Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye out for throughout the day today:
1. Orioles catching conundrum:
Orioles catcher Chadwick Tromp was pulled from yesterday’s game due to lower back tightness, a move that forced the Orioles to lose the DH for the remainder of the game so Gary Sánchez could come into the game to take over behind the plate. That suggested Tromp might be dealing with something serious, and interim manager Tony Mansolino confirmed as much to reporters (including Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner) after the game. Mansolino suggested that Tromp was “likely” headed to the IL due to a back strain. That creates a real issue for the Orioles given that they’ve already lost Adley Rutschman and Maverick Handley to the injured list recently. The club will need to add a fourth catcher to the 40-man roster in order to have a healthy backup to Sánchez. Jacob Stallings would seem to be the top candidate, although 20-year-old top prospect Samuel Basallo is already knocking on the doors of the majors with fantastic offense in Triple-A: .264/.390/.579, 16 home runs in 218 plate appearances.
2. Milestones on the horizon:
Several veteran players are on the cusp of crossing some milestone thresholds. Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is sitting on 299 steals in his career, placing him just one shy of becoming the 171st player in MLB history to reach the 300 milestone. He’ll tie B.J. Upton and Frank Taveras when he gets that 300th bag, though he currently has 42 fewer attempts than Upton and 56 fewer than Taveras. Turner is at 20 steals on the season right now — already one more than he tallied in 2024. Starling Marte and Jose Altuve are the only active players with more steals than Turner.
Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana, meanwhile, is just one two-bagger away from becoming the 198th player to reach 400 doubles in his career. He’d join Nolan Arenado (who just reached that milestone Sunday), Altuve, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew McCutchen and Freddie Freeman as the only active players with 400-plus doubles — not bad company!
Over in San Diego, the countdown to 2000 hits is on for Manny Machado, who currently sits just six knocks shy of that threshold. He won’t get there tonight, but within the next few days Machado could become the 298th player in MLB history to reach that illustrious round number. He trails only Freeman, McCutchen, Goldschmidt and Altuve for the lead among active players.
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
It’s now July 1, which means we’re officially just a month away from this year’s trade deadline. Chatter about trade season has already begun in earnest, with clubs on the fence between buying and selling nearing decision time. While it will be difficult for another in-season blockbuster to top the Rafael Devers deal from June, a handful of smaller deals have started to come together around the league as well. Whether you’re looking ahead to the deadline or still trying to sort between the contenders and pretenders, MLBTR’s Steve Adams has you covered in a live chat scheduled for 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.
Manny is also 17 doubles away from 400. He’s having himself a pretty good year so he’s well on his way to racking up his counting stats.
Manny will knock 3,000 hits, put money on it!
As long as none of them come in the next two games against my Phils…
Frickin’ Wheeler and dealin’…
Guy is good, I hate watching my Pads face him! Against your every wish, I hope my Pads can salvage the series. Cheers Carver
No hits at all for Padres tonight…
Double No-No!
:,)
Manny is indeed. There aren’t many more sure bets for the HOF.
Will his HOF plaque minimize or accentuate the horizontal reach of his ear?
It will be a reason to plan a Hall visit in the late 2030s.
Ears*
I was so confused when you said ‘ear’ … my thoughts said “which one?” but then I saw your follow up, Paddy.
Manny “Radar” Machado’s plaque will be extremely three-dimensional! Haha
Agree. Manny and Freddie Freeman are the 2 on the surest HOF path. Freddie hanging around a couple more years will be 2600-2700 hits minimum and 400+ HR, plus average near .300, an MVP and 2 rings. He’s in.
Machado at minimum well into the 400’s in HR and 2500+ hits as a 3B/SS. May get to 3000 hits and 500 HR (the latter is more likely). He’s in.
Bryce Harper begs your to reconsider his path…
Carlos Santana has had a fairly under the radar really, really good career. I think he gets forgotten about mainly because he played mostly for Cleveland and bounced around a lot. But almost 2000 hits and over 1000 runs scored and 1000 RBIs and the active career leader in walks. I don’t think of him as a potential HOFer, and I do not think he will get in, but to be honest I am a little surprised that he is even this close to the discussion.
