As an eventful month of August winds down, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Who will replace Thor?
The Guardians designated right-hander Noah Syndergaard for assignment yesterday, ending his tenure in Cleveland after just six starts. Upon announcing the move, the club indicated that a corresponding move would be made today, before this evening’s game against the Twins in Minnesota. Syndergaard’s departure leaves the club with just four pitchers in the starting rotation: right-handers Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Xzavion Curry as well as lefty Logan Allen. Left-hander Joey Cantillo and righties Peyton Battenfield and Hunter Gaddis are the club’s starting options already on the 40-man roster, though with Syndergaard’s depature the club will have the opportunity to explore other options as well without the need for a 40-man roster move.
Of course, with an off-day on Thursday and right-hander Cal Quantrill nearing a return from the shoulder inflammation that’s kept him off the big league mound since early July, the club could simply decide to wait on adding a starter until Quantrill is ready or the schedule forces the issue. In that case, a reliever currently at Triple-A like lefty Tim Herrin or righty Cade Smith could be called up for the interim to help out in the club’s bullpen.
2. Giants getting healthy:
The Giants are expecting to welcome back a pair of outfielders into the mix during the club’s series against the Reds, which starts today. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relayed yesterday that both Mike Yastrzemski and Mitch Haniger are nearing a return, with Haniger having participated in what could be his final rehab game last night while Yastrzemski ran the bases. Both players will be welcome additions to a beleaguered offense in San Francisco; as a team, the Giants slashed just .209/.289/.343 in July, and their slash line of .230/.299/.348 in August is only marginally better.
Yastrzemski has been a slightly better than league average bat with the Giants this year, slashing .233/.314/.439 in 77 games before going on the IL with a hamstring strain. Haniger, on the other hand, struggled badly to a .230/.281/.372 slash line in 40 games with his new club before he was sidelined due to a forearm fracture that required surgery. The Giants will need both Yastrzemski and Haniger to play closer to their career wRC+ numbers of 113 and 119 respectively if they are to get back into the NL Wild Card mix, as the club has fallen a game and a half behind the Diamondbacks for the last spot in recent days.
3. Brewers head to Wrigley:
The Cubs and Brewers will meet for their third series of the season today. The three-game set will have major implications for the NL Central race headed into the season’s final month. Milwaukee, riding an eight-game winning streak, heads to Chicago with a four-game lead over the Cubs in the division, meaning even a sweep by the north siders wouldn’t end their reign at the top of the division standings. That being said, a series win by the Brewers would put the club firmly in the driver’s seat for a division title headed into the season’s final month, as they’d extend their lead over the second-place Cubs to five or six games with only three more games against Chicago on the schedule this season. Brewers lefty and former Cub Wade Miley (3.18 ERA) will take the mound at 7:05pm CT this evening opposite Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon (5.60 ERA) for the first game of the series.
On eve of trade deadline Cleveland was half-game out. And they quit 2023 season.
Antonetti traded starting SS Rosario for DFA Syndergaard. traded starting DH Bell for CUT Segura and head case minor leaguer. Traded then hottest, best SP for injured minor leaguer.
Sorry not to care what they do next.. They quit on their fans and players , while their spin is truly pathetic. Billionaire owner crying small-market tears. That’s how I feel about it.
Rosario and Bell sucked lol but okay
Both are playing better away from the Cleveland Wokes and their wuss owner, they got 0 for both.
What were they getting out of Rosario? He’s playing at replacement-level this year (including his time with the Dodgers) and is an impending free agent
Rosario still isn’t playing all that well. The dodgers are just picking and choosing which matchups to play him in. Regardless—he has more value than Thor.
Something is wrong with Cleveland’s hitting philosophy. Too many guys are having success when leaving CLE. They need to address that. I have no doubt that they’ll be able to replace Civale with another SP next season. Espino, when healthy, has a very high ceiling and they already have 5 guys who can handle a rotation spot next year.
They need to figure out the position players before Manzardo becomes another casualty.
It cost the Dodgers nothing more than unloading a washed up pitcher…
I often wonder why teams employ hitting coaches that were not good major or minor league hitters and the Guardians are one of those teams (Chris Valaika)
Rsox, the ability to hit is not the same as the ability to teach how to hit
Ted Williams was his own hitting coach when he managed the Senators and the Rangers. But the Senators/Rangers as a team hit worse every season for the 4 years he coached.
Non-pitcher totals
1969 .737 OPS 112 OPS+
1970 .706 OPS 99 OPS+
1971 .654 OPS 92 OPS+
1972 .597 OPS 82 OPS+
Being a great hitter, and he was maybe the greatest pure hitter of the 20th century, didn’t help him be a good teacher.
Have to agree. If they’d sold and gotten some significant talent back, I wouldn’t have a problem with what they did. The problem I have with cutting Syndergaard is it’s a move to make way for Quantrill’s return. To be honest, Quantrill has sucked overall this year. I’d rather keep Thor in that slot.
