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The Opener: Martin, Royals, Giants, Phillies

By Nick Deeds | May 19, 2025 at 8:45am CDT

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Martin exits due to shoulder issue:

Rangers right-hander Chris Martin departed yesterday’s game against the Astros after throwing just one pitch. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News) that Martin’s exit was due to “shoulder discomfort.” Bochy indicated that Martin’s shoulder will be examined before the club makes any decisions about next steps, but it would hardly be a shock to see the nearly 39-year-old hurler be placed on the shelf. That would be a tough outcome for the Rangers, as Martin has been fantastic in a late-inning role this year with a 1.83 ERA and 1.87 FIP across 22 appearances.

2. Series Preview: Royals @ Giants

The Royals are headed to San Francisco for a three-game set that pits the current holder of the final Wild Card spot in each league against one another. The Royals have a one-game lead over the Rangers and Astros for the last spot in the AL, while the Giants have a two-game lead on the Cardinals over in the NL.

Southpaw Kris Bubic has a sterling 1.66 ERA through nine starts, and at 6:45pm local time in San Francisco he’ll be taking on fellow lefty Robbie Ray (3.04 ERA) in an attempt hand the Giants their first loss of the season with the veteran Ray on the bump. Tuesday, Royals righty Michael Lorenzen (3.76 ERA in nine starts) will square off against Hayden Birdsong (2.31 ERA in 11 relief outings) as he moves from the bullpen to the rotation. The series will close out on Wednesday with San Francisco ace Logan Webb (2.42 ERA in ten starts) taking on a to-be-announced Royals starter. Kansas City placed both Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo on the injured list over the weekend.

3. How will the Phillies handle the loss of Alvarado?

The Phillies were dealt a nasty surprise yesterday when closer Jose Alvarado was suspended for 80-games after testing positive for exogenous testosterone. The lefty has been crucial in the bullpen for Philadelphia, delivering a 2.70 ERA and 1.84 FIP in 20 appearances while picking up seven saves. Fellow lefty Matt Strahm (2.89 ERA, 1.91 FIP in 21 outings) has been nearly as effective, but the Phillies’ relief corps owns a lackluster 4.57 ERA as a collective unit. That’s a bottom-ten figure in baseball, thanks largely to early struggles from Jordan Romano (7.27 ERA) and Carlos Hernandez (6.35 ERA). Romano, however, has rattled off eight consecutive scoreless frames with an 11-to-1 K/BB ratio. Hernandez hasn’t been as sharp but still has a more palatable 4.50 mark with improved strikeout and walk rates over his past 10 frames.

Getting Romano back to the pre-injury form he showed in Toronto would be a boon, especially since trade season is unlikely to begin in earnest for another month at least. In the meantime, could the Phillies look to make a more minor addition, as their division rivals in New York did when they added southpaw Jose Castillo in a trade the Diamondbacks last week?

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View Comments (31)
Post a Comment

31 Comments

  1. Fever Pitch Guy

    4 weeks ago

    There’s nothing better than a good Bubic showing.

    Let’s hope he can help nip the road losing streak in the bud.

    His ERA is real and it’s spectacular!

    8
    Reply
    • WadeBoggsWildRide

      4 weeks ago

      I’ve been doodling my bubic all morning.

      1
      Reply
    • Cat Calls/Wolf Whistles

      4 weeks ago

      Hi Fever, this is Ignorant SOB’s burner account and I just wanted to reach out to apologize if anything I posted rubbed you the wrong way…not sure what happened…but that was never my intention. I thought we always had good convos and shared good humor so just wanted to smooth things over in case I posted something stupidily, I apologize for that. Cheers for now.

      1
      Reply
      • WadeBoggsWildRide

        4 weeks ago

        Can you see if people blocked you? I accidentally blocked someone the other day but can’t figure out how to fix it on the phone.

        Reply
        • Fever Pitch Guy

          4 weeks ago

          Wade – If someone blocks (mutes) you, the way you can tell is there’s no “Reply” option below their posts.

          You can un-mute people using “Update Your Profile” on a PC, not sure if it’s the same on your phone. I don’t use my phone hardly ever.

          1
          Reply
        • WadeBoggsWildRide

          4 weeks ago

          Thanks!

          1
          Reply
      • Fever Pitch Guy

        4 weeks ago

        SOB – I’m so glad you reached out! You have absolutely no reason to apologize, you did nothing wrong. I think you just may have forgotten about the site glitch here.

        Here’s how it went my friend ….

        One day I discovered I couldn’t reply to your posts, I was disappointed but I figured maybe you just got turned off because I know I do post too much. LOL

        Then you posted how you had accidentally muted me, but you thought you fixed it.

        But it wasn’t fixed …. I still couldn’t reply to your posts. It’s a known glitch here, this has happened to others besides you.

        Anyway if you want to give it a try again with your SOB account, then I’ll post whether or not it’s fixed (without replying to anyone if it’s not). If it’s still not fixed, maybe you can send an email to the site? I dunno, I’ve never contacted anyone here about technical issues.

