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GM Mike Hazen: Diamondbacks Planning To Be Deadline Buyers

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With 11 wins in their last 16 games, the Diamondbacks now have a 50-48 record and sit just percentage points behind the Mets for the final NL wild card berth.  Plenty of teams remain in the mix in the crowded National League, yet this hot stretch of play indicates that the reigning NL champions are finding their form despite weathering multiple injuries within their starting rotation.

Arizona GM Mike Hazen said on July 1 that he was hoping his club would be in a position to add rather than subtract at the trade deadline, and the Diamondbacks’ strong play in the last three weeks has paid off their general manager’s belief.  With the D’Backs now more firmly looking like contenders, Hazen told reporters (including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) yesterday that “as of now, the calls we’re making, we’re looking to add talent to the team.”

Where exactly the D’Backs might focus their shopping has yet to be determined, as Hazen said he would “love to be able to target down the needs to bullpen, position-player fit somewhere, and just go with that.”  A more limited list of needs would hinge, of course, on how healthy the rotation is looking by the July 30 deadline, as Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Merrill Kelly all remain on the injured list.

Montgomery is the closest to returning, as he threw 56 pitches over three innings of a simulated game on Thursday.  This lines the southpaw up to be activated from the 15-day injured list during Arizona’s series in Kansas City that begins on Monday, though manager Torey Lovullo didn’t officially state this was the team’s plan.  Montgomery hasn’t pitched since June 27 due to right knee inflammation, and is looking to return from this IL stint and turn around a rough season, as the lefty has a 6.44 ERA in his first 65 2/3 innings and 13 starts in a D’Backs uniform.

Rodriguez and Kelly are both tentatively set to return at some point in August, and both hurlers are set for bullpen sessions today.  Hazen said “everything has been good” with the duo as of late, and they could advance to facing hitters after both Saturday’s bullpen and then another throwing session next week.

Assuming Montgomery is indeed back for the Royals series, he’d rejoin a D’Backs rotation that also features ace Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson, and rookie Yilber Diaz.  Nelson has pitched increasingly well as the season has gone on and Diaz has looked sharp in his first two career MLB starts, and thus Arizona might go from a lack of rotation depth to perhaps a surplus later in the season if everyone comes back healthy and effective.  These are the decisions Hazen must weigh as the deadline approaches, since on paper, trading for another starter seems like a logical hedge against the uncertainty that the Diamondbacks still face with their starter mix.

“Long-term starting pitching is still going to be something I’m going to explore no matter what if it’s multiple years of control because I feel like we have to,” Hazen said.  “We always have to look out for our rotation a couple of years down the line.  I think if I feel very confident when Monty comes back and then [Kelly and Rodriguez] are right around the corner, I probably would not place as much emphasis on it.  But I don’t know.  It obviously depends on if Nelly and Yilber keep throwing the ball really well, that’s going to impact how this goes.”

Hazen also announced that the D’Backs would be moving Slade Cecconi into a bullpen role for the rest of the season, which is probably less a sign of Arizona’s confidence in its forthcoming rotation depth than it is a reflection of Cecconi’s unimpressive results as a starter.  Cecconi has started 13 of his 14 Major League games this season, posting a 6.14 ERA over 66 innings.

It isn’t necessarily surprising that a rookie is having a tough time in his first extended look against big league hitters, and if nothing else, Cecconi has eaten some innings for a D’Backs team that was often scrambling to fill rotation holes.  His new role will also be about covering innings in some sense, as Hazen said that if Cecconi is recalled from Triple-A, the right-hander will work in a long man role to help give the bullpen some respite.

Notable Draft Signings: 7/20/24

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Saturday saw a smattering of players get inked to major bonuses, including Cardinals first-rounder JJ Wetherholt and Cubs first-rounder Cam Smith. A few more notable signings from the past day:

