a couple of weeks before we see him back throwing.” The 31-year-old rookie has been a solid performer out of San Diego’s bullpen this year, with Suarez contributing a 3.09 ERA and 30.9% strikeout rate over 23 1/3 innings, though with a high 13.8% walk rate.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Nice win by the Giants over the Dodgers last night. At least they won't get swept this weekend. Who knows maybe they take 2 out of 3 or dare I say it get the sweep themselves?

Good luck getting the sweep....Fukk LA!!

[JMobile]

Either the Giants are hot or the Dodgers are on a slump

[jrgum3]

Either the Giants are hot or the Dodgers are on a slump

I highly doubt that it's because the Giants are hot. I mean sure they swept LA but they hadn't been playing well prior to that so I kind of didn't expect them to sweep LA. They do seem to elevate their play against LA but thats the nature of sports and rivalries. Maybe LA is the opponent the Giants needed to see to get on a streak so lets see how they play against someone else this upcoming week.

[EmpireMaker]

As the injury bug continues to bite the White Sox, Tim Anderson is at least nearing a return. Manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin) that Anderson is scheduled to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday. Anderson suffered a groin strain in Chicago’s May 29 game, and at the time, La Russa estimated the star shortstop would need about three weeks of recovery time. This rehab assignment would seemingly put Anderson right on track to match or even beat that projection.
The South Side would love to have Anderson back as soon as possible, given how he was on pace for possibly the best season of his already-standout career. Anderson hit .356/.393/.503 with five home runs over his first 173 plate appearances, plus a perfect 8-for-8 mark in stealing bases. With Eloy Jimenez still on the IL and Yasmani Grandal now nursing a sore hamstring, Anderson’s return is a much-needed boost for a struggling White Sox lineup.
More injury updates from around the American League…

• Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters that Tyler Alexander (elbow sprain) could be activated from the 15-day IL as soon as Tuesday, though the team hasn’t yet decided on Alexander’s next step after the southpaw has seemingly completed his rehab work. Eduardo Rodriguez (ribcage sprain) was tentatively slated to return from his own rehab assignment this week, but that timeline is now up in the air since Rodriguez is away on a personal matter. Meanwhile, reliever Jose Cisnero (shoulder strain) was about to begin his own rehab assignment but has now been shut down for two weeks due to soreness in his right Achilles tendon.
• For the first since suffering a lower-leg injury almost a month ago, Jake Odorizzi joined the Astros’ other pitchers in fielding drills today. Manager Dusty Baker told FOX 26’s Mark Berman (Twitter links) and other reporters that Odorizzi’s return to these drills is “kind of like the final hurdle” in determining the right-hander’s readiness. The next step is gradually bringing Odorizzi along, as the pitcher told Berman and company that he was going at around “50-60%” in his first workout, and he’ll continue to slowly ramp up.
• Matt Chapman has missed the Blue Jays’ last two games due to a sore right wrist. Manager Charlie Montoyo told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Chapman “couldn’t even pinch-hit today,” though the third baseman is still considered day-to-day with the injury. Imaging hasn’t yet been done on Chapman’s wrist, which Nicholson-Smith notes is an indication that the Jays believe the injury isn’t too serious.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

I highly doubt that it's because the Giants are hot. I mean sure they swept LA but they hadn't been playing well prior to that so I kind of didn't expect them to sweep LA. They do seem to elevate their play against LA but thats the nature of sports and rivalries. Maybe LA is the opponent the Giants needed to see to get on a streak so lets see how they play against someone else this upcoming week.

Dodgers still very good but not as good as they have been the past few years.

[JMobile]

Dodgers still very good but not as good as they have been the past few years.

More young great players coming up

[Otters27]

Auburn wraps up the college world series

[jrgum3]

Dodgers still very good but not as good as they have been the past few years.

Giants didn't have any problems keeping the Dodgers high powered offense in check in the series but lets not get it twisted they're still a very good team and I think they'll figure things out before too long. Now if we're in late July or early August and the Dodgers are still scuffling then maybe I'd agree that the Dodgers aren't as good as they once were.

