The Brewers expressed interest in Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez last summer, though talks didn’t go anywhere, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports. The left-handed Vazquez would have teamed with Brewers southpaw Josh Hader and righty Jeremy Jeffress to form a nigh-unhittable relief trio on paper, perhaps one that could have pushed the club over the top in the National League. He remains a Pirate, though, and the Vazquez-less Brewers fell to the Dodgers in a seven-game NLCS last year. Milwaukee may call its division rival again this year about Vazquez (if the Brewers haven’t already), but it’ll continue to be incredibly difficult for anyone to pry him out of Pittsburgh.
- Rehabbing Athletics lefty Jesus Luzardo threw five innings and 66 pitches at the Triple-A level Thursday. He’ll extend to six innings and 90 pitches Tuesday, according to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. The highly touted 21-year-old prospect hasn’t gotten to debut in the majors yet because of a shoulder strain he suffered late in the spring, but the hope is he’ll burst on the scene next month to bolster the playoff-contending A’s rotation. The club needs Luzardo’s assistance, having lost ace Frankie Montas to an 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension a week ago.
- At 6 1/2 games back of a wild-card spot, the White Sox may be closer to playoff position than expected this season. However, general manager Rick Hahn unsurprisingly isn’t going to mortgage the future for short-term pitching help prior to the deadline, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score writes. Asked Friday about adding an established starter in the next month, Hahn said: “”I wouldn’t say you can count on additions at the deadline that will be short-term fixes. Our focus going to remain long term.” Hahn admitted Chicago “would like to add controllable starting pitching,” but he quickly noted that’s a goal for every team in the game. Below-average starting pitching has prevented the White Sox from making a more serious playoff push this year. While Lucas Giolito has been tremendous, the team hasn’t gotten respectable production from any of its other starters.
- Injured Padres reliever Aaron Loup will return in “late August, early September if things go well,” manager Andy Green said Friday (via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). It’s clear this will go down as a mostly lost season for Loup, whom the Padres signed to a one-year, $1.2MM contract entering the campaign. The 31-year-old lefty has been on the injured list since April 9 because of a forearm strain. Loup was effective in a small sample of work before then, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball with five strikeouts against one walk.
It doesn’t matter anyway. No team in the NL not named the Dodgers or the Braves are going to win a playoff series this year anyway. Why waste prospects and money when there is no chance you can make any kind of a deep playoff run?
So what screen name did you used to have? I’m trying to guess from your clues…..
What happens if the Braves play the Dodgers in the first round?
We would all wake up from the ridiculous dream we were in. That would mean that one of those 2 teams had to settle for a Wildcard spot or that neither of those 2 teams finish with the best record in the National League. The Braves will face the Dodgers but it will be in the NLCS. For any other NL team to win the World Series they would likely have to knock off both the Braves and the Dodgers in the playoffs and then follow that up by knocking off the AL Champion. There is not a single team in all of baseball capable of doing all 3 of those things. Outside of the Dodgers and Braves, there isn’t a single team in the National League capable of doing even one of those things.
Blah blah blah playoffs are unpredictable. Neither the Braves nor the Dodgers are immune to volatility in a playoff series. They could both be watching the NLCS instead of playing in it. Making playoff predictions in June is ignorant
Well technically it would only require one team to beat the dodgers in the first round and one to beat the Braves and underdogs win all the time in baseball. The dodgers and Braves are fully capable of losing a head to head series as they’ve both lost series already this season. Injuries and cold-streaks can also happen. Plus the Braves rotation is lead by two super young arms who might be worn down by the playoffs. They’ll need to sure up their pitching. Dodgers are easy NL favorites but the Bos, NYY, HOU trio from the AL is fully capable of beating whoever comes out of the NL as recent history has shown.