  • The Marlins agreed to a $2.8MM deal with second-rounder Carter Johnson, per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. That’s significantly higher than the $1.6MM slot value for the 56th overall pick, and comes on the heels of Miami signing their first-rounder to a deal that came in well below slot value yesterday. Johnson, a high school shortstop committed to Alabama, was ranked fairly highly across the board, with The Athletic’s Keith Law rating him as the 26th-best prospect in this year’s class on the high end while MLB Pipeline ranked him on the low end at 40th in the class. While evaluators suggest he has a good feel for hitting, he’s nearly universally expected to end up at second or third base long-term due in part to his large frame; he’s listed at 6’2”, 180 lbs.
  • The Mets agreed to a $2,031,700 deal with second-rounder Jonathan Santucci today, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis. The deal is full slot value for the 45th overall selection. Santucci is a college southpaw listed a 6’2”, 205 lbs. Evaluators seem fairly split on the Duke product, with Baseball America (#32) and MLB Pipeline (#37) both ranking the lefty within the top 40 prospects in this year’s draft while evaluators at Fangraphs (#50) as well as Law (#50) and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (#64) are much less bullish. As noted by Law in his writeup of Santucci, the lefty’s stuff is impressive but he’s missed considerable time throughout his college career due to an elbow fracture last spring and a rib injury that cost him a few starts this season. Given Santucci’s notable injury history, it’s not necessarily surprising that evaluators are split on the lefty, and Law adds that “His draft status is probably more a function of what teams see in his medical reports than what the scouts and analysts say.”

Nationals Notes: Thomas, Finnegan, Cavalli

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Nationals GM Mike Rizzo spoke to reporters, including Bobby Blanco of MASN, yesterday for the first time since the club shipped right-hander Hunter Harvey to the Royals in exchange for third base prospect Cayden Wallace and the 39th selection in the 2024 draft. Rizzo was effusive in his praise of Harvey, who he described as an “organizational success story,” but noted that he felt that the trade was “important for us to do…for the future of the franchise.”

The topic of the Harvey deal, which occurred in spite of the right-hander being under team control for the 2025 season, led naturally to questions regarding the status of outfielder Lane Thomas and closer Kyle Finnegan, both of whom are also under control for one season after 2024. When asked the availability of the pair, Rizzo confirmed that both are available, though he emphasized that the extra year of control means he isn’t necessarily in a rush to trade either player. When discussing Thomas, Rizzo said that because the club has him under control beyond the 2024 campaign, “we’re going to do a deal that we’re comfortable with. And if we don’t, we won’t do a deal.” He went on to say that he viewed Finnegan “The same way, exactly” and that the club was “not going to get rid of [Finnegan] easy.”

While it’s not entirely clear what the Nationals’ current asking price is for either Thomas or Finnegan, it’s hardly a surprise that the club’s GM is indicating that he won’t be dealing either player unless his price is met. Thomas, 29 next month, has been a steady regular for the Nationals throughout their rebuild with a .256/.317/.438 slash line (106 wRC+) since first joining the club partway through the 2021 season. He enjoyed something of a breakout season last year, slugging 28 home runs while swiping 20 bases and hitting a solid .268/.315/.468 in 156 games for the Nats. Thomas hasn’t hit for quite as much power in 2024 but has been an even more prolific base stealer, swiping 24 bags in just 306 trips to the plate so far this year. In a market without many quality hitters who are obviously available, it’s easy to imagine Thomas getting interest from clubs looking for help in the outfield such as the Mariners, Dodgers, or Phillies.

As for Finnegan, the 32-year-old is in the midst of a career year in his fourth season as the Nationals’ closer. In 40 2/3 innings of work this year, the righty has already racked up 26 saves while pitching to a sterling 2.43 ERA and striking out a solid 25.8% of batters faced. Home runs have been an issue for Finnegan in his career as he’s allowed 15.7% of his fly balls to leave the yard, including 16.7% this year. That’s left him with a somewhat pedestrian 4.05 FIP, but his lengthy track record as a quality high-leverage relief arm with Washington (where he’s posted a career 3.37 ERA in 267 1/3 innings of work) should nonetheless make him among the most attractive relief arms available for teams in need for help in the late innings.

In other Nationals news, manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASN) that longtime top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli has been dealing with a bout of “dead arm” while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery he underwent in early 2023. That issue was compounded further by Cavalli catching the flu, and that led the Nationals to restart the right-hander’s throwing program. The right-hander last appeared in a minor league rehab game on June 21 and has only just begun to ramp back up, though Martinez suggested that the club still expects him to pitch this year. Cavalli has just one big league start under his belt but looked good at the Triple-A level during his last full season back in 2022, when he posted a 3.71 ERA in 20 starts while striking out 25.9% of batters faced.

