Archives for 2023

The Opener: Robert, Cy Young, Astros/Mariners

By Nick Deeds | September 25, 2023 at 8:52am CDT

On the final Monday of the 2023 regular season, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Robert being re-evaluated:

White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. exited yesterday’s game against the Red Sox in just the second inning after pulling up uncomfortably while stealing his 20th base of the season. He’s expected to be re-evaluated today as the club arrives back in Chicago before their final homestand of the season. Robert’s brilliant season has been one of the few positive things to come out of an otherwise dismal White Sox campaign that’s seen them go from expected playoff contenders to deadline sellers and flirting with a 100-loss season.

None of that downturn in production can be attributed to Robert, however, as the star has combined excellent center field defense with a .264/.315/.542 slash line in 595 trips to the plate. The 25-year-old phenom’s 75 extra base hits rank second behind only Shohei Ohtani in the AL this year. With the club long since past the point of playing for the playoffs, it would hardly be a shock to see the club shut Robert down for the rest of the year. If he does miss additional time, Trayce Thompson appears to be the leading candidate to cover for him in center field.

2. Pitcher’s duel in the NL Cy Young race:

The Padres and Giants are set to play in San Francisco tonight, and the loser of the game could very well wind up mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. If the Diamondbacks manage to take the final game of their road series against the Yankees earlier in the night, the loser of today’s matchup in Oracle Park will be officially eliminated from postseason contention. Given the extreme long-shot postseason odds for both San Diego and San Francisco, the pitching matchup is the more intriguing storyline to follow anyhow.

Right-hander Logan Webb will take the mound for the Giants, while San Diego will counter with lefty and likely Cy Young front-runner Blake Snell. The 30-year-old Snell is the NL’s ERA leader with a 2.39 figure with a strong 31.7% strikeout rate, though his whopping 13.5% walk rate and average of under 5 2/3 innings per start are less formidable numbers. Webb will likely find himself on plenty of Cy Young ballots as well. The 26-year-old leads all of Major League Baseball with 207 innings pitched, his 3.35 ERA is the fourth-best figure in the NL, and he sports the only groundball rate above 60% among qualified starters, with a 61.6% figure.

3. Series Preview: Astros @ Mariners

With the postseason race coming down to the wire for both clubs, the Astros head to Seattle to take on their division-rival Mariners in a three-game set that will have major implications on the races for both the final AL Wild Card spots and the AL West crown. For the division, the Rangers have ridden a five-game winning streak — including a three-game sweep of the Mariners this weekend — to the top of the AL West standings. They currently sit 2.5 games ahead of the Astros and three games up on the Mariners. Meanwhile, both Houston and Seattle are mired in the midst of rough stretches. The Astros have just an 8-16 record in September, including losses in nine of their last 12. By contrast, the Mariners have gone 5-7 over their last 12 games with a 8-14 September record.

Even in spite of Seattle’s struggles, they’ve managed to make up ground on Houston, sitting just half a game back of the Astros for the final AL Wild Card spot. The set will kick off this evening with a pitcher’s duel on the mound: future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander (3.44 ERA) will take on Mariners ace Luis Castillo (3.06 ERA). Tomorrow’s game will feature young righties Cristian Javier (4.64 ERA) and George Kirby (3.58 ERA), and the series will close with a contest between Houston lefty Framber Valdez (3.39 ERA) and Seattle rookie Bryce Miller (4.17 ERA).

Braves Place Charlie Morton On 15-Day Injured List

By Nick Deeds | September 24, 2023 at 11:30pm CDT

The Braves announced today that veteran right-hander Charlie Morton had been placed on the 15-day injured list with right index finger inflammation. Fellow righty Allan Winans was called up in the corresponding move. The move not only ends Morton’s regular season, but also means that he will likely be unable to pitch in the NLDS as well, as he won’t be eligible to be activated until after rosters are set for the series. That said, if the Braves need to make an IL move midway through the series, it’s possible that they could activate Morton as a corresponding move when replacing the hypothetical injured player.

