Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Brown to sign?
Outfielder Seth Brown elected free agency last week after being designated for assignment by the Athletics, and a report from MLBTR’s Anthony Franco this afternoon indicates that Brown is deciding between three teams and is likely to sign somewhere within the coming days. The 32-year-old outfielder struggled badly through 38 games with the A’s this year, slashing just .185/.303/.262 across 76 plate appearances. Tough as this season has been for Brown, however, he hit a respectable .225/.289/.426 with 73 homers and 102 wRC+ from 2021 to 2024. He also boasts a career 109 wRC+ against right-handed pitching, so a club that struggles to produce against righties could benefit from his services if they’re willing to look past his poor start to the year.
2. Waldron to make season debut:
Right-hander Matt Waldron is set to make his season debut later today, per a report from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Waldron will be on the mound for the Padres in Philadelphia when they take on the Phillies at 6:35pm local time (3:35pm CT). The knuckleballer posted a pedestrian 4.91 ERA (84 ERA+) in 146 2/3 innings of work last year, but his 4.26 FIP and a 4.13 SIERA both indicated that he could benefit from some positive regression in the future. He’s made five starts at Triple-A this year since returning from an oblique strain that sidelined him at the beginning of the season, and now that he’s back in the big leagues he’ll face off against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (2.45 ERA).
3. Schmitt to undergo MRI:
The Giants’ infield has been stretched thin lately as third baseman Casey Schmitt has been forced to sit since he was hit in the ribs by a pitch on June 25. A CT scan showed no fracture and he was diagnosed with a bone bruise, but Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Schmitt is set to undergo an MRI once they arrive in Arizona for tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks. That could mean that more details on Schmitt’s injury and whether or not he’ll ultimately require a trip to the injured list will be available as soon as today. Christian Koss has been at third base with Brett Wisely at second while Schmitt has been on the mend so far, though a trip to the IL would mean a tough loss for the Giants’ lineup as Schmitt has slashed .276/.360/.439 in 34 games this year.
On what planet is a .289 OBP respectable?
He didn’t say the on-base was respectable. He was saying the line as a whole was respectable, as in the 102 wRC+. The on-base was bad, yes, but the power was really good and balanced out the bad on-base.
Browns SLG% has dropped every season since ’21, and SO% has gone up and BB% gone down every year since ’22. Too little on-base, too much swing and miss and not enough SLG for my tastes.
Schmitt’s plate discipline has dramatically improved, his defense and arm are almost Gold Glove, so he certainly is missed, though the article says his ribs were injured. No, it’s his wrist!
maybe it would be on Mars with their gravity of just 3.73 m/s²
Ground out city
Tonight is also the triumphant return to Fenway of Tito Francona and Mike Napoli …… good memories of the glory days when Red Sox ownership (mostly Lucchino) still wanted to win and the front office was competent!
If they wanted to win why did they get rid of Tito?
The reality is that the Red Sox have always been a churning franchise, discarding of valued assets on a routine basis. That’s my 60+ years of fan observation.
hayzee – It was a very unfortunate situation, Tito was a mess that last year. The firing was justified, but the disgusting way ownership leaked all the details after he left was typical of them and inexcusable. Respect and dignity apparently have no place in the Red Sox organization.
On a related note, if you watch tonight’s game keep an eye on Burns.
He was the 2nd overall pick in last year’s draft and absolutely flew through every level of the minors this year. He can really bring the heat, could be a high strikeout game for him. He averages 98 on the fastball and ramps it up to 102 at times.
What’s kinda cool is he was born in Napoli, Italy … and Mike Napoli is a coach with the Reds!
Tito this, Tito that, everybody just likes saying the name Tito, it has to be the most patronizing nickname in the history of first names.
The vodka is awful too.
Don’t get me wrong, Francona is a good manager but the Tito bandwagon is overflowing with empty bottles and orange juice cartons.
miller – I did wonder why he would assume the same nickname as his Dad …. and his Dad’s name was John Patsy.
I don’t know, He was Terry Francona for the longest time, ever since that vodka hit the shelves, everybody loves Tito.
I had some of that swill once, it’s terrible.
I like how for many people the first time they’ve heard a word is the first time it’s been used for something. And if it’s used for anything else, it’s something ridiculous and stupid. Woke comes to mind. Good lord, idiots use that word.
Like the world started when your brain woke up.
The REAL Tito Francona is his father. Why the press resurrected his name for Terry is beyond me.
We all know, MLB has the Phillies sweeping the Padres this series, with the Padres hitting nothing but groundouts(dead ball).
Phillies will more than likely hit multiple home runs a game and Pads won’t hit the ball out of the infield.