[EmpireMaker]

This year’s Aug. 2 trade deadline is just over seven weeks away, and while some names won’t become obvious candidates to move until five or even six weeks from now, others have been evident for more than a year. That’s more true of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras than arguably any player in baseball. There may not be a likelier player to get traded this summer, and the writing has been on the wall for quite some time. The Cubs looked like probable deadline sellers heading into the 2021 season, and Contreras’ fate looked clear when Chicago sold off Javier Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, among others. Some fans might’ve held out hope for an extension that would make Contreras the centerpiece of the next contending Cubs core, but no long-term deal came to fruition.
From both the player and team vantage point, Contreras’ current career year has come at the perfect time. He’s hitting .267/.394/.506 with 10 home runs, 10 doubles and a triple through 213 trips to the plate. By measure of wRC+, the only catcher who’s been more productive (min. 100 plate appearances) is Willson’s own brother, William, who is having a breakout campaign over in Atlanta. Willson’s 10 homers are tops among catchers, and he’s on pace for career-highs in several offensive categories. A pending free agent couldn’t ask for a much better walk year, and the Cubs have to be thrilled to see him producing like this at a time when league-wide catcher offense hasn’t been this bad since 2002.
Contreras has acknowledged that a trade appears to be his likely fate at this point, and it’s more a question of when and where than whether it’ll happen at all. Since a trade feels far likelier than not, let’s take some time and run through the possible landing spots for Contreras over the next several weeks.
Obvious Fits
Astros: The only team in Major League Baseball that has gotten worse production from behind the plate is the Orioles, who entered the year trying to lose and have since watched their top prospect struggle upon his initial call to the big leagues. Martin Maldonado has posted an awful .153/.225/.277 batting line, while backup Jason Castro has somehow been even worse at .102/.206/.136. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote this week that the Astros will likely stick with Maldonado despite the complete lack of offense, declining framing marks and increasingly frequent passed balls. The rationale appears to be that Maldonado’s leadership and game-planning skills are too valuable.
That piece, however, did not acknowledge the possibility that the Astros can still go ahead and acquire Contreras, pushing Maldonado to a backup role and jettisoning Castro from the roster. There’s no justification for a supposed World Series hopeful to trot out a pair of catchers that has combined to hit .141/.221/.241 this season. Houston has other needs, be they in center field or at first base where Yuli Gurriel’s bat has cratered, but Astros catchers have been 63% worse than league-average at the plate (by measure of wRC+). Whatever intangible value Maldonado may be providing with his game-planning, he’s giving a lot of it back at the dish. And, again, it’s eminently possible to keep Maldonado on the roster and still install Contreras as the everyday catcher.
Mets: James McCann hasn’t lived up to his four-year, $40.6MM contract in the first place, and he’s currently on the injured list for the foreseeable future owing to a fractured hamate bone that’ll sideline him into July. McCann should be back in action by the time the trade deadline rolls around, but he’s hitting just .196/.266/.286 on the season anyhow and hamate injuries can have lingering effects on a hitter’s production even after they’re cleared to return.
It’s in the Mets’ best interest to get McCann sorted out at some point, but they have two years left to figure that out (or to find a way to unload the contract). Backups Tomas Nido (.245/.277/.274) and Patrick Mazeika (.186/.205/.326) haven’t provided any offense whatsoever in McCann’s absence. Taking on Contreras pushes McCann to a backup role and deepens the lineup considerably — both this summer as the Braves continue to heat up and climb in the standings and in the postseason, when they’ll be facing off against better pitching than they see during the regular season.
Giants: Buster Posey abruptly retired following a resurgent 2021 season, and former No. 2 overall pick Joey Bart hasn’t been able to seize the opportunity as the Giants’ new starter just yet. Optioned to Triple-A last after hitting .156/.296/.300 through 108 plate appearances, Bart could still eventually sort things out and solidify himself as the Giants’ catcher of the future. For now, however, they’re relying on career backup Curt Casali and journeyman Austin Wynns, whom they acquired from the Phillies last week.
The Giants are a deep-pocketed club with a $162MM payroll that’s nowhere near their franchise record and an improved farm system. General manager Scott Harris, formerly an assistant general manager with the Cubs, is plenty familiar with Contreras and all he can bring to the table.
Payroll Concerns
Rays: Only a hair better than the Astros in terms of their overall production, Tampa Bay catchers are batting a combined .169/.195/.305 this season. Mike Zunino’s defense remains highly regarded, but he’s having the worst season of his career at the plate (.148/.195/.304). Backup Francisco Mejia has been a bit better at the plate but much worse behind it.
It’s an open question as to whether the Rays, whose current $83MM payroll sadly constitutes a franchise-record mark, would receive ownership support to take on Contreras and the remainder of his salary. The Cubs could perhaps be persuaded to include some cash to cover some or all of the salary, but doing so on their end would require the Rays to part with a steeper prospect package. The Rays, as always, have a deep system and could afford to make such a move. Perhaps they could sell the Cubs on taking back the remainder of the recently optioned Ryan Yarbrough’s $3.85MM salary to help balance things out a bit. (Chicago could certainly use some more pitching depth.) Specific names aside, there aren’t many more obvious fits for Contreras than Tampa Bay.
