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Ohtani Struggles To Put Hitters Away, Allows Season-High Hits Against Astros

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Shohei Ohtani made his first start in June on Saturday night against the Astros in Minute Maid Park. The Japanese superstar gave up nine hits, which ties a season-high and MLB career-high in hits allowed, and gave up five runs in six innings. Ohtani was once again outdueled by Astros’ ace Framber Valdez, who tossed seven scoreless frames. 

Despite solid outings against the Twins and the Marlins in the last two games, this game places Ohtani at a 5.02 ERA in his last seven starts. Ohtani’s ERA for the season is now at 3.42, but he’s maintaining a career-high strikeout rate of 33.8% and holding hitters to a .185 batting average. 

Although he recorded six strikeouts, Ohtani struggled to put hitters away. Five of the nine hits came from a two-strike count. 

“I feel like if I would’ve gotten more strikeouts, the momentum would’ve gone our way. But that wasn’t the case,” said Ohtani. 

Shaky defense in the first inning did not help Ohtani, with third baseman Gio Urshela fumbling a ground ball and throwing it into the dugout to get Jeremy Peña on second base. Ohtani got two strikes on Astros’ star slugger Yordan Alvarez, but hung a sweeper in the heart of the plate, which Alvarez took deep to make it a quick 2-0 game. 

Halos skipper Phil Nevin questioned Ohtani’s pitch selection after the game. 

“When he [Alvarez] sees a pitch like that in the zone, he usually doesn’t miss them the second time,” Nevin said. “It was just in a bad spot. There are some pitch selection things we’ll need to talk about. His stuff was there.”

Ohtani had pivoted from the sweeper and relied more on his other pitches including the splitter and cutter in recent starts, but the sweeper usage was back up to 36% against the Astros.

Ohtani came back in the second inning and struck out the side, and proceeded to retire the next 10 hitters. He got into trouble in the fourth, giving up three consecutive hits to load the bases. Ohtani escaped the inning on a weak groundball off of a checked swing. 

The fifth inning provided more trouble, and this time Ohtani was unable to escape. After a two-out walk, Ohtani gave up back-to-back singles and allowed the third run to score. He gave up two more runs in the sixth inning off of a Corey Julks two-run blast. 

Astros skipper Dusty Baker thought that Ohtani wasn’t at his best Saturday night. 

“This guy is one of the best around,” said Baker. “But he wasn’t as sharp tonight as we’ve seen him in the past.”

Ohtani will look to bounce back from this tough start against the Mariners at home on Friday, June 9 at 9:38 PM EST/ 6:38 PM PT.  

Ohtani Ks 10 For The Fourth Time This Season

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Angels ace Shohei Ohtani took the mound against the Marlins in Anaheim Saturday night for his 11th start of the season. The Japanese right-hander tossed six solid innings, allowing six singles and just one earned run while striking out 10 hitters. Ohtani’s season ERA is now at 2.91 and he leads the American League with 90 strikeouts in 65 total innings. 

It was not the best start for Ohtani on Saturday, as he made a throwing error to first after making a play on a ground ball to his right. This mistake came back to haunt Ohtani, as Yuli Gurriel drove in the runner with a two-out single.

Ohtani then settled into the game, retiring eight of the next nine hitters faced, fanning four of them. He ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing consecutive singles to open the inning. It seemed like he was going escape the jam after getting Jonathan Davis to ground out into a double play to shortstop, however, he walked the next hitter and gave up a two-out RBI single to Luis Arraez. 

“It wasn’t good, wasn’t bad. At least I got through six innings so that was good, but I could’ve done better in the situations that I allowed those runs,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani wrapped up his outing by striking out the final four hitters faced and finished with 109 pitches, his second-highest total on the season. Control issues affected Ohtani, who issued three walks, preventing him from being as efficient as he wanted to be. 

“Walking three hitters feels pretty wasteful,” Ohtani said. 

Ohtani’s sweeper usage was back up to 39% in this start, compared to the last few starts where he did not throw it more than 30%. He got 12 whiffs from the sweeper, which was back to looking like his best pitch. Seven of his strikeouts came from the sweeper. The splitter was ineffective on Saturday, with both RBI singles coming off of a splitter. Ohtani was unable to get any whiffs from the splitter in eight swings.  

“The movement [of the splitter] itself isn’t bad, I think the location is the problem,” Ohtani said. 

The average horizontal movement of Ohtani’s splitter was up to 10 inches compared to the season average of seven inches, according to Baseball Savant.