Santana is in the Hall of Very Good. His batting average (.241) would DQ him from any HOF discussion. He’s also standing on 399 doubles.
But to throw gas on the fire of the Baines discussion, he’s got a higher WAR than Baines by 0.6, and should hold that thru the end of the season barring a huge slump.
I hate the Baines argument. His WAR was knocked down by 20 just because he was a DH. I understand bad defenders losing WAR because their bad defense can cost a team win. But how exactly does a DH cost his team even one win defensively, let alone 20 wins? Baines’s WAR should be closer to 60 than 40 where it is now.
hiflew – WAR is a good metric but not exhaustive. It hurts 1B/DH types and helps middle infielders out of proportion, in my opinion. I also think it overvalues fielding. Would you rather have a gold glove SS who can only hit .200, or a SS who can drive in 80-90 runs but gives up maybe 10-15 a year from fielding? I’d rather take the offensive guy and the +50 runs.
Baines was more valuable than his WAR. He’s considered the most fringe HOF by many but I can name several I’d put below him, example of Mazeroski I made earlier included.
No mention of two players eclipsing the Baines Meter in the same day, which is a huge career milestone. The two players were Corey Seager and Zack Wheeler, of course
BAINES METER MENTION
Bill Mazeroski was always a more questionable HOF in my mind. Never led the league in anything except games played. Hit .260 with 84 career OPS+. He’s in due to the 1960 WS HR. If he is in, Bobby Grich who was also a great 2B defender like Mazeroski but with far superior offensive #’s (125 career OPS+) should be in.
Baines at least hit and was a well above average offensive player in the league for a decade or so (121 career OPS). With a bit more health and less work stoppages he probably clears 400 HR, 500 2B and maybe 3000 hits.
He would definitely have topped 3000 hits with no strike in 1981 and 1994/95. Those two stoppages cost him probably around 120 games. The way he was hitting during those times, he would have easily eclipsed 3000.
Still not worthy of the Hall. An offensive only player hitting at a level roughly league average to the DH position? No thanks
That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. However, the people whose opinions actually matter disagree with you.
and whose opinion matters, I ask?
The people that actually vote people into the Hall of Fame.
Do theirs realllllllyyy matter in the grand scheme of things, though? Is their HOF the end all be all? We could all have our own hall of fames if you think about it. Most of the veterans committe3 is just cronyism
I know it’s not fair, but “Chadwick Tromp” sounds like a character in a Jeeves and Wooster story.
Spot on Chap!
And before anyone forgets, happy Bobby Bonilla Day.
Mets don’t forget lol
Are the Orioles still paying him too?
They’re still paying Chris Davis, until 2032 I believe.
Yes, the O’s are still paying Bobby Bo but only till 2028.
Clayton Kershaw going for 3,000 strikeouts on Wednesday did that slip your mind?
Let’s go Basallo! It’s time, O’s. Playoff push time.
I don’t see them bringing up Basallo this year. They want him to absolutely dominate AAA, in other words, not start the clock on him until 2026. I think Stallings will be called first.
You’re more than likely correct Thorny, and the O’s will pursue the extra pick by having Basallo committed to the ’26 season honors. I’m just holding onto a smidgen of hope here that the make the “better” Call and promote Basallo now.
I think that question will be answered soon – if Stallings comes up the team is doing everything they can to keep Basallo from setting foot in OPACY until 2026.
And that, children, is why unless you have a utilityman who can fill in as a catcher, you never use a catcher as a DH.
So true, brother Low…
That’s been a pet peeve of mine ever since they started doing that a lot with McCann/Rutschman in 2023. Far too much emphasis on matchups and not enough on how actual life happens. Them being so dogmatic with the matchup thing is also why so much instability with the lineup.
I can’t help saying it wouldn’t be a consideration if O’Neill was ever healthy. They could still platoon O’Hearn as they insist, and would have had O’Neill or Laureano as DH instead.
weird baseball is the best. 2Ks from Rogers didn’t nearly lose the game for them. losing 2×3 run leads did. but in the end, Birds>Rangers.
@Thorny. I agree. No sense in starting the clock in a garbage season
“Meanwhile” must START the sentence. It cannot come in the middle, between commas.