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Marlins Select Payton Henry, Nick Fortes

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The Marlins are selecting catchers Payton Henry and Nick Fortes to the big league roster, general manager Kim Ng told reporters (including Christina de Nicola of MLB.com). Jorge Alfaro is being placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain, while infielder Isan Díaz was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. To clear space on the 40-man roster, Miami transferred starter Pablo López and third baseman Brian Anderson from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Henry was a sixth-round pick of the Brewers in 2016 coming out of a Utah high school. The right-handed hitting backstop has moved progressively up the minor league ladder in the years since. He’s hitting for a decent amount of power but struggled with strikeouts, perhaps not especially surprising for a player coming from a nontraditional baseball background.

Miami acquired Henry from the Brewers at the trade deadline in a deal that sent reliever John Curtiss to Milwaukee. Baseball America slotted the 24-year-old as the #29 prospect in the Marlins’ system after the deal, calling him a potential glove-first backup with some power potential. Henry has picked up his first high minors experience this season, hitting .315/.392/.405 over 125 Double-A plate appearances and posting a .223/.318/.377 mark after being bumped up to Triple-A.

Like Henry, Fortes is coming up for his major league debut. He’s also a righty-swinging backstop whom the Fish selected in the fourth round of the 2018 draft out of Ole Miss. Fortes has also garnered his first high minors action this year, posting a .251/.338/.359 line over 226 trips to the plate in Double-A and hitting .237/.322/.378 in 152 plate appearances with Jacksonville. Fortes didn’t appear on Miami’s top 30 prospects at BA, but Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in April that the 24-year-old’s defense and bat-to-ball skills give him a chance to be a capable reserve catcher.

Each of Henry and Fortes would have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if not selected to the 40-man roster. Miami will get an early look at both players over the season’s final couple weeks. The Marlins are generally expected to move on from Alfaro — who will be eligible for arbitration for the second time this offseason — and seek outside help behind the plate this winter. Neither Henry nor Fortes is the caliber of prospect who would likely deter the front office from seeking an external upgrade, but strong showings from one or both could give them an inside track at landing a season-opening reserve job in 2022.

López’s IL transfer is merely a procedural move. He’s already been on the IL for more than sixty days, so he’s eligible to return when first healthy. Ng told reporters (including de Nicola) that López will throw to batters tomorrow. The team still hopes he’ll be able to make it back this season. Anderson was already known to be out for the rest of the year after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Indians Outright Ryan Lavarnway

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Sept. 17: Lavarnway cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Columbus, per the transactions log at MiLB.com.

Sept. 14: The Indians have designated catcher Ryan Lavarnway for assignment and reinstated fellow backstop Roberto Perez from the injured list, per a club announcement. They’ve also added righty J.C. Mejia as their 29th man for today’s doubleheader against the Twins.

The veteran Lavarnway, 34, appeared in nine games with Cleveland and went 7-for-28 with a pair of walks in 30 plate appearances. Once a fairly well-regarded prospect in the Red Sox system, Lavarnway has settled in as the consummate journeyman backup catcher. He’s spent time in the Majors in 10 of the past 11 seasons — 2016 being the exception — but has never topped 46 games or 167 plate appearances. In 486 trips to the plate at the MLB level, Lavarnway has batted .217/.272/.345.

The Indians were Lavarnway’s eight Major League team and his seventh in the past seven years. He’s had a strong season with Cleveland’s top minor league affiliate in Columbus, batting .278/.339/.583 in 166 plate appearances. He’s a career .272/.362/.438 hitter in parts of 10 Triple-A seasons. Lavarnway will now either be placed on outright waivers or release waivers.

Twins Place Andrelton Simmons On Restricted List, Select Nick Vincent

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The Twins have selected the contract of veteran righty Nick Vincent from Triple-A St. Paul and placed shortstop Andrelton Simmons on the restricted list, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Minnesota has also reinstated outfielder Brent Rooker from the paternity list and optioned lefty Andrew Albers to Triple-A.

