Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Dodgers roster moves incoming?
Dodgers utilityman Tommy Edman exited yesterday’s win over the Rays due to what the team later announced was a right ankle sprain. Edman’s ankle has been bothering him throughout the season, and he spent a few weeks on the injured list due ankle inflammation earlier this year. Given that previous history, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Sonja Chen of MLB.com) that he “just [doesn’t] see how it’s not” an injury that will require Edman to hit the shelf. With Edman seemingly ticketed for the injured list today, Chen notes that infielder Max Muncy will likelyy be activated to replace him on the roster. Muncy has been out for a month due to a bone bruise in his knee that initially came with a six-week timeline for return, but he’s gotten back in action ahead of schedule and now appears to be ready to return to third base.
2. Soroka to make Cubs debut:
The trade deadline passed a few days ago, but a handful of players are still gearing up for their first appearance in a new uniform. That’s true of right-hander Michael Soroka today, who joined the Cubs in a trade that sent outfield prospect Christian Franklin and infield prospect Ronny Cruz to the Nationals. Soroka, 28, has struggled to a 4.87 ERA in 16 starts this year but has some strong peripherals, including a 3.33 xERA and a 3.62 SIERA. Soroka’s first opportunity with the Cubs will come at 7:05pm local time tonight when they take on the Reds and lefty Nick Lodolo (3.09 ERA in 22 starts).
3. Falter to make Royals debut:
Soroka isn’t the only hurler making his debut for a new team in the Midwest. Southpaw Bailey Falter was traded at the deadline for the second time in three years when the Pirates shipped him to Kansas City for lefty Evan Sisk and first base prospect Callan Moss. Falter is now tasked with helping a Royals team that’s currently without Kris Bubic, Cole Ragans, and Michael Lorenzen stay afloat. Falter has a 3.73 ERA in 22 starts for Pittsburgh this year, though his 4.55 xERA and 5.11 SIERA leave something to be desired. If the lefty can sustain the type of run-production he showed in Pittsburgh, he’d be a solid bridge to the eventual returns of Ragans and Lorenzen later this year. His first assignment will be taking down a tough Red Sox lineup when he pitches at Fenway Park later today opposite right-hander Brayan Bello (3.19 ERA in 19 appearances).
Edman is a gamer, but his unavailabilty for a couple games here and there as he keeps re-tweaking the ankle was starting to hurt the team. Fortunately, Freeland looks pretty comfortable and can take some load off Muncy.
This is the perfect opportunity for Dave to move Mookie off of short and over to 2nd. Let Freeland and Rojas man short and hopefully the move sparks Mookie into actually being Mookie. If nothing else, the D at short is strengthened.
I don’t know if I can disagree with this more. Mookie has been solidly above average defensively at SS this season. The only value metric that places him just slightly above average is OAA, which he’s middle of the pack at +1. He’s 6th in DRS and 4th in whatever it is that FanGraphs uses.
With the eye test, he’s only made 6 errors, which is less than average, makes most of the routine plays, and the occasional great play. In other words, his defense at SS has been very dependable, but not spectacular.
As for it affecting him in the batter’s box, it doesn’t. Everyone seems to either forget that he lost nearly 20 pounds right before the season started, or they don’t understand how significant that is. Players lose muscle weight, flexibility, and explosiveness throughout the grind of a season as it is. Losing that muscle weight before the season even started is the vast majority factor in Mookie’s offensive struggles this season, and his defense at SS would be even better without that illness as well.
I can understand an argument for having Mookie in RF being best for the team currently, as our OF defense would be better with Teo in LF, Pages in CF, and Mookie in RF — but that doesn’t work with our current roster construction, especially with the addition of Alex Call. Unfortunately, Conforto will continue getting starts often against RHP (though he’s been hitting fairly well for a month now, so hopefully that continues), while Call will get starts often against LHP. That means Teo will be in RF and Pages in CF almost every game.
Our mainstays just need to play better and more specifically, they need to get back to mashing baseballs. I’m optimistic Muncy’s return will help that happen soon. If the starting pitcher ls can stay healthy, we will remind everyone else why they were so mad about our roster heading into the season.
I definitely believe Betts playing short has hurt his offensive output. However that’s based on the same facts as you thinking it hasn’t hurt him, as it’s just our different opinions. He was sick in March and five months later his production has gotten worse almost every month. There’s so much more responsibility being a middle infielder than playing right field. Put him in the outfield and tell him to just go have fun.
Playing SS is what Mookie’s actually enjoys though. It’s his original position and he loves being more involved in the game defensively. His numbers have decreased each month offensively because his body is failing him, due to the illness and loss of muscle weight. I cannot stress this enough apparently.
Relax, I gave you my opinion but evidently you don’t care for other people’s opinions. However if he enjoys playing there and his body is failing him as you say make it easier for him and put him in the outfield.
I prefer they keep him at short and his production stays the same .
He seems relaxed already to me
Slip him a blunt.
Betts is 22nd in Range Factor, middle of the pack (tied for 10th) in fielding percentage…NOT solidly above average. And his bat isn’t the same this year. Doesn’t matter, though. The Guggenheim Group will just buy another expensive shortstop…maybe 2, just because they can.
GSP
Range factor and Fielding Percentage are…not good defensive metrics.
If one SS plays on a team full of groundball pitchers and another plays on a team full of flyball or strikeout pitchers, they will have a wildly different number of chances (range factor) that has nothing to do with how good either SS is.
Errors is similar. Imagine two SS’s
SS1: 1000 balls hit to them. Lets 300 go by without touching them and makes 10 errors. They made (1000-300-10) 690 outs and have a (690/700) .986 fielding percentage.