The Padres get an extreme dead ball while opponents get a normal to lively ball.
Yeah, I’m sure the baseballs are sorted and marked for each team. The Phils will get to pitch “dead” balls, while the Pads get to pitch “live” balls. Bro, put down the glass pipe….
Coming from a fan of a particular team that gets a “special” ball for the face of MLB.
The Ohtani/Judge ball exists as well as the Dodger/Yankee ball.
MLBs two top markets get a juiced ball for their offenses.
And in regards to the Phillies vs Padres.
The Phillies are a larger market, so MLB will favor the Phillies over the Pads.
It’s an easy formula to crack.
Fever,
All you need is for Theo Epstein to show up and you get all the gang back together!
Schmitt was hit on the wrist, not ribs.
it was both actually but the wrist is what sidelined him. the giants were hit something like 10 times in 8 games and it caused multiple guys getting pulled – ramos was actually hit 4 times in 3 games
The Giants shouldn’t have any infield issues, didn’t they just acquire an all-star third baseman? ;)
No. They acquired an All Star DH
Yup
I’ll have you know Devers’s 3 All-Star selections so far have all come as a 3B
Yeah, and he also has a career -28 OOA, -62 DRS, with poor range (-25.7 career UZR).
He’s crap at 3B.
Chapman has 67 OOA, 115 DRS and good range (63 UZR), an arm that could easily pitch relief, and multiple golden/platinum gloves … and that’s why Bob Melvin would only use Devers as a DH/1B option.
Devers did want to stay at 3B, might be his chance to fill in while they get Chapman back.
He will not. If you can’t beat out Christian Koss…. you ain’t playing. The Giants front office was just nicer about it in their communications and player relations.
Seth Brown should sign with the Rangers. His inability to put the bat on the ball will fit right in.
The Braves: “Hold my beer.”
Brown needed to get the boot. He has been dirty trash juice for the small amount of time he was here, and i would know, i literally sleep in a garbage bag that stinks to high heaven…
Waldron? More like knuckle sandwich, this guy is the worst player ive ever seen. And i would know, i woke up in my garbage bag the other day and saw this one softball team playing in the park? This one kid was complete trash.
Interesting that RHB have a combined wRC+ of 97 while LHB have a combined wRC+ of 106. RHB are below-average power and on-base skills, a high strikeout rate, and moderate contact quality.
I think I’d rather build an all lefty batting order than stick any RHB in the lineup. RHB are just a drag on offensive production.
LOL @ Mets this weekend getting swept by the Pirates. And outscored 30-4.
Gar.
Shiver be timbers, that bats are in the belfry.
“Welcome to SF, Devers! We’re thrilled to have you as our full-time DH! Also, we could use some help at first. Give it some thought. We appreciate it, Hey, we also just had an injury to our good glove third baseman. What do you think about playing third as well? Just like old times, right? It won’t be forever though, I mean Chapman is a good glover. What, was that a bit too much?”
Knuckleball BP in the Brotherly today, huh?
This antiquated, unjust treatment of HBP that result in lost time injury needs to be addressed by MLB. The frequency of HBP in MLB is something that needs to be addressed by MLB. Too many batters are being hit. People are being hurt. Careers are being placed in jeopardy.
Any pitcher who hits a batter and that results in lost time injury should be suspended from play and remain so until such time that the injured player is able to resume full MLB activities..
The team of the injured batter loses the services of that player.
What about the pitcher who caused the injury? What about his team?
“OOPS SORRY, Well, That’s Just Part of the Game”.
Just not enough in today’s MLB environment.
Yeah. Batters need to be better. Look up Zack Neto vs HunTer Brown. The first pitch Neto was whining about was actually a strike. Get off of the plate and get out of the f***ing way. If you are standing in a Major League batter’s box, it is because you have some of the best fast-twitch muscle on the planet. This muscle also allows a batter to, y’know, MOVE, before getting hit. It is not manly to break your wrist/forearm/finger and tank the lineup by being out 6-30 weeks (it cost Mookie an MVP last year, Judge missed a couple months the last time he didn’t win an MVP), or in the best-case scenario go into a ten week tailspin at the plate because it hurts to swing a bat and you’re playing through the pain.
I cannot stress this enough: GET OUT OF THE F***ING WAY
Waldron is interesting because his 2024 overall stat line doesn’t really accurately reflect his year. He had a great stretch from mid-May into July last year where he was consistently providing solid innings for that rotation and keeping them in ballgames. His ERA and FIP were both under 4 going into August, then he got roughed up in his last 4 starts.
I know you can’t wipe away his starts at the beginning and end of the year, but my point is which Waldron are they going to be getting now? If it’s the version from June he’s a legit back end guy.