Ohtani’s six innings were not enough for the Angels, however, who lost 8-5 in extra innings. Despite the recent rough patch after his blistering hot start to the season, Ohtani has been a stabilizing presence in an otherwise inconsistent Angels rotation.

Ohtani will face the Astros for an AL West showdown on June 2 at 8:10 PM EST/5:10 PM PT for his next start.

The Opener: Postponements, Alonso, Adell

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As the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world:

1. Make-up games after air quality postponements:

MLB postponed the Yankees’ home game against the White Sox and the Phillies’ home game against the Tigers yesterday due to air quality concerns stemming from wildfires burning across Canada, the smoke from which has begun to pollute the air all across the northeastern United States recently. The teams figure to make up the games today. The game in Philadelphia will begin at 5:05pm CT, replacing what was expected to be a scheduled off-day for both teams. Meanwhile, the Yankees and White Sox will play a single-admission double-header this afternoon, with the first game beginning at 3:05pm CT. Tickets for yesterday’s postponed game will be honored today in Philadelphia, while the doubleheader in New York today is single-admission. Tickets for yesterday’s game can be exchanged for another 2023 regular season game at Yankee Stadium.

2. Alonso to undergo testing:

According to Tim Healey of Newsday, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is expected to undergo a CT scan today on his left wrist after exiting yesterday’s game against the Braves with a wrist contusion. Manager Buck Showalter said the club will evaluate Alonso’s status today, noting that the initial x-rays were promising but they need to “make sure we know what we’re dealing with.”

Alonso has played each of the club’s 61 games to this point, slashing .231/.323/.546 with an MLB-leading 22 home runs. Should Alonso miss time, youngster Mark Vientos seems likely to take over at first base for the time being. He’s struggled to a .188/.206/.281 slash line so far, albeit in just 12 games and with inconsistent playing time since being called up a bit over three weeks ago.

3. Adell to make season debut:

Former top prospect Jo Adell is expected to make his 2023 debut for the Angels today against Cubs left-hander Drew Smyly, according to MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. Once a consensus top-5 prospect in the game, the former tenth overall pick has struggled to a .215/.256/.359 slash line in 557 career plate appearances since debuting during the shortened 2020 campaign, good for a wRC+ of just 68.

Of course, Adell is immensely talented, still just 24 years old, and posting a solid 115 wRC+ in Triple-A this season even after a 10-game slump that preceded this call-up to the majors. In his first 45 games at Triple-A, Adell had dominated with a .300/.394/.665 slash line with a whopping 17 home runs in just 199 plate appearances. He’s still striking out too often (29.3% on the year), but if he can sustain anywhere near this level of power production that’ll be a fair trade-off.

MLBTR Data Entry And Analysis Position Filled

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June 8: This position has been filled.  Thanks to all who applied.

May 23: MLB Trade Rumors is seeking help for a part-time position involving data entry and analysis.  This position will pay hourly and will require approximately five hours per week.  Responsibilities will include:

  • Collecting and auditing data from multiple sources and entering it into our tracking system
  • Creating and analyzing reports utilizing data from Google Analytics and social media
  • Contacting employees to verify scheduling discrepancies
  • Identifying opportunities to increase traffic on MLB Trade Rumors, Hoops Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors

Generally, the work will be spread out so that it’s about one hour per weekday, with some flexibility on the time of day.  We’re seeking an organized, professional person with proficiency in Excel.  Ideally, the person will also be a regular reader of this website.  Work for this position will begin Friday, June 2.

If you’re interested, please email mlbtrhelp@gmail.com.  In your email, explain your qualifications and include your resume.

MLBTR Trade Rumors Podcast: Elly De La Cruz, Manoah’s Demotion and Surgery for DeGrom

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Episode 10 of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • If Kevin Kiermaier can stay healthy and remain productive, what kind of contract is he looking at in free agency? (22:20)
  • Could Corbin Burnes realistically be traded by the deadline? If so, what teams would likely make a push for him? (26:50)
  • What could the Cubs do with Marcus Stroman? (30:45)

Check out our past episodes!

  • The Wide-Open NL Wild Card Race, Returning Pitchers and Cast-Off Veterans – listen here
  • The Mets are turning things around, and how serious are the Mariners, Marlins and Diamondbacks? – listen here
  • The Cardinals’ U-Turn on Willson Contreras, Mitch Keller’s breakout, and the state of the Padres – listen here

Royals Exploring Varying Trade Scenarios Involving Aroldis Chapman

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Few players are more obvious trade candidates than Aroldis Chapman. The star reliever is on a one-year contract for a Royals club that dropped to 18-44 after being swept by the Marlins this week. Barring injury, it’s a virtual lock Chapman won’t finish the season in Kansas City.