The AL is completely different from the NL this season. There are 4 or 5 teams capable of winning it all from the American League. If Boston is on that list they are probably last. Boston, Minnesota, Houston, Tampa Bay & the Yanks are all hands down better than any non Dodgers/Braves National League team. Of course injuries and trades can occur but only those 7 teams stand any chance of winning it all this year. Only the Braves and Dodgers have the potential to beat any of those 5 teams in the WS. The only NL teams that could even theoretically make it to the WS outside of the ones listed are Milwaukee and the Cubs. Milwaukee will never have enough payroll flexibility to add enough talent at the deadline to push them over the top and for that matter (after the Kimbrel signing) neither do the Cubs, especially with the loss of Hamels. They didn’t really stand a chance before his injury but now it is obviously over. Besides, any team willing to limit their payroll flexibility by throwing tons of cash at guys like Darvish, Heyward and Chatwood was never gonna win it anyway. If both the Dodgers and Braves decline so much or suffer so many major injuries that they miss the WS, you might as well just hand the championship to the AL Champ. Outside of those top 7 teams, everyone else would be well advised to be sellers at the deadline and go ahead to gear up for next season. Their fans will hate them for it now but they won’t hate it as much as when they go all in this season just to watch their team fail. Don’t waste future prospects and payroll trying to buy a championship during a year you are virtually guaranteed to fall short anyway. Astros, Twins, Yanks, Ray’s, Red Sox, Dodgers or Braves vs. the field. Who here would actually take the field? Honestly.
For a team that hasn’t won a playoff series since 2001, you’re giving the Braves too much credit.
Lots of baseball to play and transactions to be had. There are favorites for sure. I would not bet against the Cubs or Milwaukee right now.
WOW, why doesn’t MLB just end the National League season now and let the Dodgers play the Braves to represent the NL. Then they can wait it out for the AL champ/
you must be really fun to party with
Um…you realize that playoff baseball is pretty random. The better team in baseball doesn’t always win in a short series.
It all boils down to who is hot in the last few weeks.
No. I didn’t realize that.
If I’m Brewers, I’d rather be facing the Dodgers with Vazquez in my own then with him wearing a dodger uní.
Pen**
How many straight days are you going to spout the same rote theory? You posted this yesterday in random pages, verbatim. Nobody believes it, sport is random.
If sports is random than why do the Yankees have 27 world championships while the Rangers, Mariners, Ray’s, Padres, Rockies and Brewers combine to have zero? I will post it until one of those 7 teams wins the WS at which point I will rub my correct prediction in the face of everyone that pretended other teams had a chance. If that doesn’t happen I will just pretend someone took over my account and made the posts themselves, thus avoiding all accountability. It’s the way of the world.
Ok Biff Tannen…. put your money where your mouth is. One thousand dollars here says the Braves and Dodgers don’t face off in the NLCS. You insist this will happen, so easy money right?
Bet. How did you know I drive a DMC-12? I was only able to afford it with the money I won from the last fool to bet against me.
So did you bet brewers in the NLCS last year? Bet you didn’t.
Didn’t bet last year. I wouldn’t have bet against them though. They were a better team last year and both the Braves and Dodgers were probably worse teams. The NL was a lot more wide open last year. Kinda like the AL is this year. In the AL this year several teams are really good and several teams are really bad. In the NL this year a couple teams are really good and a couple teams are really bad. Most of the NL teams are either a little above or a little below average. The NL has the Marlins (and maybe the Giants) while the AL has the Orioles, Blue Jays, Tigers, Royals and Mariners. There are several AL teams that (with the exception of the occasional slump) consistently whoop most teams that they face. There are only 2 such teams in the NL. If the Brewers and Cubs were that good there would be at least 1 team in that division they would have completely driven into the ground by now. Instead some of the worst teams in that division are actually still considering being buyers at the deadline because no other teams in the NL Central have been good enough to make it blatantly obvious they stand no chance of making it to the playoffs. I don’t think the Cubs or Brewers are bad teams. There is just a pretty obvious gap there. If both of those teams played in any other division in baseball, neither would ever be able to win any of those divisions. Wild Card teams win World Series sometimes but teams that would clearly trail in 5 of the 6 divisions in baseball don’t really stand a chance. The Wild Card teams that win it are frequently one of the best 2 teams in the league. They just happen to play in a division with the best team in the league so the Wild Card was their only hope because of that one specific division. It’s different when a team would be a wild card at best in EVERY other division. I like the Brewers. I hope they knock off the Dodgers and their egregious payroll. I just really don’t see it happening. I never bet on the outcome I want. I bet on the most likely outcome. And in the NL this year, it is a far more likely outcome than it has been in previous years. There are clearly 2 NL teams that aren’t just better, but head and shoulders better than any other NL team. When it gets to the point that every division in baseball has at least one team in it that is clearly head and shoulders above every team in the NL Central, it makes it that much more obvious.