In any case, the loss of Morton is a major blow to a Braves team that has reigned as baseball’s best club throughout most of the 2023 campaign. Slated to be the club’s Game 3 starter this postseason behind the club’s dual aces Max Fried and Spencer Strider, the 39-year-old hurler has put together a vintage season for the Braves this year with a 3.64 ERA that’s 21% better than league average by measure of ERA+ and is backed up by a solid 3.88 FIP. Morton boasts a solid 25.6% strikeout rate and has generated groundballs at a solid 43.3% clip this season.

With Morton likely out for the NLDS, the club figures to turn to right-hander Bryce Elder to take the ball behind Fried and Strider. Elder was nothing short of incredible in the first half with a 2.97 ERA in his first eighteen starts, but the young righty has struggled badly in recent months with a 5.40 ERA and a nearly matching 5.37 FIP in his last 13 appearances. Another possibility would be right-hander Kyle Wright, who posted a 3.19 ERA en route to a MLB-leading 21-win campaign last year, but the 27-year-old hurler has battled injuries and ineffectiveness throughout the year, posting a brutal 7.71 ERA across just 25 1/3 innings of work. With limited time remaining for Wright to right the ship, it seems likely Atlanta will opt to utilize Elder to round out the playoff rotation until Morton is eligible to return.

In the meantime, replacing Morton on the roster is Winans, a 27-year-old rookie who sports a 4.50 ERA and 2.76 FIP across four spot starts this season. He’ll make another start this afternoon in game one of the club’s doubleheader against the Nationals opposite right-hander Jackson Rutledge.

Quick Hits: Moore, Astros, Senga, Royals

By Mark Polishuk | September 24, 2023 at 11:13pm CDT

The Astros had some interest in Matt Moore when the southpaw was a free agent last winter, and it looks like that interest extended into Moore’s recent visits to the waiver wire. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Astros put claims on Moore when he was put on waivers by both the Angels and Guardians, only to be beaten to the punch both times by Cleveland and then Miami, Moore’s current team. A claiming team was only responsible for the relatively small amount of salary remaining from the one-year, $7.55MM deal Moore signed with the Halos last winter, so it’s safe to assume that most contending teams put in claims on the lefty’s services, so the Astros were maybe a longshot to have Moore fall to them in the waiver order. Houston had has one of the better records in baseball for most of the season, thus putting them behind all the clubs with lesser records (like the Guardians and Marlins) in terms of claims.

It stands to reason that Houston might also look into finally landing Moore when he returns to the free agent market this offseason. In the near-term, however, it is fair to wonder if adding Moore might have helped the Astros avoid their suddenly late-season slump. Houston has lost nine of its last 12 games, dropping the club from first place in the AL West to fighting just to make the playoffs altogether.

Some more items from around baseball as head into the last week of the regular season…

Kodai Senga has been a major bright spot within a disappointing Mets season, as the right-hander has delivered a 2.96 ERA over 161 1/3 innings in his first year of Major League action. Now that Senga is better adapted to North American baseball, the question is whether or not he might be deployed somewhat differently in 2024, as this season saw the Mets often give Senga extra rest between starts as a way of easing him in from Japanese baseball’s routine of starting pitchers once per week. “It’s a very fluid situation. It’s not just, ‘We want you to go on four days’ rest or not.’ There is a lot of thought that goes into that decision on the team’s end too,” Senga told the New York Post’s Mike Puma, via interpreter. “So I think they will prioritize my health as they did this year. We’ll do my measurements between starts as we did this year, and if everything looks good sometimes it will happen, sometimes it won’t.” Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner also noted that Senga’s usage could also be determined by what other pitchers join the rotation next year, as New York is thin in proven starting pitching depth.
The Royals announced some front office changes earlier this week, with some in-house promotions and an intriguing new hire of Brian Bridges as the club’s new scouting director. Bridges has worked as a national crosschecker with the Giants for the last few seasons, and previously worked with the Braves from 2006-18 as first a scout, and then the scouting director for the last four years of his Atlanta tenure. Speaking with MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, Royals GM J.J. Picollo said Bridges “is widely regarded as one of the best evaluators in the game. His handprints are kind of all over the Braves right now, with players that are still there and players they moved to acquire other pieces to help them win.” Homegrown talent has been a key plank of the Braves’ success in recent years, whereas the Royals are seemingly taking a new approach to their development process, as their post-2016 rebuild has yet to deliver much in the way of quality at the MLB level.