Clubs were expressing trade interest in the resurgent southpaw as early as the second week of May. Now that the calendar has flipped to June, a deal figures to come together at some point within the next seven weeks. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that K.C. is open to a few different possibilities in a potential trade.

According to Rosenthal, the Royals are letting interested teams know they’re willing to move Chapman early in trade season if another club meets a higher ask on the prospect return. That’s an understandable tack considering the Royals’ playoff hopes have already evaporated, even in an AL Central that doesn’t have a single club with a winning record.

An openness to dealing Chapman in June a) reduces the odds of an intervening injury that torpedoes the Royals’ ability to get a deal done and b) ostensibly makes him a more appealing target for other teams. Getting three-plus months of Chapman’s services as opposed to just two months after the deadline would be an added boost for a contender.

That’s not to say a deal will actually come together imminently. Even teams that are locks to sell tend to wait to move their most notable trade candidates until the deadline is nigh. The Royals know the direction they’ll take, but many other clubs toward the middle of the standings don’t have that kind of clarity. They might not be eager to jump into the market for a rental reliever right now but could be viable suitors closer to the deadline.

Kansas City has made some early seller trades in past summers — they dealt Carlos Santana to the Mariners in late June last season and reportedly began shopping Andrew Benintendi around the same time, for instance — but they’ll have to be quite impressed with another club’s offer to move Chapman soon. The seven-time All-Star can veto any trade until June 15, an automatic CBA right afforded to all major league free agents who sign an MLB deal the preceding offseason.

Rosenthal also writes that K.C. has expressed an openness to including Chapman in a package deal with other players from the major league roster. The most straightforward candidate for such a move would be closer Scott Barlow, who’s perhaps the organization’s most valuable plausible trade chip. Barlow posted a sub-2.50 ERA over 70+ innings in both 2021 and ’22. He’s carrying a 3.52 mark through 23 frames this year but striking out a personal-high 35.1% of opposing hitters. Barlow is making $5.3MM this season and controllable via arbitration for one more year.

That extra control year affords K.C. more flexibility to hold onto Barlow than they have with Chapman. The latter signed a one-year, $3.75MM guarantee. He’s trending towards unlocking an additional $2.5MM in appearance incentives but a price tag a little north of $6MM is still eminently reasonable given his return to form.

Chapman carries a 2.95 ERA over 21 1/3 frames. His 38.5% strikeout percentage ranks sixth among relievers with 20+ innings. He’s in the top 15 in missing bats on a pitch-for-pitch basis. Chapman’s average fastball velocity is back above 99 MPH after dipping to the 97 MPH range during his final season with the Yankees. He’s doling out plenty of free passes (15.4% walk rate) but holding opponents to a .197/.319/.237 overall slash thanks to the whiffs and a complete lack of hard contact.

As is the case every summer, contending clubs will be active in ways to upgrade their bullpens. The Nationals and Tigers are reportedly getting calls on some of their relief arms, while K.C. general manager J.J. Picollo will find no shortage of interest in Chapman and Barlow. Keynan Middleton, Reynaldo López, Brad Hand, Mark Leiter Jr. and Chris Stratton are among the other relievers who might be available this summer.

Pirates Outright Chris Owings

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Pirates utility player Chris Owings has gone unclaimed on waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. The veteran infielder has the right to decline the assignment in favor of minor league free agency; it’s unclear whether he’s done so.

Owings signed a minor league deal with the Bucs over the offseason. He got out to a strong .273/.360/.523 start in 13 games with Indianapolis. The Pirates selected his contract midway through May, marking the 11th consecutive year in which he reached the highest level. Owings saw only sporadic action, collecting just four hits (all singles) while punching out 12 times in 25 plate appearances. He was designated for assignment over the weekend.

An everyday middle infielder early in his career with the D-Backs, Owings has settled in as a well-traveled depth player over the past few seasons. He’s suited up for five clubs in as many years since leaving Arizona. Going back to the start of the 2019 campaign, he’s a .174/.254/.287 hitter in 131 big league contests.

Owings has never been a particularly imposing offensive threat. He’s made his mark with defensive flexibility and solid production in the upper minors. He carries a career .306/.347/.482 line over parts of eight Triple-A campaigns.

Injury Notes: Lowe, Paddack, Thompson, Suarez

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The Rays placed second baseman Brandon Lowe on the 10-day injured list earlier this week. While the club initially announced his injury as lower back inflammation, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Lowe has a disc herniation. Manager Kevin Cash said before tonight’s game Lowe will be shut down from all baseball activities for two to three weeks.