Angels Sign Johnny Cueto To Minor League Deal

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The Angels and veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto are in agreement on a minor league deal, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The news comes on the heels of Cueto opting out of his minors deal with the Rangers earlier this month.

Cueto, 38, is a two-time All-Star and a veteran of 16 MLB seasons. From 2010 to 2016, he was among the very best starters in the entire league with a 2.86 ERA (141 ERA+) that was second to only Clayton Kershaw among qualified starters with at least 500 innings of work during that span. As the righty entered his 30’s, injuries began to cost him more and more time on the mound, and after a dominant 2016 season in the first year of his $130MM pact with San Francisco he managed just 394 1/3 innings of work over the next five seasons, with a middling 4.38 ERA (95 ERA+) during that time.

Cueto ended up signing on with the White Sox on a minor league deal entering the 2022 season, and things appeared to be turning around for the veteran upon his arrival in Chicago. The deal could hardly have gone better for the South Siders, as the right-hander enjoyed a return to form with a 3.35 ERA (118 ERA+) and 3.79 FIP in 158 1/3 innings of work across 25 appearances (24 starts.) Those ERA, ERA+, and FIP figures were all the best Cueto had posted in a full season since his dominant 2016 campaign in San Francisco, though his career-worst 15.7% strikeout rate offered reason for concern.

That didn’t stop the Marlins from pursuing Cueto during the 2022-23 offseason, however, and they signed him to a one-year deal that guaranteed him $8.5MM that winter. It’s a contract that did not go how either side was hoping, to say the least. Cueto struggled badly with Miami during his age-37 campaign, posting an ugly 6.02 ERA with a 7.02 FIP in 52 1/3 innings of work amid trips to the injured list for biceps tightness and a viral infection. While it’s at least feasible that Cueto’s injury and illness issues last season played a role in his deep struggles, the right-hander was unable to find a big league deal this winter and eventually settled for a minor league deal in Texas back in April.

The veteran ultimately made eight starts with the Rangers at the Triple-A level, struggling to a 5.92 ERA in 38 innings of work as he did so, before opting out to return to the open market. He’ll now get a chance to prove himself with the Angels, and it’s relatively easy to imagine the pitching-hungry Halos affording Cueto a big league opportunity as long as he proves able to hold his own at Triple-A. After all, lefty Tyler Anderson and righty Griffin Canning are the club’s most established starters at the moment, and both of those arms have been the subject of plenty of trade speculation ahead of the deadline. Even if a trade doesn’t open up a spot in the club’s rotation, however, there’s plenty of room for Cueto to push his way into a mix that currently features the likes of Carson Fulmer and Jack Kochanowicz.

Reds Notes: Suter, Friedl, Kiermaier

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The Reds announced earlier today that they’ve placed left-hander Brent Suter on the 15-day IL due to a partial tear of his left teres major muscle. As noted by Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the club had at least some concern that the injury would prove serious enough that Suter would be out for the remainder of the 2024 campaign. Fortunately, Suter himself told reporters (including those at Bally Sports Cincinnati) that his current timeline is not quite that bleak. The lefty’s expected shutdown time is between four and six weeks, though he’ll of course have to build back up to game-ready form after that.

While that timeline leaves the door open for Suter to return sometime in September, the news is nonetheless a major blow to the Reds’ relief corps. The bullpen has been a major strength for Cincinnati this year, as the club’s 3.44 collective bullpen ERA is the sixth-best figure in the majors while their 3.65 FIP ranks seventh. Suter has been a huge part of that success as the 34-year-old has posted a solid 3.68 ERA in a whopping 51 1/3 innings of work this year. That means Suter has accounted for just under 15% of the total innings thrown by the Reds bullpen this year, an innings total that leads the team.

With both Suter and right-hander Carson Spiers having recently hit the IL in Cincinnati, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the club pursue bullpen reinforcements in the coming weeks. Reds brass indicated earlier this month they had not yet committed to a strategy for the trade deadline this year, though it’s worth noting that the club did swing a trade for outfielder Austin Slater just days after those comments, suggesting an openness to adding to the big league roster on at least some level. A look at MLBTR’s Top 50 Trade Candidates For The 2024 MLB Trade Deadline reveals a number of interesting relief arms available, ranging from star A’s rookie Mason Miller to White Sox reclamation project Michael Kopech.