AL Central Notes: Paddack, Perez, Scholtens, Guardians

By Mark Polishuk | September 24, 2023 at 9:28pm CDT

After a long recovery from Tommy John surgery, Chris Paddack was activated from the Twins’ 60-day injured list today and was ready to appear in his first big league game since May 8, 2022. Technically, Paddack did “appear,” though he didn’t actually play. Paddack entered today’s game out of the bullpen prior to the start of the seventh inning, but as he was warming up on the mound, a rain delay halted the action for 50 minutes. As a result, Minnesota brought Louie Varland in to pitch once play resumed, leaving Paddack credited in the official box score with a rare appearance of zero innings pitched and zero batters faced. While it makes for a quirky bit of trivia for Paddack, the righty will probably appreciate it more once he gets a chance to properly complete his comeback with a real pitching appearance, which could happen as early as Tuesday when the AL Central champion Twins begin a series with the Athletics.

Some more from around the AL Central….

The Royals activated Salvador Perez from the concussion-related injury list today, as the veteran catcher returned free of symptoms after the minimum seven days. Perez returns for a few more games to complete his 13th Major League season, and even after hitting a homer in today’s 6-5 Kansas City win over the Astros, it has been a tough year for the backstop. Beyond the Royals’ struggles, Perez has had a down year at the plate, hitting .252/.291/.419 with 22 homers over 555 plate appearances.
Prior to today’s rain-shortened 3-2 victory over the Red Sox, the White Sox placed right-hander Jesse Scholtens on the 15-day injured list due to a left calf strain, and called righty Declan Cronin up from Triple-A. The injury officially ends Scholtens’ first MLB season, as he started 11 of 26 games for Chicago after debuting on April 7 and posted a 5.29 ERA, 15.4% strikeout rate and eight percent walk rate. The White Sox moved Scholtens up and down from Triple-A on a few occasions, using him primarily as a reliever before giving him a longer look as a starter over the last couple of months.
While Terry Francona and the Guardians have stopped short of making it entirely official, all signs are pointing to Francona retiring at the end of the 2023 season. As the winningest manager in franchise history, Francona leaves a high bar for the Guards’ next skipper to reach, and Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the club is planning “a wide-ranging managerial search.” The implication seems to be that the Guardians will look outside the organization for the new hire, though Hoynes pushes back against the perception that the front office is aiming to take a fuller control of in-game duties in the name of analytics. “It would be a mistake to think the next manager will be a human computer/yes man,” Hoynes writes, noting that the front office “want someone who will challenge them, someone they can learn from” as they have during Francona’s 11 seasons in Cleveland.

Phillies Outright Drew Ellis

By Darragh McDonald | September 24, 2023 at 8:41pm CDT

Sept. 24: Ellis has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, as per the Phillies’ official transactions page. There isn’t yet any word on whether or not he has accepted the assignment or elected free agency.

Sept. 22: The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Orion Kerkering, a move that was reported on earlier today. In corresponding moves, right-hander Yunior Marté was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley while infielder Drew Ellis was designated for assignment.

Ellis, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Phils in April and was added to the 40-man roster in June. He has since served as an optionable depth piece, playing 12 games in the majors. He drew walks in six of his 29 plate appearances, leading to a strong .217/.379/.478 batting line in that small sample. In 70 Triple-A games this year, he’s slashed .224/.336/.433 for a wRC+ of 92.