Simmons’ placement on the restricted list is due to visa-related issues, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). He’s in the process of establishing permanent residency in the United States but would reset that process by traveling to Toronto, so he’ll miss the entire Jays series. Presumably, shortstop duties will fall to utilityman Nick Gordon in Simmons’ absence. Jorge Polanco, the Twins’ former everyday shortstop who moved to second base this year, could certainly pick up some reps there as well, if needed.

It’s been an ugly year at the plate for Simmons, who signed a one-year, $10.5MM contract with the Twins over the winter. He’s batting a career-worst .223/.285/.277 (58 wRC+) with just 15 extra-base hits (12 doubles, three homers) through 390 plate appearances. Defensive Runs Saved (10) and Outs Above Average (15) still rank him among the game’s best defensive players, but the 2021 campaign marks a third consecutive season of below-average offense for the 32-year-old.

This will be Vincent’s second stint with the Twins this season. The 35-year-old was sharp in his prior look, holding opponents to one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts through 4 1/3 frames of relief. He’s spent the bulk of the season with the Triple-A affiliates for the Twins and Rangers, pitching to a combined 4.40 ERA with 28.4 percent strikeout rate and a 6.6 percent walk rate.

Vincent has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past ten seasons. He’s been a consistent and seemingly underappreciated option over the years, logging a lifetime 3.37 ERA with a 24.2 percent strikeout rate and a 6.1 percent walk rate. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in eight of his ten MLB seasons (this year’s small sample included) and recorded identical 4.43 marks in the other two campaigns.

Royals Place Brady Singer On Injured List, Select Jon Heasley

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The Royals have placed right-hander Brady Singer on the injured list and selected the contract of right-hander Jon Heasley from Double-A Northwest Arkansas, per a club announcement. An injury designation was not provided for Singer. The Royals already had a full 40-man roster but did not announce a corresponding move, suggesting that Singer is going on the Covid-19-related IL.

Heasley is expected to start tonight’s game in Singer’s place, tweets Alec Lewis of The Athletic. The 6’3″, 225-pound righty was Kansas City’s 13th-round pick back in the 2018 draft and has turned in a solid season in Double-A thus far. Through 105 1/3 innings, the 24-year-old had pitched to a 3.33 ERA with a 27.7 percent strikeout rate, a 7.9 percent walk rate and a 38.9 percent ground-ball rate.

Baseball America ranked Heasley as the Royals’ No. 17 prospect on its midseason reranking of the team’s farm system, and he’s listed 14th over at MLB.com. Both reports praise Heasley’s high-spin four-seamer, which tops out at 97 mph, and an above-average curveball. He throws a changeup and slider as well. Heasley hasn’t drawn as much national fanfare as teammates like Singer, Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch and Kris Bubic, but he gives Kansas City yet another young, MLB-ready rotation candidate for 2022 and beyond.

The Royals didn’t specify whether Heasley is being selected as a Covid-related replacement player for Singer, though making that designation would allow the team to return Heasley to the minors without needing to first pass him through waivers. However, Heasley would be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason if not on the 40-man roster, so it’s likely the Royals would’ve added him within the next two months or so anyhow.

Singer, 25, is third on the Royals in both innings pitched and games started, trailing only Mike Minor and Brad Keller in that regard. He’s taken a step back from last season’s solid rookie debut, pitching to a 4.85 ERA with a 22.4 percent strikeout rate and 9.2 percent walk rate — both slightly worse than league-average — through 120 2/3 frames. Singer has been hampered by a .347 average on balls in play, however — an 87-point increase over last season’s .260 mark despite giving up less hard contact than he did a year ago. Metrics like FIP and SIERA feel he’s been essentially the same pitcher as in 2020, pegging him in the low-4.00 range.