Solaris – I’m not sure what the corresponding 40 man move would be. With the rosters expanding and the lack of (healthy) rotation depth – I figured they would have stashed Syndergaard in the bullpen for a few weeks as an insurance policy.
Like you said, Quant has had a rough year and this is his second stint on the IL with the shoulder issue.. what happens if he is ineffective or is injured again? Gaddis? Norris? Battenfield?…. I’d take Syndergaard out of that bunch.
Exactly. They have no one better than Syndergaard in the wings if another SP goes down. You also have to take into consideration Bibee and Allen have both sailed past the intended number of innings CLE intended them to pitch this year. I guess Norris would be next up – again – because Battenfield has been ineffective and Gaddis has had a penchant for getting hammered hard both at AAA and in the majors this year.
The 2023 Guardians were not a piece or two away from being contenders. It’s fine to be upset but the FO has to take an honest account of where they stand. With Bieber and McKenzie out – this 2023 team isn’t close. I’d rather have the team be realistic than stupidly go for it, like the Angels.
I get the frustration over Civale because he has been productive.. but what did you expect in return for Amed and Bell? The worst defensive SS in baseball with a below-average bat and a DH that wasn’t hitting.
Eh, Cleveland was fighting with MIN for the right to get smoked by whoever the 3rd WC is. They made sense to stand pat, and they saw Manzardo available and went and got him. Thor-Rosario was a no nothing move. The Bell one was the odd one, but I guess they quite like Watson.
And now Minnesota is staring down a short series vs Houston
Thor is officially done, finished, cook. He’s Certified Booty Juice (TM) now. Time to go off into the sunset and make another Marvel movie.
Baseball players are a bunch of Prima donnas. Look at that nonsense during the Yankees-Rays game. Oh, no, guy gets hit by the pitch and turns it into something it wasn’t and then later the benches clear. What a bunch of jokers. If you’re athletes, go out and play the game. If you’re actors, maybe time to change careers… I guess part of the problem is that MLB no longer has the pitcher in the hitter spot so it’s harder for players to regulate themselves, so I do place part of the blame on MLB’s policy to not allow players to regulate themselves.
When a couple of journeymen pitchers on a last place team drill hitters on a team that’s trying to win the division and achieve success in the postseason, and this has happened before, it’s no surprise that it is perceived as classless and not taken in stride. The Yankees are gutless losers and an embarrassment to all of baseball.
So there’s that.
@whyhayzee
Replay looks like the pitcher was throwing inside not at him. Batters getting upset because it hit him? What a crybaby. Take your base and score a run. Stop turning it into some mid-afternoon drama like Days of Our Lives.
That’s a steaming pile. All the Rays hitters getting beaned and all the Yankee pitchers walking towards home plate like tough guys.
Pathetic.
Apparently the past is here to complain. Sucks to be in last place, but don’t worry, you’ll grow comfortable there soon enough.
shoot, look at me, one day alone in 1st place and I’m already talking s#!+
Yastrzemski ran the bases.
Excellent.
Clearly showcasing his slightly better than average skills. Hopefully the hamstrings will hold up for another month.
The old people losing all credibility suggesting that a pitcher whose career is hanging by a thread should “reinvent himself with command/control like Greg Maddux” like they do every year…
Just be Greg Maddux. What is so hard about that?
He should have reinvented himself a long time ago before it was too late. The smart ones do.
I have to think that the pitch clock has had some affect on pitchers ERA as we see a lot of elevated ERA’s around the league.
Yep, Card—that and the shift restriction that has added some baserunners because of hits that used to be outs. And the larger bases and disengagement rules which have contributed to the increase in stolen bases. It’s easier to score from second than first..
Card666, Maybe, but I doubt the pitch clock has much to do with it. The limits on shifts is probably the biggest reason, if in fact ERAs are truly elevated. They are somewhat over last season. League average ERA in 2022 was 3.96, and so far this year it’s 4.33. But in 2021 it was 4.26, and (skipping the outlier 2020 season) it was 4.49 in 2019. This season’s 4.33 doesn’t seem to be much of a deviation, at least not what one would expect if the pitch clock had much of an impact. Plus SBs are also a factor, So far there have been 292 more steals this season than last.
Cleveland will call up a reliever until they need Quantrill to start.
Yikes, I hope the Cubs pen is ready for the Brewers series because they will be relied on!
Giants are one of the most boring wild card contenders. I hope Pham and the dbacks slap the giants and keep them out of the playoffs. Arizona has a younger, more exciting team that I would rather watch play in October.
Giants are buns
Burger or dog?
FYI Herrin was only optioned on Friday, so he’s not eligible to be recalled for a while.
Also, rosters expand to 28 on Friday, so when Quantrill is recalled they wouldn’t need to make an additional move..
Just an FYI. A series win 2-1 puts Milwaukee 5 ahead. Sweep though puts them 7games ahead not 6.