The Slater deal isn’t the only indication that the Reds could be looking to add this summer. According to Wittenmyer, the club “touched base” regarding Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier when the club put him on waivers earlier this month, though of course no deal has come together to this point. Kiermaier would offer the Reds a quality defensive center fielder who could act as a lefty platoon option for right-handed bats Slater and Stuart Fairchild, although it’s worth noting that Kiermaier has struggled badly (53 wRC+) at the plate this year. A stronger offensive fit Wittenmyer suggests for the Reds would be Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas, though he cautions that such a fit would depend on the price of acquiring 28-year-old.

While the Reds’ dearth of quality options in the outfield makes it an easily identifiable place where the club could improve its stock this summer, they may be on the verge of adding impact to the outfield mix internally. According to MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, center fielder TJ Friedl is slated to head out for a minor league rehab assignment tomorrow with the hope of returning to the lineup in Cincinnati for this weekend’s series against the Rays. Friedl has been limited to just 26 games by injuries this year but is only one season removed from a 4-win campaign in 2023 where he posted a strong 116 wRC+ while slugging 18 home runs, stealing 27 bases, and playing strong defense in center across 138 games. That 20/30 potential in center field is tantalizing, and it’s easy to see how Friedl could help to transform the club’s outfield mix if he’s finally healthy after dealing with a fractured wrist and a hamstring strain this year.

Yankees Outright Cody Morris

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The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve assigned right-hander Cody Morris outright to Triple-A. Morris was designated for assignment by the club last week to make room for right-hander Scott Effross on the 40-man roster. Morris does not have the ability to reject the outright assignment and will report for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Morris, 27, was acquired by the Yankees in a trade that sent outfielder Estevan Florial to the Guardians this past offseason. He was recalled to the big league roster briefly with the Yankees earlier this year but did not make an appearance before being optioned and has yet to make his big league debut for the club. That’s not to say Morris is without any big league experience, however, as he pitched for the Guardians in Cleveland in each of the past two seasons. The 2022 campaign saw Morris act as a spot starter for the Guardians, and he did well in the role, posting a strong 2.28 ERA in 23 2/3 innings of work despite an elevated 12% walk rate.

The righty’s issues with control came back to bite him in 2023, however, as he walked a whopping 15.8% of batters faced in the majors that year and surrendered a 6.75 ERA in six relief appearances totaling eight innings of work. Morris’s issues last year extended to the minor leagues as well. While Morris’s 3.73 ERA in 33 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A last year looks perfectly serviceable, he allowed five homers in that time while walking 17.4% of batters faced. That left him with a 5.53 FIP and 5.09 xFIP in the minors last year.

Since being acquired by the Yankees, Morris has generally performed similarly with the club at Triple-A. While his 25.8% strikeout rate in 36 innings of work this year is certainly impressive, it’s outweighed by a hefty 16% walk rate that has left him with a 4.25 ERA and 4.58 FIP even as he’s substantially tamped down his proclivity for allowing home runs. Now that he’s off the Yankees’ 40-man roster, he figures to remain in the organization for the remainder of the year as a non-roster depth option for the club’s bullpen. Even in that regard, however, Morris is likely buried on the club’s depth chart by non-roster veterans like Tim Mayza, Chasen Shreve, and Art Warren.

Bo Bichette To Miss “Multiple Weeks” Due To Calf Strain

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5:05pm: Schneider told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) this evening that an MRI revealed a “moderate” calf strain for Bichette and that he will be sidelined for “multiple weeks” due to the issue.

10:57am: Bo Bichette left yesterday’s game due to a right calf strain, and it comes as no surprise that the Blue Jays have now placed the shortstop on the 10-day injured list.  Infielder Addison Barger has been called up from Triple-A to take Bichette’s spot on the active roster.

Bichette broke out of the batter’s box after lining out to right field at the end of the sixth inning, but immediately came up limping after a few steps.  Last night’s injury was the latest occurrence in what has been a collection of calf injuries for Bichette over the last month, as he spent a minimal 10-day stint on the IL with another strain to his right calf in June.  He also left Toronto’s game on July 10 with what was described as a right calf fascia strain, though with the All-Star break looming, the Jays opted to not place Bichette on the IL again, hoping that the time off would allow him to heal up.