Reds Activate Jesse Winker From IL, Release Brad Brach

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The Reds announced Friday that outfielder Jesse Winker has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Fellow outfielder Tyler Naquin will head to the IL in his place due to bruised ribs, thus opening a spot on the active roster. Meanwhile, veteran right-hander Brad Brach, who was designated for assignment Monday, has been released.

Winker, 28, went down with an intercostal strain more than a month ago. His absence from the lineup has clearly been felt, as what was a powerhouse offense for Cincinnati early in the season now ranks 28th in the Majors with 96 runs scored over the past 30 days. Obviously, there’s more at play than just Winker’s injury with such a glaring downturn, but he’s been a huge part of the Reds lineup, batting .307/.395/.560 with 24 home runs, 32 doubles and a triple through 481 plate appearances.

The 30-year-old Naquin was one of the Reds’ best hitters early in the season and, after a prolonged slump, heated back up for a blistering three week stretch to close out the month of August. From Aug. 11-30, he turned in a ridiculous .420/.474/.812 batting line with six homers, seven doubles and a triple through 76 plate appearances. He’s been banged up recently, however, missing much of the past week after a collision with teammate Jose Barrero. Naquin’s IL stint is retroactive to Sept. 14, so he can return in a week’s time if his ribs have healed sufficiently.

Brach, 35, was designated for assignment Monday after a rough stretch out of the Cincinnati ’pen. He got out to a brilliant start with the Reds, firing 20 innings of 2.25 ERA ball with a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a 54.9 percent ground-ball rate. His past 15 outings, however, have been an immense struggle. He’s totaled just 10 innings in that time and been tagged for 16 runs on 17 hits and nine walks with nine strikeouts. He missed a month of action himself due to a shoulder impingement, so it’s certainly possible he wasn’t pitching at 100 percent during that rapid downturn.

Cincinnati is 3-7 over its past 10 games and has lost possession of an NL Wild Card spot in recent days. The division-rival Cardinals hold a one-game lead over the Reds for that second spot, and the Padres are also a half-game up on the Reds as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Chris Taylor And The Ben Zobrist Contract

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Much ink has already been spilled, or pixels illuminated, about the upcoming offseason and the superclass of shortstops. Even though the Mets extended Francisco Lindor and took one of the most intriguing names out of the pool, it’s still going to feature such marquee names as Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Javier Baez and Marcus Semien. But there’s one name that’s also on the list that is sometimes overlooked. If you’ve read the headline to this piece, then you already know I’m talking about Chris Taylor.

Perhaps the reason Taylor doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of that group is that he’s not exactly an everyday shortstop like the rest of them. (Semien has been playing mostly second base this year, but only because of the presence of Bo Bichette next to him. He could very easily return to shortstop duty with a new club next season.) Taylor is more of a utility guy who is capable of playing some shortstop, if needed. He’s appeared at the position in each of the past eight seasons, but never more than 81 games. Also, he reached that number back in 2018. In 2019, that number dropped to 39. In the shortened 2020 season, it was 20 games, exactly one third of the 60-game reduced schedule. This year, it’s only been 22 games so far. The fact that he’s not considered an everyday option is at least somewhat borne out by statistics. To give one example, of the 46 players to log at least 1000 innings at shortstop over the past five years, Taylor’s UZR/150 of -7.5 ranks 43rd, in the vicinity of guys who don’t play at short much anymore, such as Aledmys Diaz and Manny Machado.

Still, even though he’s not an everyday option, he has versatility, which is something teams love. Taylor has also played second base, third base and all three outfield positions this year, meaning that he could conceivably be plugged into the lineup of any team in the league and move around to their area of greatest need. That could potentially give him tremendous leverage in free agency this winter, just as it did for Ben Zobrist six years ago. Zobrist was able to use that vast market to net himself a four-year, $56MM contract with the Cubs in December of 2015. Could Chris Taylor get something like that? Well, let’s compare.

