Seiya Suzuki was a late scratch from the Cubs lineup, as the team announced to reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times) that the outfielder was dealing with left oblique tightness. More will be known about Suzuki once he completes some tests, though for now, there is certainly concern over his status given the rather wide range of recovery timelines associated with oblique injuries. Even if Suzuki’s issue is relatively minor, it might create an immediate problem with his planned participation on Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic.
A finger sprain cost Suzuki about six weeks of his first MLB season, but he still hit a solid .262/.336/.433 with 14 homers over 446 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2022. More will be expected from Suzuki in his sophomore year (especially for a Cubs team that plans to be more competitive) but the first order of business is to make sure that he’s healthy and that his oblique injury doesn’t lead to much missed time.
Some more notes on both Windy City teams…
- The Mets and Phillies were the other finalists for Jameson Taillon, as the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes that Philadelphia offered Taillon slightly more than the four years and $68MM he received from the Cubs. Since Taijuan Walker signed with the Phils for four years and $72MM, it could be that the Phillies offered similar deals to both pitchers and either Walker accepted first, or perhaps Taillon opted for Chicago’s offer instead. However, Taillon said that “I thought I was going to be a Met for a while,” indicating that New York was also strongly in the running. The mutual interest between both Taillon and the Cubs may have been the deciding factor, as “the Cubs made a really strong first impression” on the first day of free agency, and the team “made it clear from day one I was a top priority. If you can nerd-out and talk pitching with me, that really works for me. They showed me a good plan. It’s been exciting.”
- The White Sox are tentatively aiming for May as Garrett Crochet’s return date from Tommy John rehab, as per MLB.com’s Sox-specific injuries and transactions page. Crochet underwent the TJ surgery last April, so the 13-month layoff would fit within the procedure’s usual recovery timeline. The Sox have already said that Crochet will work as a reliever when he returns, so he’ll need to build less arm strength than a pitcher who was returning to a starting role. Crochet is slated to move from two bullpen sessions per week to one high-intensity bullpen session per week, with an eye towards pitching in game action during extended Spring Training and then a minor league rehab assignment.
Walker and Taillon aren’t difference makers. They’re 5 inning pitchers on a good day. The Mets were lucky to have been “outbid” in both cases. The Ghost Fork is coming…
Glad you can convince yourself so easily that every Mets move was the best move. Must help when it comes to rationalizing why your team loses every year.
Five good innings helps most teams. The real question is which team’s pitchers can stay healthy.
Healthy is the main criteria, but can we raise starting pitcher expectations above 5 innings? It used to be you expected 5 out of an emergency starter, when the scheduled starter got a sudden bout of the flu and couldn’t go. Now, averaging 5 innings gets you Cy Young consideration.
but can we raise starting pitcher expectations above 5 innings?
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I don’t think that can be done. It is already > 5 with 5.2, but more importantly, the times through the lineup declines from:
1st .688 OPS
2nd .719
3rd .770
The 1st time thru the lineup for an RP is .689. That’s a 81 point difference.
Yeah keep telling yourself that as your geriatric pitching staff drops one by one this season and Cohen eventually gets tired of seeing his money pissed away. Mets are the most incompetent team in baseball.
@Steve Cohen Owns You: I am a Mets fan as well, but don’t discount Walker. He’s not a big strikeout ace like Scherzer, Verlander, Nola, or Wheeler, but he has cut his walk rate and gives up fewer than a hit per inning, posting a respectable sub-1.2 WHIP. He is a plus no. 3 or 4 guy who can give the Phillies a strong rotation, especially if Andrew Painter shows he’s ready.
The NY Post also did an article on Dansby Swanson was almost a Met too. There’s a new term Cub envy not to be confused with male envy lol
Apparently everyone was almost a Met this past winter
And everyone IS a Padre.
Outside of shortstop, that team is not deep.
“Outside of the most difficult and valuable infield position, the team isn’t deep” isn’t the own you think it is. And depth at SS means they also have depth at every infield position, plus OF spots with Tatis able to go back and forth.
Has not translated to winning a pennant. If does not happen this season there is a chemistry issue. Uncle Steve has purchased a nice team however they also have the same problem.
As long as you keep Tatis out of GNC, You’ll be fine.
The Mets had great chemistry last year. What makes you so sure they didn’t, don’t know and won’t in the future.
Nothing.
Considering the pitch clock and how little time a pitcher has between pitches I wonder about their stamina when they start pitching in summer heat. No chance to recoup between pitches any more. A few innings from a four or five inning starter now used in relief could become a valuable commodity.
Rich Hill & Wade Miley won’t be affected at all.
It’ll be interesting to see how Crochet rebounds. He could be a difference maker in the pen for them this year, if he hasn’t lost any velocity, and then shift back to the rotation again next year. Hopefully for you Chicago fans they won’t be as dysfunctional as last year and end up closer to the top of the division instead of battling my Tigers and KC for the bottom.
Meh, Crochet being healthy, staying that way, and pitching well is just another Hope or What if to throw on the pile for this org. I am tired of having a baseball season dictated by hopes and what ifs.. I get that, technically, all teams go through this, but you have orgs out there who clearly have done, or tried to do, everything it took to get better, if the player fails, that is on them.. The Sox org is an org that spends all its days rubbing a rabbits foot through the off season.
Pretty much everything went wrong for the Sox last year between injuries, bad coaching, terrible fundamentals, giving up at several points during the season, no plan at the plate, and more…and they still went .500. About the only things that went better than expected were Cease’s and Cueto’s years. So .500 is probably a floor for them. If you consider only starters (both position players and pitchers), the Sox have as much talent as anyone in the division, but they haven’t fully tapped into it yet and they’re very thin after these starters. They’re probably the biggest boom or bust team in the division, maybe in the AL.
Happy Mets passed on Walker and Taillon. Would rather have Senga.
Atta boy 222, you must know something.
Not me. I’d rather have Walker or Taillon. Senga is a complete unknown when it comes to MLB.
Why not Senga and one of Walker or Taillon?
Sure, why not?
For similar money, I am not sure why anyone would choose the Cubs over the NYM or Philly. The Cubs are coming around, but they are a bit away from being a playoff contender, let alone a WS aspirant.
They chose the Cubs, because wearing blue pinstripes on the North Side provides the feels of big market swagger and a great, loyal fanbase, but without near the intense pressure of being under a spotlight in NYC and/or the Phils in a town where both their football & baseball teams have pressure regrouping from League Championships.
I would argue that the Cubs have a sneaky potential to be hanging around in October with the other NL Central clubs
You spelled May wrong
Possibly because of the coaching staff and pitch lab, the facilities in Arizona, the fans, Wrigley Field, the beautiful city of Chicago.
Jameson has expressed desire to return to the NL central where it started for him.
When your contact is tens of millions of dollars, personal comfort is worth a mil here or there I suppose.
It’s easy for us to imagine taking the most money offered, but we “presumably” don’t have tens of millions in the bank already with a commitment for many more deposits.
Possibly not playing in certain cities, or on teams with certain players is also a factor. Personal biases which could effect comfort level which effects performance which eventually effects earning potential, etc..
So you can stop saying it’s hard to imagine, it’s very easy to flat out understand by using basic logic.
It’s also very easy to understand the difference between when to use “affect” and “effect”.
Oblique injuries…so unpredictable as far as time missed. Wish him a speedy recovery despite being a rival. Good ballplayer.
Everyone hating on the Mets these days because they’ve got money. Never been a loved group of fans, but the level of hate and jealousy right now is just huge haha.
Not sure about the rest of the league, but we’re having a blast here in Queens!