Unfortunately, Bichette now again finds himself sidelined, and likely for well beyond a 10-day minimum.  Blue Jays manager John Schneider should soon update media on the outcome of Bichette’s MRI, yet even if the MRI was clean, the recurring nature of this calf injury probably means the Jays will opt on the side of caution in giving Bichette plenty of time to fully overcome this issue.  This almost surely means that Bichette will still be on the injured list when the trade deadline hits on July 30, all but eliminating the possibility that Toronto could part ways with the former All-Star.

Though it isn’t unheard of for teams to still make offers for injured players if an injury appears to be fairly minor in nature, two calf injuries for Bichette in a month’s time would likely give pause to any potential suitor.  From the Jays’ perspective, they’re not going to accept a diminished trade package for a player who (if healthy) is one of their strongest trade chips.  Even as it looks more and more apparent that Toronto will be deadline sellers, the team reportedly is still planning to contend in 2025, so their July 30 moves might be limited to pending free agents rather than longer-term core pieces.

Even beyond Bichette’s injuries, his trade value has been lowered by an unexpectedly disastrous 2024 season.  Bichette is hitting .222/.275/.320 with four home runs over 331 plate appearances, and his 69 wRC+ is the third-lowest among all qualified hitters in baseball.  Even if a low .266 BABIP and a big gap between his wOBA (.264) and his xwOBA (.306) count as some misfortune, Bichette’s power numbers have absolutely cratered from his career norms.  His .098 Isolated Power number is almost half the .187 ISO he posted from 2019-23, and his traditionally strong barrels and barrel rates are both well under the league average in 2024.

It is also worth noting that this isn’t entirely a one-year trend for Bichette.  His strong 2023 season sputtered to an end thanks to a pair of IL stints in the second half, as Bichette missed time to patellar tendinitis in his right knee and then a right quad strain.  Bichette’s first IL stint began on August 1, 2023, and he hit only .254/.292/.402 over his final 130 PA of the 2023 season.

With almost a full year of sample size, it is clear that Bichette simply hasn’t been right since that initial bout of tendinitis last August, and it is an additional concern that all of these injuries have come to his right leg specifically.  If Bichette is facing a fairly lengthy (say, a month or so) stay on the injured list anyway with his latest calf problem, it isn’t out of the question that the Blue Jays might just shut him down to get him ready for 2025, since the team won’t be in contention for the remainder of this year.

If the Jays’ next two months indeed become an information-gathering session for 2025, one silver lining to Bichette’s absence could be more playing time for Leo Jimenez at shortstop.  Jimenez has hit and fielded well in his small nine-game sample size as a big leaguer, and could become a shortstop of the future if Bichette is traded at some point, or if he leaves in free agency following the 2025 season.

Twins Place Carlos Correa, Chris Paddack On Injured List

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The Twins announced this afternoon that they’ve placed shortstop Carlos Correa and right-hander Chris Paddack on the injured list. Correa heads to the 10-day IL due to right plantar fasciitis, retroactive to July 16. Paddack, meanwhile is heading to the 15-day IL (retroactive to July 17) with a right forearm strain. In corresponding moves, second baseman Edouard Julien has been recalled from Triple-A, while utility bat Austin Martin has been activated from the IL.

That Correa is dealing with a bout of plantar fasciitis in his right foot isn’t news, as it was announced prior to the All-Star Break that the shortstop would not participate in the All-Star game due to the issue. It seems he’ll need additional time to rest his ailing foot, however, as he’s now shelved until at least July 26. Plantar fasciitis is generally considered to be a matter of pain tolerance, so it’s unlikely that Correa will remain shelved until it’s fully healed. Even so, it’s not necessarily a surprise that he and the Twins are taking the issue seriously given his struggles while playing through the issue in his left foot last year. While Correa played in 135 games last year, he posted a below-average 96 wRC+ while defensive metrics suggested that his typically excellent defense at shortstop slipped.

