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Archives for August 2024

Orioles Place Zach Eflin On Injured List

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The Orioles placed Zach Eflin on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to August 17, on account of shoulder inflammation. Baltimore also placed Keegan Akin on the paternity list. Rookie Cade Povich and reliever Dillon Tate are up from Triple-A Norfolk to take the open spots on the active roster.

Baltimore acquired Eflin in their biggest move at the deadline. The righty had carried a 4.09 earned run average through 19 starts with the Rays in the season’s first half. He has gotten out to a fantastic start to his O’s tenure. Eflin has surrendered only six runs through his first four starts. He’s averaging nearly 6 1/3 innings per appearance and has turned in a stellar 25:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

That positions Eflin as the O’s #2 or #3 starter in a hypothetical playoff series. Corbin Burnes would surely get Game 1, while Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are the presumptive choices for the next two appearances if they’re healthy. Both pitchers are currently on the injured list, though it doesn’t seem Eflin’s issue is as worrisome as Rodriguez’s is. While the youngster is shooting for a late September return after sustaining a lat strain, Eflin might not miss much more than the minimum 15 days. Skipper Brandon Hyde told the Baltimore beat he’s hopeful that it’ll be a short-term stay (X link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com).

Even a brief absence could have a significant impact on the AL East race. Baltimore is only half a game behind the Yankees for both the division lead and the best record in the American League. The O’s rotation depth has long been the biggest question mark on a very strong roster. With Kyle Bradish and John Means done for the season, Baltimore has deadline pickup Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer and Albert Suárez as their next three starters behind Burnes.

Rogers struggled for much of the season with the Marlins and has been hit especially hard in four starts since landing in Baltimore. Kremer looks like a fifth starter. Suárez has proven an excellent find in his return to the big leagues after seven years, but he’s probably best suited for a back-end or swing role on a contender. The Orioles will need to land on a fifth starter with Eflin out of action and only one off day between now and September 5. Povich, one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, seems like the choice. He has had a rough opening to his MLB career, allowing a 5.77 ERA with a similarly underwhelming strikeout and walk profile across his first nine starts.

Astros Claim Ben Gamel

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The Astros have claimed outfielder Ben Gamel off waivers from the Mets, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic on X. Gamel had recently been designated for assignment by the Mets. To open a 40-man roster spot for Gamel, the Astros have recalled right-hander J.P. France and placed him on the major league 60-day injured list. They will need to open an active roster spot for Gamel once he reports to the team.

Gamel, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the offseason. He had a strong run for Triple-A Syracuse, getting into 45 games and slashing .314/.423/.538 for a wRC+ of 150. At least some of that production was related to a .400 batting average on balls in play that he wasn’t going to maintain, but he did hit seven home runs and was drawing walks at a strong clip of 16.3%.

The Mets called him up near the end of June with fellow outfielder Starling Marte going on the injured list. Gamel didn’t get much playing time but carried himself well whenever the Mets put him in there. In almost two months on the roster, he got into just 18 games and received just 30 plate appearances. But he walked in seven of those, a huge 23.3% rate, and slashed .217/.400/.261 for a wRC+ of 110. When Marte returned from the IL on the weekend, Gamel was nudged off the roster and onto the waiver wire.

Gamel now has nine major league seasons on his track record, a lengthy run of serviceable major league performance. Since his 2016 debut, he has played for the Yankees, Mariners, Brewers, Guardians, Pirates, Padres and now the Mets. In 703 big league games, he has a line of .252/.333/.382 and a 96 wRC+ while playing all three outfield positions and a bit of first base.

The Houston lineup has taken a few hits in the recent weeks and months. Kyle Tucker hasn’t played since the first week of June due to a shin contusion. Alex Bregman hasn’t played in almost a week due to an elbow injury. José Abreu was released earlier this year after a dismal performance. They also traded away some depth in the Yusei Kikuchi trade by sending Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner to the Blue Jays.