Padres: Austin Nola and Jorge Alfaro have combined to bat .239/.298/.326 while logging every inning for the Padres at catcher this season. San Diego has top catching prospect Luis Campusano hitting well in Triple-A, so perhaps the most straightforward path to an upgrade is simply to promote him to the big league roster.
That, paired with the fact that the Friars are just inches below the new $230MM luxury-tax threshold, makes them a tough fit. There’s a clear on-paper need for the Padres to improve their production behind the dish, but the also have needs in the outfield corners and/or at first base, and the bandwidth to take on Contreras doesn’t seem to be there. The Cubs aren’t going to take on Eric Hosmer or another weighty contract in a deal like this, and asking Chicago to pick up all of the remaining tab on Contreras would only up the price.
Guardians: Austin Hedges is one of the best defensive players in baseball, regardless of position … but one of the sport’s worst hitters as well. Maybe Cleveland simply wouldn’t be interested in displacing Hedges and his potential Gold Glove, but it’s hard to look at his .175/.233/.283 batting line and not wonder how the Guardians’ lineup would look upon swapping that out for Contreras and his aforementioned .267/.394/.506 slash. And, as with the Astros, the Guards could certainly keep Hedges as a defensive-minded backup, pushing Bryan Lavastida back to Triple-A and probably pushing Luke Maile off the roster.
Cleveland’s payroll is just under $70MM right now, and one would think that leaves more than enough room to add veterans at the deadline. But payroll has been a major issue in recent seasons, and it’s not clear whether they’ll be close enough to a playoff spot to make a move like this — or whether they’d be willing to part with long-term value for a rental who’d immediately be their second-highest-paid player.
Wait and See
Yankees: The Yankees have received surprising production from trade acquisition Jose Trevino, who’s batted .309/.356/.505 and already matched his career-high five home runs in just 104 plate appearances. Trevino came to the Yankees as a lifetime .245/.270/.364 hitter, however, so it’s fair to be a bit skeptical of his ability to sustain this pace. He’s not striking out much but also isn’t making much in the way of hard contact, either. The trade deadline is still six weeks out, and if Trevino regresses toward his career levels of production, then the Yankees figure to be in this market, particularly with Kyle Higashioka again struggling at the plate.
Mariners: Seattle was getting career-best production from Tom Murphy before he landed on the injured list with a dislocated shoulder. He’s since suffered a setback, and it’s not clear when he’ll be ready to return. Prospect Cal Raleigh is doing his best Zunino impression in place of Murphy, striking out in a third of his plate appearances while showing good power and strong defensive marks. Raleigh, 25, has a .168/.252/.411 batting line with seven long balls in 107 plate appearances. If he can find some more consistency and/or if Murphy can get on track for a return, the Mariners might not feel the need to make this type of move. Beyond that, the M’s have cooled after a hot start and are 4.5 games back from a Wild Card position and six games under .500. They’re close enough to act as buyers right now, but that outlook could change in the coming weeks.
Marlins: Miami hoped to have addressed its catching need this winter when acquiring Jacob Stallings, but he’s hitting .206/.271/.255 in his first season with the Fish. Even more problematic is the team’s overall performance against southpaws: an MLB-worst .205/.280/.315. The Marlins are a fringe contender at the moment and probably have bigger needs even if they were to make a push at the deadline.
Longer Shots
White Sox: The Sox are already paying Yasmani Grandal $18.25MM, and while the resulting .185/.294/.237 batting line can’t sit well with the organization, there’s no indication to this point that they’re prepared to take on a notable veteran like Contreras and push Grandal into the role of MLB’s highest-paid backup. It’d be interesting to see another chapter entered into the story of crosstown Chicago blockbusters, though. The Sox didn’t get what they were hoping for when acquiring Craig Kimbrel last summer, but the prior North Side/South Side swap sent Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez to the Sox for Jose Quintana.
Twins: Minnesota’s focus at the trade deadline is going to rightly be pitching help — both in the bullpen and in the rotation — but their catchers have been a middle-of-the-pack unit, at best. Gary Sanchez leads the team in plate appearances at designated hitter and has hit better as a DH than as a catcher. But the Twins feel he’s been better than his reputation with the glove, and they’ve used the DH spot as a means of giving several players off — including Byron Buxton. Sure, the lineup would be deeper and better with Contreras catching, Sanchez at DH and Ryan Jeffers as a backup catcher, but this isn’t going to be a priority.
Red Sox: Christian Vazquez has posted a solid, if unremarkable .271/.315/.374 batting line in 168 plate appearances this season, but neither of Boston’s backup options (Kevin Plawecki, Connor Wong) have provided any offense at all. This doesn’t feel all that likely, as Boston probably has bigger needs to consider when the deadline rolls around — assuming they hang onto (or remain within striking distance of) their current No. 3 Wild Card spot in the American League.
—
Contreras has been the best all-around catcher in baseball this offseason, so you could make the argument that he can/should be shoehorned into just about any contender or fringe contender’s lineup. But when looking at the combination of legitimate playoff chances, pure need behind the plate and realistic ability to facilitate a trade of this nature (based on luxury tax, farm system, payroll), it’s hard to look past the Astros, Mets, Rays and Giants as the best fits for a short-term splash behind the plate.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Darvish with another nice start, 8 innings and 1 run allowed against the Cubs

