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The Opener: D-backs, Lewis, Saves Leaderboard

By Nick Deeds | July 3, 2024 at 9:08am CDT

As the trade deadline inches ever closer — and as the market begins to produce some activity — here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Mena to debut for Arizona?

As noted by Alex Weiner of AZSports last night, Diamondbacks pitching prospect Cristian Mena was in the big league clubhouse prior to last night’s game with the Dodgers. Manager Torey Lovullo simply noted that Mena was on the club’s taxi squad for their road trip to Los Angeles and did not elaborate further on the right-hander’s status, but with no starting pitcher scheduled for tonight’s game and Mena having last pitched on June 26 at the Triple-A level, it seems likely that the 21-year-old could be making his big league debut. Mena is already on the 40-man roster, meaning only an active roster move would be necessary to add him to the club’s mix.

Arizona acquired the youngster from the White Sox over the offseason in the trade that sent outfielder Dominic Fletcher to Chicago. He ranks as the Snakes’ No. 11 prospect per MLB.com and No. 14 prospect per Baseball America. Mena has struggled to a 4.90 ERA and 5.66 FIP with a 10.4% walk rate in a hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. If Mena were to be recalled for a start this evening, it’s unclear whether that would be a spot start or if he would be joining the rotation alongside Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt, Slade Cecconi, and Ryne Nelson on a more permanent basis.

2. Lewis to undergo MRI:

The injury woes never seem to stop for Twins infielder Royce Lewis. The youngster departed Minnesota’s game against the Tigers yesterday due to left groin tightness. Dan Hayes of The Athletic relayed last night that Lewis is set to undergo an MRI and additional testing on the issue. Hayes went on to note that Lewis seemed to expect that he’ll be placed on the injured list, although he added that a team source indicated that the club expects any stay on the IL to be a relatively short one.

Even as time on the shelf becomes increasingly familiar for the 25-year-old, losing him for any amount of time will sting for the Twins. Lewis is slashing a robust .287/.351/.678 in 97 trips to the plate this year, good for a 176 wRC+. While that’s not an especially large sample size, he’s done nothing but hit at a superstar level when healthy enough to take the field ever since his debut back in 2022. In 94 career games in the majors, Lewis has a cumulative slash line of .303/.361/.584 with 27 homers in just 379 trips to the plate. Should Lewis miss time, Jose Miranda would take over at third base.

3. History on the Saves Leaderboard:

Orioles right-hander Craig Kimbrel recorded the 437th save of his career last night, tying him for fourth place on the all-time saves leaderboard with six-time All-Star Francisco Rodriguez. The only players in MLB history with more saves than Kimbrel now are Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, and Lee Smith, all three of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Sitting just one save behind Kimbrel and Rodriguez is Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen, who has been the subject of persistent trade rumors dating back to the offseason but has shut out the noise to dominate this year with a 2.22 ERA, 2.10 FIP, and 16 saves in 28 appearances. Kimbrel has been similarly impressive this year with a 2.37 ERA and 2.70 FIP to go along with 19 saves in 34 appearances.

The pair of 36-year-olds could both continue their ascent up the all-time leaderboard as soon as tonight as Jansen looks to tie Rodriguez himself with his next save while Kimbrel looks to take sole possession of fourth place on the leaderboard. Jansen’s Red Sox are set to face the Marlins in Miami at 6:40pm local time this evening, while the Orioles will face the Mariners in Seattle at 7:10pm local time.

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View Comments (16)
Post a Comment

16 Comments

  1. CBeisbol

    1 year ago

    Just as everyone predicted, DBacks really putting it to the Dodgers this year.

    Definitely the dominant team and not just a sample size fluke

    1
    Reply
    • Lets Go DBacks

      1 year ago

      Well, you can’t say that we didn’t beat the Dodgers in a mid May series.

      On the other hand no one expected us to win the division but having your ace missing a month and the numbers 2 & 3 on the shelf for almost the entire season doesn’t really help either. Or do you think otherwise?

      3
      Reply
      • CBeisbol

        1 year ago

        Kershaw missed all of 2024 so far
        May missed all of 2024 so far
        Gonsolin missed all of 2024
        Buehler missed a month
        Yamamoto out 2 months
        Miller missed time
        Buehler missed most of the season
        Sheehan has missed all of 2024 so far

        “Or do you think otherwise?”

        Come again?

        Reply
      • CBeisbol

        1 year ago

        LGDB

        A thing I’ve noticed over the last decade:

        low information fans / tolls: Team X has the Dodgers’ number.
        Team X: Plays 500ish ball
        Dodgers: win 100 games and the division
        Low information fans / trolls: Team Y has the Dodgers’ number

        Reply
        • CBeisbol

          1 year ago

          2021: Giants beat the Dodgers by a game in the regular season and in the NLCS. Low information fans/trolls: Giants rule, Dodgers drool! Since then: Giants below .500 and 0 playoffs.

          2022: Padres beat the Dodgers in the NLDS. Low information fans / trolls: Padres rule, Dodgers drool! Since then: Padres fringe playoff condenders.

          2023: DBacks beat the Dodgers in the NLDS. Low information fans / trollsL DBacks rule, Dodgers drool! Since then: DBacks under .500

          Will the low information fans / trolls figure it out before the Rockies get their shot?

          Reply
        • Lets Go DBacks

          1 year ago

          Wow you’re salty and obviously have a lot of grudge for knocking you guys out unexpectedly and very hard in the playoffs last year.

          Get over it and enjoy your dominance in the NL West the last 5 years and the next 10 years to come. Diamondbacks are and were not planning to win the NL West but we will enjoy every series win and every playoff win more than you guys will enjoy your 50th NL West title.

          3
          Reply
        • CBeisbol

          1 year ago

          LGDB

          Yes. I’m the salty one here

          Reply
    • fred-3

      1 year ago

      Who predicted that? Anyone who knows anything about baseball saw last year’s World Series as a fluke. Not to take anything away from those teams, but it’s just about getting hot at the right time now. I mean, the D’Backs went 7-25 at one point last season lol.

      Reply
      • CBeisbol

        1 year ago

        fred

        “Who predicted that?”

        Lots of low information fans / trolls on sites like this

        Reply
    • sufferforsnakes

      1 year ago

      Dang, are you still crying?

      Reply
      • CBeisbol

        1 year ago

        sfs

        ‘crying’

        Adios

        Reply
        • sufferforsnakes

          1 year ago

          Adios? Oh, you mean the same thing the Diamondbacks said to the Dodgers after sweeping them in the playoffs last season?

          Reply
  2. Lets Go DBacks

    1 year ago

    There is no such thing as making your MLB debut as a 21 year old and be greeted by the almighty Dodgers lineup.

    Reply
    • Old York

      1 year ago

      @Lets Go DBacks

      Mitchell Parker made his debut against the Dodgers back in April. 5 innings, 2 ER, 4K, 4 H, 3.60 ERA and FIP of 1.56.

      Guy just needs to focus on executing his pitches not whether it’s the NL All Star Team he’s facing.

      1
      Reply
  3. cr4

    1 year ago

    It’s genuinely insane how the Twins have two legitimate superstars and neither of them can play half a season

    Reply
  4. westcasey

    1 year ago

    Saves are BS. Guy inherits 3 run lead with one inning to go, allows 2 earned runs and gets a save. ERA is 18.00. Seems a little too lenient and certainly not like a few decades back when tying run needed to be on deck at least.

    Now holds..well, Guy can get hold (as in holds the lead) and also get the loss in the same game. Seems MLBPA a/o Boras has really stretched that selling point.

    Reply

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