That has led to playing time going to guys with fairly uninspiring results. Jake Meyers has strong defensive grades in center but is hitting .228/.293/.387 for a wRC+ of 93. Mauricio Dubón has been bouncing around the diamond but is slashing .252/.284/.362 for a wRC+ of 82. Jon Singleton has taken over Abreu’s job at first base and has been passable but his .234/.316/.362 line leads to a subpar 96 wRC+. In the group of Trey Cabbage, Chas McCormick, Zach Dezenzo, Aledmys Díaz and Pedro León, no one has a wRC+ higher than 65. León was recently optioned and Díaz released. Shay Whitcomb has done well covering third for Bregman but in a small sample of just three games.

Dubón and McCormick have been getting regular playing time in the corners lately but Gamel could perhaps factor in there, as well as in the first base mix with Singleton and Dezenzo. Both Cabbage and Dezenzo have options and were just recalled in the past week, so perhaps one of those two will be optioned whenever Gamel can link up with the club.

As for France, he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in June, so it’s unsurprising to see him now landing on the 60-day IL. He had been optioned at the end of April and was on the minor league IL. By getting recalled now, he’ll get major league service time and pay for the remainder of the season. He had already crossed the one-year service mark earlier in the season, but will add a few weeks to his tally here at the end of 2024.

Diamondbacks Designate Gavin Hollowell For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks officially announced their signing of infielder Luis Guillorme, which was reported earlier today. In corresponding moves, they optioned infielder Blaze Alexander and designated right-hander Gavin Hollowell for assignment.

Hollowell, 26, has never pitched for the D’backs at the big league level. He had spent his entire career with the Rockies until they put him on waivers in June. The Snakes claimed him at that time but mostly have kept him on optional assignment since then. He was briefly recalled at the start of July but was optioned back down to Triple-A Reno a day later without getting into a game.

The Snakes were likely intrigued by his big strikeout numbers in the minors. Those have sometimes come with plenty of walks, which was certainly the case after switching organizations. In 17 1/3 Triple-A innings since coming to the Diamondbacks, he has a 3.63 earned run average and 30.4% strikeout rate but a huge walk rate of 16.5%. Combined with his time in the Rockies’ system earlier this year, his 2024 season consists of 23 2/3 minor league innings with a 5.70 ERA, 29.5% strikeout rate and 16.1% walk rate.

Those control issues weren’t as bad in previous seasons. He tossed 96 minor league innings over the 2021 to 2023 period with an even 3.00 ERA, 32% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate. He also tossed 40 2/3 major league innings for the Rockies with a 6.20 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate and 11.8% walk rate.

He’s now been squeezed off Arizona’s roster. With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, they will have to put him on waivers in the coming days. Though the control hasn’t been there this year, his strikeout stuff could intrigue some clubs around the league. If he is claimed, he will still have an option year remaining after this campaign, giving him some future roster flexibility. He also has less than a year of major league service time, meaning a claiming team could control him well into the future.

Jeimer Candelario Placed On Injured List With Toe Fracture

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The Reds announced that infielder Amed Rosario, recently claimed off waivers from the Dodgers, has reported to the team and been added to the active roster. In a corresponding move, fellow infielder Jeimer Candelario has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left great toe fracture.

It hasn’t been officially relayed by the club when Candelario suffered this injury or how long they expect him to be out. In Sunday’s game against the Royals, he was hit by a pitch on his foot in the second inning, just before the umpires decided it was time for a rain delay. He did finish that game and also served as the designated hitter against the Blue Jays last night, but perhaps he didn’t realize he was playing through a fracture, or maybe did realize it but was just waiting for Rosario to join the club before heading to the IL.

Either way, it’s the latest in a remarkable series of events that have subtracted from the Cincinnati infield this year. The Reds signed Candelario to a three-year, $45MM deal in the offseason, which seemed unnecessary at the time. The Reds already had an infield mix consisting of Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Jonathan India, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Noelvi Marté and Spencer Steer. That was arguably already a surplus and Candelario made the picture even more crowded.

