With the 2023 regular season around 15% complete, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. Marquee pitching matchup in Chicago tonight:
The Rays are headed to the south side of Chicago this evening for the beginning of a three game set against the White Sox. The series will open with a pitchers’ duel between aces, with Tampa Bay sending lefty Shane McClanahan (1.86 ERA) to the mound to face right-hander Dylan Cease (2.73 ERA). The White Sox return to their home ballpark looking to stop a seven-game losing streak, but to do so they’ll have to beat a Rays club that swept them as recently as this past weekend. The Rays, meanwhile, have the best winning percentage in the majors with a fantastic 20-5 record, though the club is coming off its second series loss of the season against the Astros. The game will begin at 6:10pm CT.
2. MRIs scheduled for Marquez, Maeda:
A pair of right-handers are set to undergo MRIs today. Rockies right-hander German Marquez exited yesterday’s game, his first start since returning from the injured list due to a forearm issue, after just 58 pitches due to a triceps injury. Significant missed time for Marquez would be a major concern for a Rockies club that has few quality rotation options beyond the injured right-hander, lefty Kyle Freeland, and perhaps 26-year-old Noah Davis. Further complicating matters is Marquez’s contract situation, as the club holds a net $13.5MM decision on a $16MM option ($2.5MM buyout) for Marquez’s services in the 2024 campaign.
In the American League, Twins veteran Kenta Maeda is set to undergo an MRI of his own after feeling soreness in his elbow during yesterday’s start against the Yankees. After missing the entire 2022 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, the 35-year-old Maeda was tagged for a whopping 10 runs in yesterday’s outing, ballooning his ERA to 9.00 (16 runs in 16 innings). Fortunately for the Twins, the club is deep in potential rotation options who could take over in the event that Maeda misses time, with right-hander Bailey Ober standing as the likely top option. Ober, who posted a solid 3.21 ERA and an even stronger 2.92 FIP in 11 starts last season, came up to the majors for a fill-in start last week and allowed just one run over 5 2/3 innings of work.
3. MLB debuts pending for Bolton, Cosgrove:
The Pirates and Padres each called up a pitcher yesterday who has yet to make their MLB debut. The Pirates, who saw minor league veteran Drew Maggi make his big league debut just yesterday after 13 seasons in the minors, selected the contract of right-hander Cody Bolton yesterday. Bolton, 25 in June, was a longtime starting pitching prospect who recently converted to relief, and has posted a 2.58 ERA at the Triple-A level when coming out of the bullpen. Meanwhile, the Padres recalled lefty Tom Cosgrove, who was added to the 40-man roster this past offseason ahead of the Rule 5 draft. Cosgrove struggled in his first taste of work at Triple-A last year, but has opened the 2023 season with 7 1/3 scoreless innings of work.
Would the White Sox trade Cease this year?
@2012orioles
They need to trade the whole team and do a complete reboot.
2012orioles: Hopefully not, but if they did, the O’s wouldn’t be a bad team to be traded to. Also, the Sox/Rays series is four games, as if things couldn’t get worse for the Sox.
The White Sox’s BEST players are ALWAYS out with injury. Tim Anderson, in particular, misses as many games as he plays.
They would need to trade the owner for it to do any good.
The scary thing about this question is that it is April 27th and it is not a completely ridiculous subject to bring up.
Yeah. I’m shocked how bad they’ve been. I thought they’d win the central. Still early, but they can’t do anything it seems. So much talent on that roster
The one that bugs me the most is Andrew Vaughn’s start. I just thought he’d take off going to a natural position and being comfortable.
As for those of the “so much talent” on the roster—-and I mean all of them—Eloy, Robert, Grandal, Moncada, et al—they just have stretches (long ones) where they just don’t seem to care, don’t hustle, appear lazy. They just don’t look like “baseball players” that want to play the game the right way.
Maybe after all is said and done 2021 was the outlier when they were good.
A lot of people thought Vaughn would step into Abreus shoes and have no problem filling them. Been saying all along Vaughn would be lucky to have one season better than Abreus worst
Two-plus years of controll for one of the best starters in the league would net the White Sox quite a haul. Sadly though, i think most people (myself included) don’t have faith in Hahn to actually make a good deal
It’d be interesting to see the Rockies take a chance on MadBum.
Looking for the Padres to go after more pitching around the all-star break, and maybe try and pry Ohtani from the Angels.. If they can make a deal with the Angels I also see them maybe trading Soto and Snell.
Obtaining Ohtani seems “possible” in the realm of things… but why trade Soto and Snell?
Tom Cosgrove in no way, shape or form struggled in AAA last year. He dealt at both AA and AAA.
Agreed, he was shoving all year. I read that and shook my head in a quizzical manner. He was R5 protected for good reasons.
So. with all the rule changes favoring base runners, is there any increase in the use of pitchouts?