Probably smart of the Sox. No reason to take a chance this year, just wait until they are more prepared
Oh really? Smart?
No, its cause they are cheap.
if they don’t spend on starting pitcher in the off season, fine call them cheap. Not trading young assets for a rental, smart. Hahn is doing the right thing
Oh yeah it’s because they’re cheap. Maybe it’s because Hahn would have to mortgage the future to get 4 competent starters next to Giolito for them to even have a chance at a WC. They have 1 SP with more than 10 starts and an ERA under 5. Ross detwiler was pitching for the York Revolution last year and now he’s in their rotation……
The Sox are absolutely cheap, no question. Reinsdorf runs both of his teams like small market bottom feeders.
But when it comes to this deadline, it really makes zero sense to trade good prospects for a quick fix. I mean sure, if they can fleece some team for a young-ish starter with years and reasonable term left, go for it. But that’s not usually the type of stuff that’s offered at the deadline.
I’m personally more focused on this upcoming offseason in terms of moves. They were willing to go (mostly) all in on Machado. It’d be great to see them go big and land Gerrit Cole. The Sox have some great looking pitching prospects, but they won’t all pan out.
Cole will be going to the highest bidder.
I think that the Yankees are lying in wait for him.
Is Vazquez about to leave in free agency? No, he’s under contract for years with options beyond that.
Is he about to become expensive? No, his contract is as team friendly as it gets. Even the Pirates can afford it.
The only reason to trade him is if the other team offers a literal bus load of top prospects.
You’ll take Ross Stripling and you’ll like it
He’s 29, I don’t think so. Unless he comes with a top 5 prospect and a few other names.
Yeah, and Ruiz and May
bring on the Jesus Lizard!
Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy, but he’s a mouth breather.
glad I’m not the only one who noticed that hahaha
The Dodgers have their handicap Mgr Dave Roberts. Nothing is a sure thing. Atlanta is Atlanta. Make a run and lose in the 1st round. Don’t count out Milwaukee or the Cubs. Now with Kimbrel the only thing holding back the Cubs is Joe Maddon.
Talk to a Sox fan about how sure of a thing Kimbrel is during the playoffs.
And lack of Hamels
Felipe Vazquez is a lights-out lefty fireman who could bring a world championship to any viable contender.
There is no reason whatsoever that the Pirates should trade this elite closer for anything but an incredibly huge haul of prospects and major league ready talent.
His contract is extremely inexpensive and he still has at least three years to go on it.
The Pirates should be in no hurry to move him. They would need to legitimately be blown away by the offer.
I totally agree…and I saw that the dodgers where interested in him and thought that would almost lock up the NL…if not make them WS favorites…but yea it should take a lot to get him
White Sox also lack the prospect depth needed to acquire decent pitching at the deadline. When Anderson, Moncada and McCann realize regression, that win/loss pythag will become reality.
♂️
Yeah, unfortunately pretty much the entire farm is nursing significant injuries. There was no way the Sox were ever going to trade a big piece. I think we’ll hold on to Alex Colome for next season and get extensions done with Jose Abreu and James McCann.
How do you know anyone is going to regress? Pythag is a snapshot in time.
They lack depth? Have you seen their farm system? Maybe you meant prospects they’re willing to party ways with?
In all honesty, we do lack depth in our farm everywhere aside from maybe outfield. Obviously, Luis Robert, Nick Madrigal, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech/Dane Dunning are going nowhere so it would have to be a very minor move for a Blake Rutherford or Steele Walker type and the front office seems to love those guys so I think we’ll see the Sox stand Pat. Maybe take on a contract….even that’s a stretch though.
If any prospect gets traded I think it would be Rutherford before anyone.