But that surplus quickly evaporated before the season even started. In March, Marté was hit with an 80-game PED suspension and McLain required shoulder surgery. Marté has since returned after serving his suspension but McLain has yet to make his season debut. Encarnacion-Strand struggled out of the gate and hit the injured list in May, eventually requiring surgery for an ulnar styloid fracture in his right wrist. With all of those injuries in their infield, and some in the outfield as well, the club only has four players who currently qualify for the batting title: De La Cruz, India, Steer and Candelario.

But now Candelario is set to miss some time as well, putting his first season in Cincinnati on pause. It’s been a bit of a disappointing year for him, despite his 20 home runs. He’s hit .225/.279/.429 overall for a wRC+ of 88, a noticeable drop from last year’s line of .251/.336/.471 and 118 wRC+. It’s possible some bad luck could explain the drop-off, as his .257 batting average on balls in play this year is well below the .290 league average and his own .292 mark from last year, but his Statcast metrics are all a bit less potent than last year’s.

It’s also possible that injuries have played a role there. On June 21, members of the club’s beat indicated Candelario has been battling knee tendinitis, with Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer among those to pass it along. Candelario had a .255/.310/.506 batting line and 118 wRC+ on that date but has hit just .182/.233/.318 for a 45 wRC+ since. If there’s a silver lining of this toe fracture, perhaps it will give Candelario a breather to get his knee back in good shape so that he can come back in good form.

Due to the club’s various issues around the dirt this year, they have picked up Santiago Espinal, Ty France and now Rosario as the season has gone along. Those three will help fill out the infield alongside De La Cruz, India, Steer and Marté as the Reds try to keep their season alive. They are currently 5.5 games out of a playoff spot but would have to leapfrog five different clubs to get into postseason position.

Diamondbacks To Sign Luis Guillorme

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The Diamondbacks are signing infielder Luis Guillorme, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase on X. It appears to be a major league deal, as Álvarez-Montes adds that the infielder is already at LoanDepot Park in Miami for tonight’s game against the Marlins. The Snakes will need to make a corresponding move or moves to add the veteran to their active and 40-man rosters.

Once Guillorme officially becomes a Diamondback, it will be his third club of the year. He began the season with Atlanta but was traded to the Angels in May. The Halos had most of their infield either banged up or on the injured list at that time, with each of Anthony Rendon, Michael Stefanic, Brandon Drury, Luis Rengifo and Miguel Sanó dealing with injuries. He played a part-time role with the Angels until he was released last week.

Between the two clubs, Guillorme has hit .218/.285/.290 this year, a line that translates to a wRC+ of 63. That’s roughly in line with last year’s production, when he hit .224/.288/.327 with the Mets for a wRC+ of 70. He was non-tendered after 2023 and became a free agent, which led to his deal with Atlanta.

Prior to the lackluster performance that began last year, Guillorme had a some solid years in Queens. He got into 201 games for the Mets over the 2020 to 2022 period, slashing .278/.367/.344 for a wRC+ of 107. He did that while bouncing between the three infield positions to the left of first base, getting average-ish grades at all three in that time.

The Diamondbacks recently lost a big piece of their infield with Ketel Marte landing on the injured list due to a left ankle sprain. That has led to Kevin Newman moving from a bench role into the club’s regular at the keystone, next to Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop and Eugenio Suárez at third base.

The club has Blaze Alexander on hand as infield depth but he’s fairly lacking in experience, with just 61 big league games under his belt to this point. He’s also right-handed, whereas Guillorme hits from the left side, so having both on the bench could give manager Torey Lovullo a bit more flexibility in optimizing his non-Marte lineups. Guillorme has a 98 wRC+ against righties in his career, compared to a 63 wRC+ against southpaws. Newman, a righty, has a 98 RC+ with the platoon advantage but a 69 without.

It’s a fairly low-cost pickup for the Snakes, as the Angels are on the hook for most of Guillorme’s $1.1MM salary. Arizona will only have to pay him the prorated version of the $740K league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Angels pay.