It’ll clearly be more than a minimal stay for the power-hitting infielder. Lowe will need some time to ramp up once he can again begin working out, and the absence is significant enough he’ll probably require a minor league rehab assignment. Given that timeline, it doesn’t seem out of the question Lowe is out of MLB action through the All-Star Break. It’s the second straight season in which his back has given him problems. Lowe’s 2022 campaign was cut short by a lower back issue in mid-September.

The Rays figure to rotate a number of players through the keystone in his absence. Vidal Bruján started the first two games there after Lowe’s IL placement. The Rays kicked Taylor Walls over from third base tonight, penciling Isaac Paredes in at the hot corner.

A few other health updates from around the game:

  • The Twins have been without Chris Paddack since he underwent a second career Tommy John procedure last May. The right-hander has maintained a goal of returning for the stretch run this season. That still seems to be on track, as Paddack began throwing off a mound last week (relayed by Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). He’s shooting for a big league return in September, though it’s possible that’ll have to be in relief to accelerate his build-up. Acquired from the Padres on the eve of Opening Day last year, Paddack has made just five starts as a Twin. Nevertheless, the organization guaranteed him $12.25MM to buy out his first year of would-be free agency (2025) over the offseason.
  • Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson landed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain over the weekend. Manager Dave Roberts initially pegged his expected absence around a month, though it seems that was a bit optimistic. Roberts told reporters this evening that Thompson is likely to miss beyond 30 days (via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). It’s not expected to be a season-ending injury but there wasn’t any further clarity on the timeline. It seems possible he’ll wind up on the 60-day injured list if L.A. needs a 40-man roster spot in the coming weeks. The Dodgers called up rookie Jonny DeLuca to take Thompson’s spot on the MLB roster.
  • The Angels have been without starter José Suarez for a month on account of a strain in his throwing shoulder. It doesn’t seem the southpaw is particularly close to a return, as Sam Blum of the Athletic wrote yesterday that Suarez had yet to begin throwing. There’s not a clear timetable for when he might start working off a mound, although Blum adds that he has been working out at the team’s Arizona complex. A reliable #4 starter for the past few years, Suarez has had a nightmarish 2023. He was tagged for a 9.62 ERA over six appearances before he landed on the shelf.

Nationals Outright Andres Machado

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Nationals reliever Andrés Machado has gone unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment this week, the club announced. Machado has the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency because he’s cleared waivers multiple times in his career. However, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets the right-hander will bypass the open market and join the Nats’ Triple-A club in Rochester.

Machado opened the season in Triple-A. He tossed 12 1/3 frames of five-run ball to earn a call back to the majors at the end of April. He couldn’t carry that success over against big league hitters. Machado allowed 16 runs over 17 MLB frames, surrendering a staggering six homers in the process. He’s out of option years, so the Nats had to take him off the 40-man roster to send him back to the minors.

The 30-year-old Machado has pitched in each of the last three seasons for Washington. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA in both 2021-22 but never had the peripherals to match that decent run prevention. Machado fanned less than 20% of opposing hitters in both years while walking opponents at a slightly higher than average pace. That led to him going unclaimed on waivers over the offseason and again clearing this week.

Washington has made a couple changes in the bullpen in the last few days. The Nats also designated veteran righty Erasmo Ramírez for assignment this morning. The pair of moves has dropped their 40-man count to 38.

Tigers, Nationals Relievers Drawing Trade Interest

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Now that the calendar has flipped to June and the trade deadline is just over the horizon, teams will be starting to line up their plans for the deadline. Relief pitchers tend to always be in demand since just about every contender could squeeze another quality arm or two or three into their bullpen.

With the expanded playoffs, there are few obvious sellers at the moment, which puts a spotlight on those that do make sense to have players on the block. As such, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that clubs with bullpen needs are interested in the relievers of the Tigers and Nationals. He specifically mentions Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Carl Edwards Jr., Alex Lange, Will Vest and Jason Foley as those being targeted.

It’s not terribly surprising to see either club being eyed up by competitors. The Nats have been firmly in rebuild mode for a few years now, trading away established players like Trea Turner, Max Scherzer and Juan Soto. Their 25-35 record this season has them in the basement of the National League East. The Tigers are a bit more murky, as they tried to come out of their rebuild last year but ended up at 66-96. Their 26-33 record this year isn’t great but that leaves them only four games back in a weak American League Central. Perhaps they could hang around for the next couple of months but they recently lost both their best pitcher and position player when Riley Greene and Eduardo Rodriguez hit the injured list. That doesn’t guarantee they will slide out further back in the coming weeks but the possibility is there.