For starters, Taylor will have a distinct advantage over Zobrist in one category: age. Zobrist was set to turn 35 in May of 2016, shortly after making his Cubs debut. Taylor just turned 31 two weeks ago. Taylor will be 3 1/2 years younger while on the market this winter than Zobrist was back in 2015, meaning a team could potentially be willing to put an even longer contract in front of Taylor.

Secondly, in terms of defense, although Zobrist had shortstop experience, he didn’t play there in 2015. Then he only logged 15 innings at shortstop over the course of his time with the Cubs. Clearly, the club wasn’t expecting him to provide significant time there. Nor was he an option in center field. His last action there was seven games for the Rays in 2014. Taylor, on the other hand, has played 56 games in center this season and 181 over the past five years. Although much was made of Zobrist’s versatility, he was primarily a second baseman and corner outfielder by the time he signed with the Cubs. Due to Taylor’s ability to play almost everywhere, including premium positions like shortstop and center field, he brings more versatility to the table than Zobrist did at that time.

That’s age and defense, but what about the bat? Since becoming an everyday player in 2017, Taylor has played in 610 games and logged 2,349 plate appearances over those five seasons. His line in that time is .266/.344/.464, which amounts to a wRC+ of 118. In the five years leading up to Zobrist’s contract, he played 742 games and logged 3,229 plate appearances, with a line of .272/.359/.437, wRC+ of 124. Zobrist has the higher batting average but Taylor has more power and ends up with fairly similar production overall.

That’s being a bit unfair to Zobrist because it leaves out his monster 2009 season wherein he hit .297/.405/.543 for a wRC+ of 152 and produced 8.7 fWAR. However, that was a distant memory by the time the Cubs signed Zobrist heading into the 2016 season. You don’t sign a player who’s about to turn 35 based on what he did when he was 28. However, by the same token, one could argue that we shouldn’t be including Taylor’s excellent 2017 season because he was 26 then but is 31 now. If we shrink the sample down to the three years before free agency, Zobrist’s line is .274/.356/413, wRC+ of 117, whereas Taylor’s line is .262/.345/.459, wRC+ of 117.

Okay, so, Taylor is like a younger and more versatile version of 2015-2016 Zobrist, and very similar with the bat. One major unknown at the moment, though, is what kind of momentum he will bring into the offseason. One thing I’ve failed to mention thus far is that Zobrist entered free agency on the heels of an excellent playoff performance, having just helped the Royals win the 2015 World Series. In that postseason, Zobrist played in 16 games, garnering 75 plate appearances, producing a line of .303/.365/.515, wRC+ of 133.

Taylor is in the opposite position right now, slumping terribly over the past month. Since August 13th, he’s hitting .136/.217/.272, wRC+ of 34. It seems this slide could at least be somewhat chalked up to a neck injury that has kept Taylor out of action for almost a week now. But the Dodgers haven’t placed him on the injured list, which suggests they don’t think it’s terribly serious. Teams are surely able to overlook a small, injury-caused slump amidst a solid five-year run of success. Though it would certainly help Taylor’s earning power if he could prove that’s all it is by getting back to being healthy and productive. The window for him to do that is getting narrow, however, since there’s just over two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Dodgers have already clinched a playoff berth of some kind, but they’re 1 1/2 games behind the Giants in the race for the NL West crown, meaning they’re guaranteed only one postseason game.

Another wrinkle is the qualifying offer. Zobrist was traded mid-season in 2015, making him ineligible for it. Taylor, on the other hand, will most likely receive one, assuming his long-term health outlook is okay. That means that any team signing him would have to forfeit their second-highest draft pick, or third-highest, if they are a revenue-sharing recipient. That would certainly dampen his market somewhat.