[JMobile]

Good thing Dodgers are facing the Angels this series. Back on track

[EmpireMaker]

11:58PM: Buehler will be shut down from throwing for 6-8 weeks, Roberts told Jack Harris and other reporters, as the MRI revealed a flexor strain. While Buehler will have to rebuild his arm strength almost from scratch afterwards, Roberts does believe the righty will be able to pitch again in 2022.
4:30PM: After Walker Buehler left yesterday’s game with discomfort in his right elbow, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and The L.A. Times’ Jack Harris) that Buehler will be placed on the 15-day injured list. The team has officially announced the transaction, listing Buehler’s placement as due to a right forearm strain.
Buehler is currently undergoing an MRI to determine the extent and nature of the injury, but Roberts said that the right-hander will miss “a good bit of time.” Right-hander Michael Grove will be called up to take Buehler’s place on the active roster. Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, and though he has avoided any serious elbow/forearm issues since, it is naturally a concern to see Buehler again sidelined with any sort of related injury. More will be known once the MRI results are revealed, as it isn’t yet clear if Buehler’s season (or beyond) could possibly be in jeopardy.
At the very least, the Dodgers will have a big vacancy to fill in the starting rotation, even if Buehler hasn’t been quite his ace-level self in 2022. Buehler has a 4.02 ERA over 65 innings, with a very solid 6.2% walk rate but a below-average 21.2% strikeout rate and underwhelming Statcast numbers. The biggest problem is Buehler’s four-seam fastball, which was at times a dominant plus pitch in 2018-21, but batters have been teeing off on the four-seamer this year. The velocity has dropped off to an average of 95.2mph, though it isn’t that far below Buehler’s career average velo of 96.1mph on his four-seamer.
The Dodgers could have a rotation replacement for Buehler in relatively short order, as Roberts said that Andrew Heaney is set for another rehab start on Tuesday and could be activated from the IL for the Dodgers’ game with the Guardians on June 19. Los Angeles also has off-days on both Monday and Thursday, so a fifth starter won’t be immediately necessary in the short term.
In the bigger picture, of course, losing Buehler for a significant amount of time will certainly increase the Dodgers’ focus on adding starting pitching at the deadline. While L.A. has gotten its typically strong results from its rotation this year, pitching was already expected to be a target area, to add more depth and quality to the starting five. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman hasn’t been shy about adding major names (including such star pitchers as Max Scherzer or Yu Darvish) to the roster at past trade deadlines, so anything from depth additions to blockbuster deals could be on the table for the Dodgers prior to August 2.
Buehler is sidelined just as Clayton Kershaw returns from his own IL stint, leaving the Dodgers still short of their ideal top of the rotation. Kershaw, Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson, and Heaney now form the current starting five, with Dustin May (TJ surgery) and Danny Duffy (flexor tendon surgery) expected to return at some point later in the season. Pitchers like Grove, Ryan Pepiot, and Mitch White have also gotten some spot starts this season, and could be called upon again for more rotation work or potentially relief roles depending on how the club opts to deploy any of these hurlers.