Guillorme hasn’t been in amazing form of late but has a decent track record, which could perhaps allow him to help the Diamondbacks get through this period of time without Marte, which they hope will be short. If Guillorme bounces back and holds his roster spot through the end of the year, he can be retained for 2025 via arbitration.

Red Sox Release Dominic Smith

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The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve released first baseman Dominic Smith, whom they designated for assignment earlier in the week when reinstating fellow first baseman Triston Casas from the injured list.

Smith, 29, joined the Sox back in May after Casas went down with a rib fracture. He wound up appearing in 83 games and tallying 278 plate appearances with a .237/.317/.390 batting line. Smith smacked six homers and 20 doubles along the way while walking at a solid 9% clip and fanning at a 23.4% rate that’s a bit higher than the league average. By measure of wRC+, Smith was about 5% worse than a league-average bat at the plate during his time with the BoSox.

From a defensive standpoint, Smith is something of a mixed bag. Defensive Runs Saved had him as a positive last year but pegs him at -2 in 2024. Statcast’s Outs Above Average has had him slightly above-average in each of the past three seasons but below-average in his career overall. It’s fair to suggest Smith has improved his glovework over the years, but he’s still not a standout defensive player at his position.

Drafted 11th overall by the 2013 Mets, Smith was a longtime top prospect and looked to be making good on that billing in 2019-20, when he slashed .299/.366/.571 with 21 homers in a combined 139 games and 396 plate appearances.

After that strong showing, however, Smith’s offense has cratered. He admitted after the fact that he tried to play through a small tear in the labrum of his right shoulder during the 2021 season, which surely impacted his performance at the dish. An ankle injury in 2022 also hampered him. Overall, Smith carries a feeble .242/.312/.361 batting line in 1509 plate appearances since that 2019-20 showing, with this year’s stint in Boston standing as his most productive stretch in the four years since.

Braves Sign Gio Urshela

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9:30am: The Braves formally announced the signing of Urshela. Riley has been placed on the 10-day IL to open a spot on the active roster, while lefty A.J. Minter — who underwent season-ending hip surgery recently — was moved to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot.

8:20am: The Braves and Urshela have agreed to a deal, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

7:50am: The Braves are nearing a major league deal with third baseman Gio Urshela, per a report from The New York Post’s Joel Sherman this morning. Urshela was recently designated for assignment and released by the Tigers, who’ll be on the hook for the remainder of his $1.5MM salary. The Braves will only owe Urshela the prorated league minimum for the time he spends on the big league roster or injured list. Urshela is a client of Rep 1 Baseball.

The news comes just one day after Braves third baseman Austin Riley was diagnosed with a hand fracture that is expected to sideline him for between six and eight weeks. If that timeline holds, it will leave him out of action for at least the remainder of the regular season and the early portions of the postseason, though it’s feasible he could return to the field if Atlanta makes a deep enough run into the playoffs.

With utilityman Whit Merrifield already covering for the injured Ozzie Albies at second base, that seemingly left the club to rely on top infield prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. and depth infielder Luke Williams to handle the hot corner down the stretch. With Urshela now in the fold, the club will add a veteran third baseman into the fold who could help raise the floor on their production at the position in Riley’s absence.

For Urshela, the deal represents an opportunity to get regular at-bats with a playoff contender down the stretch while also attempting to re-establish himself as a regular option following a disappointing stint in Detroit this year. Following a 2023 season where he was limited to just 62 games by a season-ending pelvic fracture, Urshela hit free agency and signed a one-year deal worth just $1.5MM with the Tigers back in February. At the time, it seemed to be a bargain for a player who had been a steady regular at third base for several years. It quickly turned sour, however, as Urshela delivered his worst season since establishing himself as a regular with the Yankees back in 2019.