Of course, each individual player will require a different calculus based on their performance, years of control, age, etc. Let’s take a look at all six of those names that were mentioned and see what the sellers and the buyers will be looking at. Most of these guys have multiple years of control, meaning the Tigers/Nationals don’t strictly need to pull the trigger on a trade this summer. However, relievers are often volatile from year to year and there’s the ever-present injury risk, meaning there’s always a temptation to sell high when the opportunity is there.

Alex Lange, Tigers

Lange, 27, is in his third major league season and is seemingly improving every time the calendar flips over. He posted a 4.04 ERA in 2021, 3.41 last year and is down to 2.55 this year. His strikeout rate has also ticked up at the same time, going from 24.1% to 30.3% to 35%. However, the same is true of his walk rate, which has grown from 9.9% to 11.4% to 13%. That’s a bit concerning but his overall results are still trending in a positive direction as he’s taken on a higher-leverage role. He earned 21 holds last year and has jumped into the closer’s role this year with 10 saves already. He likely won’t even reach arbitration after this season and he’s not slated for free agency until after the 2027 campaign.

Will Vest, Tigers

Vest, 28, is similarly improving year over year like Lange. He had a 6.17 ERA with the Mariners in 2021 as a Rule 5 pick before getting sent back to the Tigers in July. They are surely glad the M’s made that decision as he then had an ERA of 4.00 last year and is down to 2.74 this year. He’s striking out 27.5% of opponents this year while walking just 8.8% and getting grounders on half of the balls in play he’s allowed. He hasn’t been in as many high-leverage spots, only notching a couple of holds on the year. Much like Lange, he’ll likely come up short of Super Two status this winter and won’t be on path for free agency until the 2027-28 offseason.

Jason Foley, Tigers

Foley, 27, made a brief debut in 2021 with a 2.61 ERA in 11 outings. He got a lengthier showing last year and his ERA jumped up but was still at a respectable 3.88. He’s cut that way down to 1.42 this year thanks to an incredible 61.4% ground ball rate. His 21.6% strikeout rate is a bit below average but his 5.2% walk rate is very good. He’s been moved into a setup role, earning 10 holds and a couple of saves on the year so far. Like his two teammates listed above, he’s yet to qualify for arbitration and isn’t scheduled for free agency until after the 2027 campaign.

Kyle Finnegan, Nationals

Finnegan, 31, moved into a high-leverage role with the Nats in recent years. He earned 22 saves and 27 holds over 2021 and 2022 with a 3.53 ERA in that time as well as a 24.6% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 47.9% ground ball rate. His ERA has ticked up to 4.56 this year, but that’s mostly due to one really bad outing early in the season. The Rays put a five spot on him on April 4 and he has a 2.11 ERA since. Every pitcher’s stats would look better if you took out their worst game, but his peripherals are fairly close to his career norms and it’s possible that he continues to even things out over time. He drew some trade interest a year ago but ultimately stayed in Washington. He came into this season with exactly three years of service time and is making a salary of $2.3MM. He’ll be in line for raises in the next two years before qualifying for free agency after 2025.

Hunter Harvey, Nationals

Harvey, 28, got some brief time in the big leagues with the Orioles earlier in his career but was put on waivers after the 2021 season. He was claimed by the Giants and then the Nationals on a second waiver claim. Last year, he got his first extended stretch in the big leagues and responded with a 2.52 ERA in 38 outings. He struck out 28.7% of batters faced while walking 7.6%. This year, his strikeout rate is up to 31.4% but some extra home runs have pushed his ERA to 3.33. He got six holds last year but is already up to 11 this season, along with a trio of saves. He’s making $870K this year and would be able to go through arbitration two more times before reaching free agency after 2025.

Carl Edwards Jr., Nationals

Edwards, 31, had some solid seasons with the Cubs earlier in his career but he didn’t pitch much over the 2019-2021 period due to various injuries. He signed a minor league deal with the Nats prior to 2022 and has been able to bounce back. He had a 2.76 ERA in 57 appearances last year and is at 3.28 this year. He’s only striking out 18.2% of opponents this season and is walking 12.7% but he’s getting grounders at a strong 48% clip. He had 13 holds and a couple of saves last year and is at 12 holds and one save already this year. Unlike the other names on this list, he’s a pure rental, making $2.25MM and slated for free agency this winter.

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