The Phils will now place Ellis on waivers in the coming days. He’s hit just .157/295/.269 in his major league career, in just 129 plate appearances. He’s had much stronger results in Triple-A, having hit .247/.364/.500 in 1,124 plate appearances at that level. He’s played each of the non-shortstop infield positions, meaning he could appeal to a club in search of some extra depth on the dirt. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible if claimed now but can be retained for six years beyond the current season. He’s in his final option year and will be out of options next season. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, by virtue of having a previous career outright.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Mark Polishuk | September 24, 2023 at 8:24pm CDT

Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat

NL East Notes: Arraez, Waldrep, Kay

By Mark Polishuk | September 24, 2023 at 5:36pm CDT

The Marlins recorded an important win over the Brewers today, allowing Miami to keep pace in the tight NL wild card race. The Fish won despite Luis Arraez’s absence, as the second baseman didn’t play after making a late exit from Saturday’s game due to a twisted ankle. Arraez had already missed a pair of games this week due to that sore ankle, and exacerbated the problem in somewhat fluky fashion on Saturday. As he told MLB.com and other reporters, Arraez slipped while walking down the dugout steps at the conclusion of the eighth inning, in part because the ballpark had suddenly dimmed the lights for the entrance of closer Tanner Scott.

“It’s frustrating because I need to play….The good thing is I’ve got the day off tomorrow, and then let’s see how I feel the next day,” Arraez said, in reference to Miami’s off-day Monday.

After that break, the Marlins will play their final six games of the regular season — three games against the Mets and three against the Pirates, all on the road. Today’s result notwithstanding, it is hard to imagine the Marlins can push into the playoffs without the Major League batting average leader in the lineup, so Miami fans can only hope that Arraez’s ankle is okay after some rest.

Trevor Kelley Accepts Outright Assignment From Rays

By Mark Polishuk | September 24, 2023 at 4:12pm CDT

Rays right-hander Trevor Kelley has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (X link). Kelley will report to Triple-A Durham and remain in the organization, as he has chosen to pass on his right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency — Kelley has previously been outrighted in his career, giving him the right to turn down future outright assignments.

Back in January, Kelley exercised this right by entering the free agent market after the Brewers designated him for assignment and outrighted him off their 40-man. The righty reliever signed a minor league deal with Tampa shortly thereafter, and Kelley has been up and down from Durham a few times this season, totaling 15 1/3 innings over 10 games at the Major League level before the Rays designated him for assignment last week.

This majors-to-minors shuttle has been a frequent element of Kelley’s career over his four MLB seasons, and may have contributed to his 6.75 ERA over 50 2/3 frames of work in the big leagues. Debuting with the Red Sox in 2019, Kelley has also pitched with Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Tampa Bay in the majors, and he was a member of the Cubs and Braves organizations in 2021 without seeing any time on their active rosters.

Despite the lack of success in the majors, Kelley’s Triple-A numbers are the easy explanation as to why the 30-year-old keeps getting chances with multiple teams. Kelley has a 2.38 ERA over 197 innings at Triple-A, as well as decent strikeout (24.42%) and walk (8.47%) rates. However, Kelley didn’t perform as well with Durham this year, as he allowed seven homers over 32 2/3 innings en route to posting a 5.23 ERA.

AL Notes: Brantley, Robert, Montas, Diaz

By Nick Deeds | September 24, 2023 at 2:05pm CDT

As relayed by Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Astros GM Dana Brown went on the club’s pregame radio show to discuss the status of veteran outfielder Michael Brantley, who has battled a shoulder injury throughout the year and only appeared in 12 games for the club to this point as a result. According to Brown, Brantley has been dealing with renewed soreness but has been “battling trying to get back” and that he felt “a little better” after taking batting practice today. Brown hopes that he’ll be able to return to the lineup for the club’s series against Seattle, which begins tomorrow.