[jrgum3]

Giants finding that momentum now up to 5 wins in a row after hanging on against KC. Their schedule softened up a bit after the Dodgers series with KC coming to town and then a weekend set with Pittsburgh who can be pesky at times.

[Otters27]

Giants finding that momentum now up to 5 wins in a row after hanging on against KC. Their schedule softened up a bit after the Dodgers series with KC coming to town and then a weekend set with Pittsburgh who can be pesky at times.

Dang meant to live bet the Giants yesterday but forgot

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Padres rally from down 5-0 against the Cubs...

Cross, you guys will probably win today, Ryan Weathers being called up for a spot start and he has been getting shelled in AAA this year.

[jrgum3]

Padres rally from down 5-0 against the Cubs...

Cross, you guys will probably win today, Ryan Weathers being called up for a spot start and he has been getting shelled in AAA this year.

It will be interesting to see where Willson Contreras goes. He's obviously getting dealt and he can really help solidify the middle of a teams lineup. There are so many catcher starved teams out there that the Cubs should be able to get a pretty good haul for him.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

It will be interesting to see where Willson Contreras goes. He's obviously getting dealt and he can really help solidify the middle of a teams lineup. There are so many catcher starved teams out there that the Cubs should be able to get a pretty good haul for him.

I heard that you guys are one of the favorites to trade for him.

I hope the Padres avoid him...not interested in giving up a blue chip prospect for a couple month rental.

[jrgum3]

I heard that you guys are one of the favorites to trade for him.

I hope the Padres avoid him...not interested in giving up a blue chip prospect for a couple month rental.

Yeah the Giants are among the teams interested because they're basically playing a career backup and a journeyman at catcher with Joey Bart now at AAA. I wouldn't mind getting Contreras because that dude can hit even though you're right it probably would just be a rental.

[JMobile]

I heard that you guys are one of the favorites to trade for him.

I hope the Padres avoid him...not interested in giving up a blue chip prospect for a couple month rental.

A couple month rental can go a long way into the playoffs.

[Cross]

Willson will get a big haul. Having a great year and best arm in baseball behind plate.

[EmpireMaker]

Recently-minted Phillies manager Rob Thomson told Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia today that Corey Knebel is out as the team’s closer, for the time being. Signed to a one-year $10MM deal this past offseason, Knebel hasn’t demonstrated the same sharpness he did in last year’s campaign with the Dodgers. While this season’s 3.24 ERA through 25 innings is plenty respectable, his 20.7% strikeout rate is far from his career average while his 14.4% walk rate ranks amongst the worst in the league. Knebel’s four blown saves also stand as the highest mark in the league at the moment.
After a messy May, the Phillies have surged with an 11-2 record thus far in June, bringing their season record above .500 to 32-31. Despite the recent hot stretch, the Phillies remain eight and a half games back of the first place Mets in their division and three and a half games back of the last NL wild card spot. A closer-by-committee approach figures to help the team stay in their groove, with Seranthony Dominguez and Brad Hand representing steadier options than Knebel thus far.
Some other Wednesday items from the Senior Circuit…