Taking all of that into account, where does that leave us? Zobrist got four years, $56MM, which is an average annual value of $14MM. Taylor will be more versatile and almost as good at the plate. Bake in a few years of inflation and Taylor could aim for a few extra million per year. Because of his age, and assuming no lingering questions about his health, maybe he gets five years instead of four. So, does some team go to five years, $80MM? That certainly feels high, especially given that DJ LeMahieu just got $90MM from the Yankees before this season. (LeMahieu is also older and less versatile than Taylor but was coming off a tremendous two-year stretch at the plate.)

Perhaps the qualifying offer knocks that down some and Taylor actually can’t quite get to Zobrist levels. Maybe this is a bit too optimistic in Taylor’s favor. Still, despite his recent slump, Taylor’s wRC+ is currently sitting at 118 for the season. Baez is at 121. Trevor Story is at 99. Taylor might not be as much of a household name as those two, but his earning power might be closer to them than you think.

Injury Notes: Cronenworth, Cruz, Baz, Odorizzi

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After suffering a small fracture in his left ring finger after being hit by a Julio Urias pitch on September 10, Jake Cronenworth’s status was in question, though the Padres were holding off putting Cronenworth on the injured list.  It now looks like the utilityman will return this week for the Padres’ critical series with the Cardinals, San Diego manager Jayce Tingler told The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and other reporters.  The versatile Cronenworth has mostly played second base and shortstop this season, and Tingler said that Cronenworth could see action at both positions as well as some first base time.

Between an All-Star appearance this season and a second-place finish in the 2020 NL Rookie Of The Year vote, Cronenworth has emerged as a big force in San Diego’s lineup.  Beyond just his multi-positional ability, the 27-year-old has also batted .274/.350/.369 with 24 homers in his first 773 plate appearances at the MLB level, and this season took another step forward by hitting left-handed pitching almost as well as he has performed against right-handers.  Though Cronenworth (like pretty many of the Padres) had been in a hitting slump over the last few weeks, he had collected two hits in each of the three games prior to his injury.

More injury updates from around baseball….

  • Nelson Cruz left tonight’s game due to a right forearm contusion after being hit by a Tyler Alexander pitch.  X-rays were negative on Cruz, and Rays manager Kevin Cash told The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin (Twitter link) and other reporters that the slugger should be “fully available” for tomorrow’s game against the Tigers.  That said, Cruz might not play just for precautionary reasons and because Cash said Cruz might have been due for an off-day even before the minor injury.  After being acquired in a July trade with the Twins, Cruz got off to a slow start in Tampa, but has started to heat up again over the last couple of weeks.
  • After Shane Baz was scratched from a Triple-A start today, there was speculation that the Rays might give the star pitching prospect his big league debut during this series against Detroit.  However, reporter Patrick Kinas tweets that Baz was actually scratched due to back spasms, though the issue might only sideline Baz for a few days.  Baz has only continued to impress since making his Triple-A debut earlier this season, as the right-hander has a 1.76 ERA and a very impressive strikeout (36%) and walk (6.2%) rates over 46 innings with the Durham Bulls.  MLB Pipeline ranks Baz as the 20th-best prospect in the game, and he stands out as a very intriguing x-factor of a weapon for the Rays heading into the playoffs.
  • The Astros placed Jake Odorizzi on the 10-day injured list earlier this week due to a foot injury, and Odorizzi more directly described the issue to reporters (including The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome) as “a mid-foot sprain.”  The injury was caused by a “flukey” bad step that forced Odorizzi out of Monday’s game in the second inning.  Fortunately, Odorizzi didn’t think the problem was serious, and the right-hander believes he’ll be able to return from the IL when first eligible on September 24.

Phillies Notes: Realmuto, Gregorius, Neris

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Trailing 7-0 after three innings against the Cubs today, the Phillies ended up rolling to a 17-8 blowout win.  It wasn’t a perfect day for the Phillies, however, as J.T. Realmuto is “sore” after being hit by a pitch in his left elbow/triceps area, manager Joe Girardi told NBC Sports’ Jim Salisbury and other reporters.  X-rays were negative on Realmuto though he might be held out of the lineup tomorrow as a precaution.