With Brantley sidelined, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker are the left-handed hitting regulars on the Astros, with righty bats Jake Meyers and Mauricio Dubon having spent time in center field while Chas McCormick moves to left to cover for Brantley. With Alvarez working through an ailment of his own, it’s possible that Brantley won’t return to the lineup until he’s ready to play the outfield, with manager Dusty Baker having recently stated that the club is looking to avoid playing Alvarez on the field due to his elbow issue. Brantley has slashed .262/.273/.429 to this point in the season, though that stat line only represents a tiny sample size of 44 trips to the plate thanks to Brantley’s injury woes.

More from around the American League…

Star White Sox slugger Luis Robert Jr. exited today’s game against the Red Sox due to knee soreness after stealing his 20th base of the season. He was replaced in the game by outfielder Trayce Thompson. According to Scott Merkin of MLB.com, Robert will be evaluated further tomorrow in Chicago. Robert has been a rare bright spot in what has been an otherwise brutal White Sox season, with a .264/.314/.542 slash line and 38 home runs through 144 games this season while playing quality defense in center field. If Robert requires a stay on the shelf to end the season, Thompson, Oscar Colas, and Adam Haseley figure to be the club’s options in center field going forward.
The Yankees have been without right-hander Frankie Montas all season, though it’s possible that could change before he departs for free agency this offseason. As noted by Greg Joyce of the New York Post, manager Aaron Boone told reporters this afternoon that it’s “possible” Montas could make his way back to the big leagues before the end of the year, as the club and player are still talking about next steps for the 30-year-old. Montas made his second rehab start at the Triple-A level yesterday, tossing two scoreless innings on 25 pitches with two strikeouts.
Rays infielder Yandy Diaz exited today’s game against the Blue Jays due to what what the club has termed right hamstring tightness, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. While the severity of the injury is not currently known, with the postseason creeping ever closer an injury of any significance would be a significant blow to the Rays. The club has already lost Brandon Lowe and Luke Raley to injury, and Diaz has been the club’s top offensive performer with a .327/.407/.515 slash line in 594 trips to the plate. Fortunately for the Rays, the club has a deep bench of quality youngsters including Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda, and Curtis Mead who can help cover for injuries, though the hole Diaz would leave in the lineup headed into the postseason would be difficult to fill. [UPDATE: Rays manager Kevin Cash told Topkin and other reporters postgame that Diaz’s removal was “more precautionary” in nature than a serious injury concern, and that Diaz is now feeling better.]

Guardians Activate Triston McKenzie From 60-Day IL

By Nick Deeds | September 24, 2023 at 1:06pm CDT

The Guardians activated right-hander Triston McKenzie from the 60-day IL earlier today, per the MLB.com transactions log. McKenzie will take the 40-man roster spot of Tanner Bibee, who was transferred to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move, and the active roster spot of Michael Kelly, who was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

McKenzie, 26, help to power the Guardians to a AL Central crown in 2022 with a breakout campaign. He posted a 2.96 ERA, 29% better than league average by measure of ERA+, with a 3.59 ERA and 190 strikeouts in 191 1/3 innings of work. After that impressive season, McKenzie figured to slot in alongside Shane Bieber at the front of Cleveland’s rotation entering 2023. Unfortunately, McKenzie has been limited to just ten innings of 4.50 ERA ball across two starts this season due to injuries. After missing the first two months of the season with a shoulder strain, McKenzie went back on the shelf shortly thereafter thanks to a UCL sprain and hasn’t pitched in the majors since. That’s set to change today, however, as McKenzie is poised to take the ball for today’s game against the Orioles.

Looking ahead to the offseason, McKenzie will be eligible for salary arbitration for the first time in his career this winter and in 2024 figures to join Bieber and youngsters Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Logan Allen in the club’s starting rotation as the club hopes to rebound from a difficult 2023 campaign that’s seen them post a record of just 74-82 to this point in the season. As for Bibee, the news hardly comes as a surprise as his season had already come to a close due to hip inflammation. Kelly, meanwhile, has provided solid innings for the Guardians while shuttling between Triple-A and the majors this year, with a 3.78 ERA and a 2.96 FIP in 14 appearances.

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