• After optioning Mickey Moniak on Tuesday, the Phillies appear set to roll with a platoon of Matt Vierling and Odúbel Herrera in center field. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb speculates how the team may upgrade that arrangement given the feeble production from the first two players thus far, plus the questions that have plagued Herrera dating back to his 2019 suspension. Gelb lists Michael A. Taylor, Ramón Laureano, and Victor Robles as realistic trade targets for the club should they seek to plug a defense-first option between corner outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. The center field platoon’s production will be worth monitoring through the summer, as the Phillies have holes in the infield and bullpen as well but may not possess enough financial or prospect capital to address all three areas.
• One center fielder who isn’t an option for the Phillies, or perhaps for any team much longer, is Lorenzo Cain. Speaking with Andy McCullough of The Athletic, the 36-year-old Brewer acknowledged the likelihood that this season may very well be his last in the major leagues. The two-time All-Star remains a strong defensive player and as affable a clubhouse personality as any, but admits to difficulties in elevating his offense at the ten-year mark of his career. To that end, a .168/.223/.226 showing through 41 games has already begun to cost him some playing time this season. For now though, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns remains in Cain’s corner, citing Cain’s defense and contributions to four straight years of playoff baseball in Milwaukee as reasons to exhibit patience.
• Nationals manager Dave Martinez has an update on another 2015 World Series champ, stating that Opening Day shortstop Alcides Escobar will return in a utility role when he completes his current rehab assignment. 22-year-old Luis García will be given some leash at the position after his hot start to the year at the Triple-A (.899 OPS in 42 games) and Major League (.829 OPS in 13 games) levels. Neither player profiles as a defensively elite shortstop at this point in their careers, so Escobar’s current OPS of .552 figures to cut into the playing time of other slow-starting veterans’ around the infield (Maikel Franco, .669 OPS; Cesar Hernandez, .646 OPS) over the youngster looking to establish himself.

[jrgum3]

Braves win again to extend the streak to 14 games. I've been mostly talking about the Mets and Dodgers as the teams to beat in the NL but the defending champs might have something to say about that after all. They're still very good offensively even though Albies fractured his foot and of course they have solid pitching which has enabled them to go on this extended run.

[Otters27]

Braves win again to extend the streak to 14 games. I've been mostly talking about the Mets and Dodgers as the teams to beat in the NL but the defending champs might have something to say about that after all. They're still very good offensively even though Albies fractured his foot and of course they have solid pitching which has enabled them to go on this extended run.

Braves were very close last year. I would not bet against these guys. Can you imagine being a Cubs pitcher last night

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Braves were very close last year. I would not bet against these guys. Can you imagine being a Cubs pitcher last night

The Cubs bullpen is really bad.

Schwindel was actually one of the better relievers last night for them

[Cross]

Absolute shit show at the major league level, thankfully the Cubs have one of the best prospect systems in baseball at the moment thanks to the trade deadline deals last year!

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Absolute shit show at the major league level, thankfully the Cubs have one of the best prospect systems in baseball at the moment thanks to the trade deadline deals last year!

The line on today's game looks fishy...seems like Musgrove should be a bigger favorite?

[JMobile]

The line on today's game looks fishy...seems like Musgrove should be a bigger favorite?

Musgrove ERA still looking good. 8-0 guy

[EmpireMaker]

The Rangers announced they’ve reinstated reliever José Leclerc from the 60-day injured list. He’ll be active for tonight’s contest in Detroit, potentially setting him up for his first big league appearance in two years. Texas also activated reliever Brett Martin and outfielder Steele Walker from the COVID-19 IL. Walker and left-hander Kolby Allard have been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to free active roster space. Tyson Miller, who’d been brought up as a designated COVID substitute, was taken off the 40-man roster and returned to the minors after two appearances.
Leclerc’s return is the biggest development for the Rangers, as it marks the end of a 15-month rehab process. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery just before Opening Day last year, costing him a season and a half worth of action. That came on the heels of a 2020 campaign in which he was limited to two appearances because of a shoulder strain, meaning he hasn’t seen extended action since 2019.
Before the health concerns threw his career off track, Leclerc looked as if he might emerge as one of the sport’s better late-inning arms. He’s shown swing-and-miss stuff throughout his career, but he was particularly effective in 2018. Leclerc posted a 1.56 ERA in 57 2/3 innings that season, striking out an elite 38.1% of opponents with a personal-low 11.2% walk rate. The following offseason, Texas signed him to a $14.75MM guarantee to buy out a pair of potential free agent seasons.
Leclerc’s control regressed in the first year of the deal, and he pitched to an underwhelming 4.33 ERA through 68 2/3 innings. Injuries have cost him the next two and a half seasons, but he’ll finally step back into the bullpen for skipper Chris Woodward. He tossed nine innings over as many appearances on a minor league rehab stint before returning to the MLB roster.
The 2022 season is the final guaranteed year of the aforementioned extension. Leclerc is making $5.25MM, and the club holds successive options for the next two seasons. They’ll have to decide on a $6MM option or a $750K buyout at the end of this year, making the next few months particularly critical for Leclerc’s long-term earning potential.