        But yeah I really enjoyed our conversations and interactions, in fact if you read my comments in the link below you’ll see my view of you is 100% positive.

        mlbtraderumors.com/2024/11/free-agent-prediction-c…

        1
        Reply
  2. Canuckleball

    4 weeks ago

    It just could be that Romano is returning to form at the right time for the Phils. If Romano is actually back to his pre-injury form, they have their replacement closer in house. Prior to the injury last season, Romano had been one of the AL’s most effecient closers at converting save opportunities into saves.

    3
    Reply
    • Johnny Devil

      4 weeks ago

      To many ifs for a team with a the best starting rotation in baseball and championship asperations. Sorry, you don’t spend 300 million to settle for if Jordan Romano can . Has been Jordan Romano is for pretenders. Dumbrowski hopefully will move off some of those young arms and find his closer.

      Reply
    • Idosteroids

      4 weeks ago

      Maybe he should face a team outside of the pirates before you make that declaration.

      Reply
      • Bart Harley Jarvis

        4 weeks ago

        He did. Kindly reread the article.

        1
        Reply
  3. grandsalametime

    4 weeks ago

    The Giants had a tremendous weekend. Both the Padres and the Dodgers have to be looking over their shoulder. If there’s one word that can describe how the Giants are doing, it’s Busterific. Thank you, Buster Posey.

    Reply
    • goob

      4 weeks ago

      Break out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma!

      2
      Reply
    • Bucket Number Six

      4 weeks ago

      How about that Farhan? It’s basically his team except for Adames and Verlander.

      Reply
      • bag o ballz

        4 weeks ago

        I think you are seeing the same thing with buster/farhan that you did with kapler/melvin. I don’t think that this team succeeds without farhan and his drafting and scouting but the team management and people management is what is allowing the team to succeed. when buster retired from the team it left a vacuum in the people skills that kapler couldn’t fill and you had the same thing at the top with farhan – but neither succeed without the other

        Reply
        • foppert3

          4 weeks ago

          Kapler was over committed to process. Kind of dude he is. All in, all the time.

          Reply
  4. bag o ballz

    4 weeks ago

    calling the giants the final wildcard holder is a little bit of a stretch considering the fact that the giants, dodgers and padres are less than a game apart in the division right now

    2
    Reply
    • grandsalametime

      4 weeks ago

      Yeah, and to think about the wildcard at this point is probably a little premature.

      2
      Reply
    • foppert3

      4 weeks ago

      Huh ? A stretch ? They are the current holder of the final wild card spot. That’s fact. There’s no stretch there at all.

      Not too early for me. I think about the wild card spot every day.

      Reply
      • Wilmer the Thrillmer

        4 weeks ago

        What a fun series versus a good A’s team! Fantastic pitching and some remarkable Wilmer!

        Reply
        • foppert3

          4 weeks ago

          Yes it was ! Needed it as well. The Wilmer story just keeps adding chapters. Love it.
          Good things going on with understated good people is awesome.

          1
          Reply
        • avenger65

          4 weeks ago

          I can’t wait until the Giants play the Yankees. That’s the only way I’ll be able to see them on TV.

          Reply
      • bag o ballz

        4 weeks ago

        it’s a stretch because the same number of games aren’t played and the giants are one quarter of a game due to the number of games played behind the padres. The post makes it sound like they are fighting for the last wildcard spot when realistically tomorrow they could be the division leaders with one win

        Reply
        • foppert3

          4 weeks ago

          Nah. There is no stretch. It’s stating the facts.

          Reply
  5. This one belongs to the Reds

    4 weeks ago

    Phillies might try to trade for Alexis Diaz.

    Reply
  6. Johhos

    4 weeks ago

    Carlos Hernandez is the last guy in the bullpen for the Phillies right now. His roster spot is hanging by a thread.

    3
    Reply
  7. Coal tender

    4 weeks ago

    Rangers were fortunate Chris Martin lasted as long as he did! At 39 and shoulder discomfort that’s age boys and girls. Rangers have a number of geriatrics on their ball club. The Rangers have not done enough to develop their minor league system to replace those currently on the roster. They haven’t drafted very well lately which contributes to their problem. Fire Kim Fagg their scouting director for starters.

    Reply
    • Braves20

      4 weeks ago

      Chris Martin has been a mostly underrated reliever during his career. Unlike most relievers, he throws quality strikes. You gotta love any pitcher who is one of just over 100 all time with an immaculate inning.

      Reply
  8. Therealeman

    4 weeks ago

    The Phillies need outfield help too. Castellanos, Marsh/Rojas and .220 Kepler is far from championship caliber. Really far. In addition to the starting pitching surplus, the Phillies have Otto Kemp and Justin Crawford at AAA. We’ll see what Dombrowski does but I submit adding a closer isn’t enough.

    2
    Reply
  9. skullbreathe

    4 weeks ago

    Phillies stupidly traded LHP Erik Miller in 2023. Checkout his stats now. Phillies would love that performance for 2025.

    Reply
  10. Rsox

    4 weeks ago

    Chris Martin has as many losses as he does earned runs allowed and more losses than walks allowed creating one bizarre stat line.

    Hopefully its nothing serious and he returns to the mound quickly, even against the Sox he’s fun to watch pitch

    Reply

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