The 32-year-old hit just .243/.286/.333 (73 wRC+) in 325 trips to the plate with the Tigers while splitting time between the infield corners. Defensive metrics are extremely mixed on Urshela’s defense at third, as the veteran has accumulated -17 Outs Above Average at the position since becoming a regular back in 2019. Brutal as that figure may seem, Defensive Runs Saved actually has Urshela as a plus defender at the hot corner over that same timeframe with a +4 figure overall. Still, even the most favorable views of Urshela’s defense leave it difficult to justify him as an everyday option if his hitting numbers remain where they were in Detroit.

Fortunately, there’s some reasons for optimism regarding the veteran’s future. His track record over the past half decade speaks for itself, as he entered the 2024 season as a solid .291/.335/.452 (115 wRC+) hitter since his 2019 breakout with New York. That’s the 16th-best figure among all qualified third baseman over that time frame. What’s more, Urshela’s .271 BABIP is by far the lowest of his career; he entered the 2024 season with a career .319 BABIP that had jumped to .334 since his breakout in 2019.

A return to form in that regard could help Urshela put up numbers closer to league average offensively. His batted ball data also suggests he’s in line for some positive regression. The 32-year-old’s .271 wOBA is a far cry from his .305 xwOBA, a figure that (while still below average) would put him roughly in line with his more palatable 2021 and 2023 seasons, where his offensive output was around 3% and 8% worse than league average (by wRC+). Even that level of production would make Urshela a solid fill-in at the hot corner for Atlanta, particularly if the club doesn’t want to push Alvarez into an everyday big league role in the middle of a pennant race at just 21 years old.

Cubs Release Hector Neris

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The Cubs are releasing veteran reliever Hector Neris, reports ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The team already passed Neris through waivers without making a formal announcement of the move. He went unclaimed. Neris’ spot on the 40-man roster will be filled by right-hander Jack Neely, whose contract is being selected from Triple-A Iowa. Neely was acquired from the Yankees in the deadline trade sending Mark Leiter Jr. to the Bronx.

Neris, 35, was signed to a one-year, $9MM contract over the winter and has had an up-and-down season in what’ll now be his lone year with the Cubs. His 3.89 earned run average is sound, but Neris has blown five of 25 save situations on the season while sporting career-worst strikeout and walk rates of 23.1% and 13.3%, respectively.

The more prominent factor in the decision to release the right-hander, however, could be a vesting player option that would’ve kicked in had Neris reached 60 appearances or 45 games finished on the season. He’s only appeared in 46 games right now and finished a game 33 times. Neris thus would’ve needed to pitch in 14 of Chicago’s remaining 37 games — a 37% usage rate — or recorded the final out in 12 of them, but if he’d done so he’d have secured a $9MM player option for the upcoming season. Given his shaky performance, the Cubs very likely weren’t interested in allowing that provision to be reached.

While Neris clearly hasn’t had his best season, he’s only a year removed from a sparkling 1.71 ERA in 68 1/3 frames for the Astros. That mark is also deceptive, as benefited from a .219 average on balls in play and 90.5% strand rate that combined to tamp down his earned run average. Metrics like FIP (3.83) and SIERA (3.89) were more bearish, but between Neris’ 28.2% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate, he still had the makings of a solid all-around season. More broadly, Neris’ track record from 2019-23 on the whole is quite impressive. He pitched 297 1/3 innings between the Phillies and Astros, combining for a 3.12 ERA (3.33 SIERA), 30.2% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate, 40.1% grounder rate, 0.97 HR/9, 73 holds and 50 saves.

With Neris returning to the open market, he’ll now be available for any team to sign for the remainder of the season. He’ll only cost his new club the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster/injured list. That sum would be subtracted from what the Cubs are paying him, but Chicago remains on the hook for the bulk of his contract regardless. And, so long as Neris signs with a new organization before Sept. 1 — even on a minor league deal — he can be eligible for that team’s postseason roster. (If he’s not on the 40-man at the time, he’d technically need to be a replacement for an injured player on the postseason roster, but such exceptions happen multiple times quite literally every season.)