[Cross]

Cubs or Braves going to continue their streak?

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Padres start a series at Coors field today...always an adventure in that launching pad

[jrgum3]

Padres start a series at Coors field today...always an adventure in that launching pad

Yeah it's always tough to beat the Rockies in Coors. Even when they're a bad team the Rockies always seem to bring the lumber at home. Sometimes the best you can hope for is to take 2 out of 3 and hope your bullpen doesn't get beat up too badly if you're the road team.

[EmpireMaker]

6:17PM: The Angels have officially placed Rendon on the 10-day IL, and called up infielder Jack Mayfield from Triple-A. Rendon will probably be held back from a 60-day IL placement until the Halos have need for an extra 40-man roster spot.
Angels team trainer Mike Frostad also gave reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) some details on Rendon’s status, saying that Rendon will need 4-6 months to recover. Rendon has a subluxed tendon, and tried to play through the discomfort, though it was known that surgery would eventually be needed to fix the problem.
4:10PM: Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will undergo surgery on his right wrist next week, the team announced. The procedure will sideline Rendon for the remainder of the 2022 season.
Rendon spent two weeks on the injured list due to soreness in that same wrist earlier this season, and he has missed the last couple of games after re-aggravating the problem. Angels manager Phil Nevin intimated that Rendon was a pinch-hitting possibility as recently as yesterday, so today’s news comes as an unwelcome surprise, and an indication that further testing revealed a more severe problem with Rendon’s wrist.
This will mark the second straight season cut short by surgery for Rendon, as he underwent a hip procedure last August that prematurely ended his 2021 season. That year had already been shortened by multiple trips to the IL for groin, knee, and hamstring injuries, with Rendon’s hip ultimately bearing the brunt as he tried to compensate for those other lower-body problems.
Rendon will finish the season with a .228/.324/.383 slash line and five home runs over 188 plate appearances. While this still works out to above-average offensive production (106 wRC+), it is far below the standard Rendon yet during his heyday with the Nationals, or even in his first Angels season in 2020. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Rendon has hit only .235/.327/.383 in 437 PA, and played in only 103 games.
The Angels signed Rendon to a seven-year, $245MM free agent deal in December 2019, and apart from Rendon’s strong performance in the shortened 2020 campaign, this deal is already showing signs of joining the Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, and Justin Upton contracts in the Angels’ recent history of expensive misfires. Rendon still has four more years to make good on the deal, of course, but he turned 32 earlier this month and now has two lost seasons under his belt.
Rendon’s injury continues a nightmarish stretch for the Angels. In possession of a 27-17 record and a playoff berth on May 24, the Halos have since lost 18 of 21 games, including a 14-game losing streak. Manager Joe Maddon was already fired, and the Angels now face an uphill climb just to break their string of losing seasons, let alone get back into the wild card hunt. While it is still mid-June and plenty of the season remains, losing Rendon creates yet another hole in an already shaky roster.
Matt Duffy and Tyler Wade figure to handle third base duties in Rendon’s absence, which further weakens second base since that duo and Luis Rengifo were juggling time at the keystone. David Fletcher was placed on the 60-day IL in the aftermath of adductor surgery, and in a best-case scenario would return around the All-Star break. Jack Mayfield, Jose Rojas and Kean Wong are also in the organization, but are imperfect solutions to an already-shaky infield picture. Should the Halos get back into the playoff picture, any of shortstop, second, or third base could be target areas for the trade deadline, depending on who was available and how Anaheim shuffled its other personnel around the diamond.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Yeah it's always tough to beat the Rockies in Coors. Even when they're a bad team the Rockies always seem to bring the lumber at home. Sometimes the best you can hope for is to take 2 out of 3 and hope your bullpen doesn't get beat up too badly if you're the road team.

Yep, hoping to get them back today.

[JMobile]

Yankees are unstoppable