Realmuto already had to hit out Tuesday’s game after receiving an injection in his bothersome right shoulder, and needless to say, the Phillies can hardly afford to lose one of their best hitters while in the thick of the playoff race.  Realmuto was 1-for-4 with two RBI in today’s victory, bumping his slash line up to .267/.353/.443 over 479 plate appearances this season.

The latest from Philly….

  • “It’s been frustrating basically the whole year with what’s going on,” Didi Gregorius told Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer, as the shortstop said a misdiagnosed elbow injury and then lingering elbow soreness have led to his underwhelming performance.  Gregorius spent over six weeks of the season on the injured list due to a form of arthritis in his right elbow known as pseudogout, though he was initially listed as having only an elbow impingement, and the pseudogout diagnosis wasn’t known until Gregorius had already missed around three weeks.  Even after returning from the IL on July 2, the Phillies shortstop said he continues to feel lingering soreness in his elbow.  Gregorius said his personal doctor felt that a COVID-19 vaccine could be responsible for the elbow issues, as Gregorius said the soreness developed shortly after he was vaccinated in late April.  However, Gregorius also noted that his doctor “didn’t give me like 100%” certainty that the vaccine was the cause, and Breen quotes two other medical experts who state that there was little to no evidence that vaccination would lead to gout or pseudogout, and certainly not a case that continues to linger for months.  (Breen writes that the Phillies “declined to comment on Gregorius’ claim about the vaccine.”)  Gregorius’ own doctors have recommended an arthroscopic procedure to fix his elbow once and for all, though somewhat curiously, Gregorius hasn’t yet discussed offseason treatment plans with the Phillies or their medical staff.  Gregorius came into today’s action hitting only .217/.276/.377 over 351 plate appearances.
  • In another COVID-related item, the Phillies announced that 85% of players and staff at the big league and Triple-A levels have been fully vaccinated.  This meets the league threshold for relaxed coronavirus protocols, such as less social distancing within the clubhouse and less travel restrictions.  The exact number of MLB teams to meet the 85% threshold isn’t officially known, though the Phils are known to be one of the last teams to reach that number.
  • Hector Neris is a free agent this winter but “I have been available all the time” for a potential reunion with the Phillies, the reliever tells The Athletic’s Matt Gelb.  The struggling Phils bullpen figures to undergo a major overhaul, so re-signing Neris could be a possibility just because he has pitched well on the whole this year, if not well enough to keep his job as closer back in June.  Neris has posted a very strong 31.4% strikeout rate but a below-average 9.5% walk rate while posting a 3.39 ERA over 63 2/3 innings.  Neris is open about pitching in any bullpen role with his next team, saying “You have to try to help the team where you are….If you are flexible, if you are a guy a team can use everywhere, you are more valuable.”

Poll: Who Will Be The NL’s Second Wild Card Team?

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The Giants and Dodgers have both booked their tickets to the 2021 playoffs, though it remains to be seen which club will be NL West champions and which will have to walk the one-game tightrope that is the wild card game.  While the identity of the first NL wild card entry is an either/or situation, the battle for that second wild card slot is still completely wide-open with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season.

The Cardinals held a one-game lead in the standings heading into today’s action, and since the Cards aren’t playing today, they’ll still retain at least a half-game edge when they resume play tomorrow in a crucial three-game series against the Padres.  St. Louis wasn’t even a .500 team (53-55) on August 5, but the team has since gone 23-14 to re-establish itself as a contender.  Both Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill have been on fire at the plate since that August 5 date, while Adam Wainwright has continued to turn back the clock with an excellent season.  The Cardinals were criticized for a lack of big moves at the trade deadline, though new additions Jon Lester and J.A. Happ have been solid enough to help stabilize the rotation.  Following the three games with San Diego, the Cardinals’ remaining schedule is entirely against the Brewers and Cubs.