Fair point, but what makes you think kopech is going nowhere? TJ could actually be a benefit ie Giolito
For LA to get Vazquez it starts with Urias a top 5 position player plus another arm. For the Braves either one of the top two arms (both were #1 picks) plus an outfield prospect.
If LA wants to win the World Series there it is! If Atlanta wants to challenge LA it’s up to them. If not it’s the Yankees or Astros as champs!
Urias, Ruiz, one more top 5, two of their 6-10 ranked prospects, plus 2 more top 30 prospects is what it should take for the phone call to continue for more than 20 seconds.
And even then I’d still keep Vazquez. There is just no reason to trade him unless the other GM loses his mind.
I agree that the Pirates should not trade Vasquez.
But if the Dodgers offered what you are saying,from their deep system,NH would be a fool not to take it,even though he does not have a replacement for Vasquez.
That one reminds me of the Vikings to Cowboys haul for Hershel Walker.
Then the Pirates could deal from surplus like the Astros did for Gerrit Cole.
Anytime you can get six or seven prospects for one pitcher it is worth taking the chance.
Said it before the season and I’ll say it again….
Josh Hader should have been a starter. He is an ace in-waiting. Only has to wait because the Brewers have kept him in the bullpen. This guy is a young Chris Sale. Let him be Sale 2.0.
Can’t trust Jeffress in October.
Brewers need at least another starter and bullpen arm, and maybe even a stable backup SS/2B.
For real I dunno why tf they won’t even give him the opportunity to start I’d rather have a dominant ace over a closer that can go multiple innings cuz our trash rotation can’t go deeper than five innings
Why? have you not watched what happens when Hader goes through a lineup twice in the same outing? I’d rather have 2 lock down innings at the back end of the game.
JJ’s better days are behind him! More of a 6th inning guy! They need 2 bullpen arms and starter! There
Will be more changes in the coming weeks! Ship has to be righted soon or they in trouble! Go Brew Crew!
Doubt it David Sterns motto is “who needs pitching when you can hit dingers”
The Chisox are going nowhere with Jon Jay in the lineup.
Especially with OBP only .467 !
Jon Jay is underrated, one of the best players in baseball for years now.
I agree.He always hit well against the Pirates.I think that he is one of these guys who don’t have anything that jumps out at you but is a solid all around player.
What a stupid thing to say. Jon Jay has been good for us and we aren’t contending anyway.
So the braves pitching staff outside of Sorka is gonna make it’s way to NL championship game.
You all may think I have lost my mind,but the Pittsburgh pirates will go all the way this year. They have a good mixture and balance on that team.
Are Taillon and Musgrove back yet? Archer looks cooked.
Musgrove is back, but Taillon is starting a throwing program. He may need surgery if the pain does not go away.
Kind of a Blues story? Pirates were last a week ago. I don’t think you are right but stranger things have happened? If they win 5 of the next 8 they are still, in the hunt if not sell.
They usually get on a hot streak about this time of year, then ASB.I believe the pirates need one more decent starter. I like MadBum, but what would it cost to get him?
Archer has been a huge disappointment, especially with how Glasnow started out this year. I feel it has to have something to do with different organizational pitching philosophies.
brewers likely can’t get Felipe with out including Hiura, might be too steep for the brewers….
pirates needs are primarily starting pitching and pen pitching with a smaller need for some catching depth (more for beyond ’19)
Pirates are still in a position to make a run to the post season. Unless they fall back pretty far the next couple weeks felipe getting traded seems like a long shot.
0% chance Hiura gets dealt for a bullpen arm.
The Pirates are a hot and cold team.
They are stuck in mediocrity.Their pitchers were supposed to be good,and started out well,but NH lack of action and attention to depth in the off season doomed them to a long losing streak when injuries set in.They have been hitting well the last two months.Bell had a poor June but a monster May.Reynolds,Cabrera,Newman,and Osuna have all been pleasant surprises.
I do not see a place for Gonzalez or Cervelli,because someone good would need to be lost.They do need a good third catcher to be stashed at AAA.I would not trade Dickerson unless I get a good young player in return.
The advantage that they have is the Central Divion can be had by a long hot streak.I do not think,though,that they have the starting pitching to win a wild card game or a playoff series.