As for Neely, he’ll be making his big league debut the first time he takes the mound in a Cubs uniform. The 24-year-old righty was the Yankees’ 11th-round pick in 2021 and has emerged as a legitimate bullpen prospect, brandishing a prototypical fastball/slider combination that’s helped him pitch to a combined 2.42 ERA with a whopping 38% strikeout rate against an 8.5% walk rate in 48 1/3 innings across the Double-A and Triple-A levels with the Cubs and Yanks this year.

MLB.com ranks Neely 18th among Chicago farmhands, while FanGraphs pegs him 22nd. The towering 6’8″, 245-pound Neely sits around 95 mph with his heater — and likely looks faster than that, given the extension his massive frame generates. FanGraphs credits him with a plus (60-grade) slider, while MLB.com’s report tabs it as a true plus-plus (70-grade) pitch — noting the massive whiff and chase rates that Neely generated on the pitch late in the 2023 season.

Neely won’t gain a full year of big league service in 2024, of course, so the Cubs will control him for at least six full seasons following the current campaign. Even if he’s in the majors for good, Neely can’t be arbitration-eligible until the 2027-28 offseason and wouldn’t hit free agency until the 2030-31 offseason. His contract is only just now being selected to the 40-man roster, however, meaning he’ll likely retain a full slate of three minor league option years beyond the current season. As such, future optional assignments could impact his arbitration and free agent timelines. For now, he’ll simply focus on carrying his excellent upper-minors work over to the big leagues and establishing himself as a credible major league bullpen weapon.

The Opener: Devers, Phillies, Braves, MLBTR Chat

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The Braves already got Tuesday’s news cycle started, and here are some other things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye out for today:

1. Devers nearing milestone:

Red Sox star Rafael Devers is nearing a noteworthy milestone as he sits at 199 career home runs. His next homer will make him the 11th player in Red Sox history to hit 200 homers for the club, and his relative youth at just 27 years old also means that, assuming he hits the milestone before season’s end, he’ll be just the 27th player in MLB history to reach 200 home runs before his 28th birthday. Devers’ march toward 200 homers comes in the midst of a banner year. Through 111 games this season, he’s posted an excellent .298/.377/.591 slash line with 33 doubles, 27 homers, and a career-high five triples in just 488 trips to the plate. That slugging percentage would be the highest of Devers’ career if he can maintain it over the rest of the season.

2. Series Preview: Phillies @ Braves

Despite holding the top two positions in the NL East, it’s been a rough second half for both the Phillies and Braves. Philadelphia has gone just 11-17 since the All-Star break, thanks largely the NL’s worst bullpen performance and a lineup and rotation that have been roughly middle of the pack during that time. Meanwhile, only the Marlins, Rockies and Nationals have seen their rotations yield runs at a higher rate than the Braves in the second half. That shaky performance comes in spite of Chris Sale’s resurgent campaign, which has put him firmly into the conversation for the Cy Young Award.

With just percentage points separating Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles as they fight for the top two seeds in the NL (and the accompanying bye through the Wild Card Series) and the Braves clinging to a 1.5-game lead over the Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot, the Phillies are now headed to Atlanta for a three-game set. The series will kick off at 7:20pm local time this evening with a pitchers’ duel between Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (2.72 ERA) and breakout Braves righty Reynaldo Lopez (2.06 ERA), the latter of whom is making his first start in three weeks following an IL stint for forearm inflammation. Tomorrow will see Aaron Nola (3.45 ERA) square off against Max Fried (3.62 ERA) in a matchup between decorated hurlers. The series will conclude with Braves rookie Spencer Schwellenbach (4.04 ERA) on the mound against an as-of-yet unnamed Phillies starter.

3. MLBTR Chat today:

It’s been a busy few days around the league on the injury front, particularly in the NL where the Braves, Reds, and Diamondbacks have all lost key members of their respective cores to the injured list. If you have any questions about your favorite team’s playoff aspirations and/or their upcoming offseason, MLBTR’s Steve Adams is holding a live chat with readers at 1pm CT today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

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