The Padres enter that pivotal St. Louis series going in the opposite direction.  For much of the season, it looked like both NL wild card slots would come from the West division, as San Diego battled alongside the Giants and Dodgers for supremacy.  However, San Diego’s 22-30 record since the All-Star break has left the Padres battling just to get into the postseason.  It has been more or less a team-wide funk over those 52 games, as the Padres rank 24th in baseball in both wRC+ (92) and pitching fWAR (2.5) in the second half, though the rotation at least has the excuse of multiple injuries.  It doesn’t help that the Padres also have a very tough remaining schedule — all of their remaining games are against the Cardinals, Giants, Dodgers, and Braves.

Even after today’s 1-0 victory over the Pirates, the Reds still have just five wins in their last 17 games, stumbling back in the standings after a nice surge in late July and early August.  Speaking of scheduling, Cincinnati hasn’t done well to take advantage of some weaker opponents, as that 17-game window has included losing series to such weaker opponents as the Marlins, Cubs, Tigers, and Pirates (and a 2-4 record against the Cardinals).  With 10 remaining games against the Pirates and Nationals, the Reds’ schedule still offers plenty of opportunity to bank wins, and the impending return of Jesse Winker should be a major boost to the Cincinnati lineup.

The Phillies still have a shot at the NL East even if they can’t capture the wild card, but after going 2-6 in their last eight games, the bottom line is that Philadelphia needs to get hot in a hurry.  The Phils begin a three-game set against the Mets tomorrow and face the Braves in a three-game series at the end of September, but the schedule is otherwise not difficult on paper — 10 games against the Orioles, Pirates, and Marlins.  While the bullpen and the back of the rotation continue to be an issue for the Phillies, MVP candidate Bryce Harper is doing his best to try and carry this inconsistent team into the playoffs.

The old “Miracle Mets” nickname might need to be dusted off if 72-75 New York can somehow squeak into the playoffs as either a wild card or as the NL East champions.  The Mets are five games out of the division lead and 5.5 games out of the wild card entering today, leaving them with essentially no margin for error the rest of the way.  Losing this series with the Phillies might all but officially end the Mets’ chances, but nine games against the Braves, Brewers, and Red Sox still loom on the upcoming schedule.

Just to cover our bases, the NL East-leading Braves will also be included in the poll just in case the Phillies or Mets do steal the division.  (Though one would imagine that in that scenario, the Braves would have to slump badly enough to take them out of wild card contention as well.)  Following a scorching hot 16-2 stretch in August, Atlanta is only 8-12 over its last 20 games, which is just enough to make things interesting in September.  The Braves end their season with six games against the Phillies and Mets, and also have a ten-game road trip featuring six games against the Padres and Giants sandwiched around a four-game set with the cellar-dwelling Diamondbacks.

Who do you think will capture that second wild card slot? (Link to poll for app users)

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/16/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball….

  • The Athletics announced that Burch Smith has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, after clearing waivers.  Smith was designated for assignment two days ago, and while he could have elected free agency (as a player who has been previously outrighted in his career), the 31-year-old will remain in the Oakland organization.  Smith has a 5.40 ERA over 43 1/3 relief innings this season, as while Smith has cut down on the home runs and walks that plagued him earlier in his career, he is missing far fewer bats than usual in 2021.  Smith has only a 14.9% strikeout rate this season, after posting a 23.1% strikeout rate over his first 147 2/3 innings in the majors.
  • The Nationals announced that infielder Adrian Sanchez cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.  Like Smith, Sanchez also could have declined the assignment since he was previously outrighted, as the Nats cut him from their 40-man last October.  Sanchez was DFA’ed earlier his week after hitting .257/.316/.314 over 38 plate appearances for Washington, all since being added to the active roster following the trade deadline.  Though he just turned 31 last month, Sanchez is already in his 14th season in the Nationals organization, appearing in 106 Major League games since the start of the 2017 season.

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