That decline in performance while playing through the injury clearly suggested to the Twins and Correa that it would be best for everyone if he took additional time to rest his ailing foot before returning to the lineup, though it’s worth noting that manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman) that Correa’s absence isn’t expected to require “several weeks to a month,” with the club anticipating his return sooner than that. For now, however, Correa has received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his foot and will look to recover while Gleeman relays that Willi Castro will get the majority of reps at shortstop in his absence.

With Castro handling shortstop on a regular basis and Brooks Lee covering for the injured Royce Lewis at third base, the Twins are calling on Julien to take back over at the keystone. The 25-year-old posted a pedestrian 97 wRC+ in his sophomore season across 58 games before being optioned down to the minors, where he has subsequently impressed with a 114 wRC+ and an eye-popping 21.2% walk rate. Julien will be joined by Martin, who can provide a right-handed complement to him at second base while also backing up the club’s outfield mix.

As for Paddack, the right-hander’s first full season back from his second Tommy John surgery has been a difficult one. He’s battled injury issues to make 17 starts this season, although even when healthy enough to take the mound he’s struggled to a 4.99 ERA despite solid peripherals such as a 4.19 FIP and a 4.09 SIERA. In spite of those peripherals, however, Paddack’s performance has seen him strike out a career-low 20.6% of batters faced while generating less grounders than ever before, a clip of just 37.3%. While forearm issues are somewhat alarming for a pitcher who has already gone under the knife for Tommy John surgery twice, Baldelli suggested to reporters (including Gleeman) that the club isn’t particularly concerned, believing that the problem is a muscle strain that will heal up with rest.

Even if Paddack is back in action in relatively short order, however, the news only exacerbates Minnesota’s obvious need for help in the starting rotation. While Joe Ryan has impressed as a front-of-the-rotation option and Bailey Ober’s typical mid-rotation production is as steady as ever, Pablo Lopez has surprisingly struggled after entering the season as the club’s ace following the departure of Sonny Gray over the winter while Louie Varland struggled enough in the fifth starter role to be demoted to Triple-A. Simeon Woods-Richardson has done well in Varland’s place, but with the likes of Varland and rookie Dave Festa as the best options to step into Paddack’s rotation spot, it’s easy to see why the Twins are reportedly looking into rental starters ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.

Cubs Sign First-Round Pick Cam Smith

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The Cubs have signed third baseman Cam Smith to a $5,070,700 bonus, per Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo. That bonus matches the slot value of the fourteenth overall pick Chicago used to select the infielder. Smith’s bonus will take up the majority of Chicago’s $9,802,300 total bonus pool for this year’s draft.

Smith, 21, was generally expected to go in the middle of the first round, although prospect services held some differences of opinion regarding his exact placement in the class. MLB Pipeline had Smith ranked exactly 14th, while Fangraphs was highest on him at 7th in the class. Baseball America (16th), ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (17th), and The Athletic’s Keith Law (19th) all ranked Smith just below Pipeline but still within the draft’s top 20.

The Florida State product boasts a strong .331/.420/.594 slash line across his time in collegiate ball, although it’s worth noting that he adjusted his swing prior to his second year in the ACC and took a major step forward with an eye-popping .387/.488/.654 slash line in 322 trips to the plate. Listed at 6’3”, 224 lbs, there’s some debate among various prospect services about whether or not Smith will be able to stick at third base long-term, but scouts generally seem to agree that even if he needs to move to an outfield corner or first base his impressive power potential should allow him to stay relevant at positions where more pressure will be put on his bat.

It’s the second season in a row where the Cubs used their first-round pick to select a college infielder, and Smith figures to join 2023 draftee Matt Shaw in the club’s near-term infield plans. Dansby Swanson is locked in at shortstop long-term, and Michael Busch is surely part of the club’s long-term plans amid a fantastic rookie campaign where he’s slashed a 132 wRC+ as the club’s primary first baseman.

Even so, there’s still room in the club’s big league infield mix for an addition or two when Shaw and/or Smith are ready to contribute. Christopher Morel has had an up-and-down season at the plate while struggling badly with the glove at the hot corner, and while Nico Hoerner is currently locked in as the club’s everyday second baseman his contract runs only through the end of the 2026 season. With some scouts suggesting that Smith’s development may take a bit longer than is typically associated with college position players, it’s certainly feasible to imagine playing time opening up for Smith by the time he reaches the majors, even in the event that Shaw is able to position himself as an everyday infielder in his own right.

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