SS2: 1000 balls hit to them. Only 100 go by because they have much better range than SS1. But, they make 20 errors (TWICE as many!). This SS converted (1000-100-20) 880 batted balls in to outs. That’s 190 more than SS1. But their fielding percentage was only (880/900) .978.
The SS with the worse fielding percentage was the better defender.
Don’t use range factor or fielding percentage to assess defense.
@Blue So it’s all because he lost weight? Has he put any back on? If he hasnt then you are essentially saying this is all we can expect from Mookie until he is off and adds weight. If he has put weight back on then I say your reasoning is misled since his offense has diminished month after month.
Mookie was a GG in RF and I assume he thinks he can be one at SS but that isnt what reality is showing us. Reality says he was much better in RF, and the team was much better. Really want to win more Rings? Play your best position.
You don’t work your butt off to be pretty good at SS only to move again. Yeah he’s closer to average on OAA but he’s 7th in MLB in DRS at SS. Rojas at this point in his career would not be better than Mookie at SS. I guarantee you that Mookie will not magically start hitting again if he’s playing 2B or RF. I really don’t understand how fans think this way because no one in baseball agrees with that thought pattern. If he’s ever moved out of SS in the future it will be due to losing range as opposed to not hitting at SS.
An opinion is not a guarantee.
@ mlbdodgerfan “You dont work your butt off…” Really??? Mookie worked his butt off to become a Gold Glove RF and then MOVED to SS where he is nowhere near the defensive force he was in right. And I’m pretty sure the Dodgers will move Mookie off short if he continues to tank. His D isn’t spectacular enough to support his lack of offensive production.
Mookie had a DRS of 0 in 2024 in RF in 43 games there. When a player ages he doesn’t just age in one position. Mookie had a higher DRS at SS in 2024. Plus 3 in 65 games played at SS in 2024 and +6 in 100 games at SS in 2025. That’s good, not bad. Lack of offensive production has nothing to do with defense.
Lack of production certainly can have something to do with defense. You said yourself that Mookie has worked his butt off. I still hear that Mookie is putting in extra defensive work. Add all that extra effort on top of the sickness at the beginning and most would agree you are starting off with one arm tied behind your back, which is pretty much how much swing speed he has nowadays. SIX-time GOLD GLOVE in RF and you want me to be excited for “good” at SS? Even the Padres put a stop to an experiment and moved Machado back where he is best. Why switch everything up just to be good when you had outstanding already?
He did. It’s called the offseason. Other than that you’re putting work in the infield just as you would in the outfield. Please stop with the nonsense. I know you think you know more than the average fan and more than the Dodgers. But you don’t. No one in baseball thinks the way you do. No one.
None of this really matters. They want him at SS. Mookie wants to be at SS. The end.
I see him making the routine plays look much more routine that they did last year or earlier this season. And every once in a while there will be an odd play he hasn’t dealt with before, and it can be an adventure good or bad. Then he works on that and it’s routine after that. That’s how you get better.
I’ll add that even though I don’t think his defensive position matters much in predicting his offensive output, these were his OPS numbers by position last season:
SS — .907 OPS in 280 PA
RF — .840 OPS in 179 PA
2B — .732 OPS in 56 PA
Agree with your posts on this topic but it could have been the other way around last year and still no proof that position matters when it comes to batting. Baseball is a statistical heavy game, and a lot of it is significant and a lot of it is just noise and randomness. I’m amazed in how many people think noise is sustainable. It’s not.
Baseball is also an incredibly difficult game and it can quickly humble even the best of them. We love to point to reasons as to why a player can’t hit all of a sudden. But we can only guess at the end of the day. Some reasons are more rational than others but still guessing.
I dont think position usually determines offensive output either, but I’ve repeatedly heard about all the extra work Mookie continues to do to better himself at SS. I think it’s possible that the guy has taken on too much and has put so much pressure on himself to perform defensively that he’s running on fumes at the plate. It’s painful to watch.
Moving him back where he excelled might allow him to just relax and play again.
We had the minimum amount of Muncy for too long…. It’s Maximum Muncy time!
If the Dodgers truly wanted Maximum Muncy, they could have traded for the other one and played them at the same time.
There’s still time for this dream to happen if they pick up Muncy the Elder’s option lol!
I’d still like to believe that Soroka is just a temporary starter until Tallion makes it back. You can’t have 2 guys in your rotation being low inning guys( Horton -limit, Soroka-5 inning guy) Even when Soroka was dominant with the Braves he was basically a Swiss Army knife being whatever they needed out of the pen. Boyd-Imanaga-Horton-Tallion- (Birdsell-Sanders-Assad) Thrown around for #5 with Brown at AAA working on his change and Soroka as the wild card in the pen is the best way to go. Just curious as to how goofy they want to get with Hortons innings? I’m also not really sure what it is about the Cubs who won’t follow the Brewers example of using their own farm players to fill holes successfully? Chourio, Miz and now Frelick go out but they don’t miss a beat. Older isn’t necessarily better as the Cubs antiques have been proven a little unreliable lately. Brasier,Pomeranz-Thielbar-Rea all are showing cracks in their games. If the Cubs are going to beat the Brewers a contribution from Iowa absolutely has to occur otherwise it will be the last 2 years all over again. Personally I don’t see the reluctance.
Hey Uncle! Gonna be kind of interesting on the usage tonight. Have a feeling the Cubs are going need two or three from Brown tonight and need to stay away from especially Palencia and Keller.
I hunch that once Taillon gets back there is a chance that Rea takes over the Flexen role…but that could fall on Soroka also like you said. And Assad will be in that mix.
i also wouldn’t discount a six man rotation for a short stint to give the arms some relief especially with the stint of 14 games in 13 days and 23 in 23 coming up.
And for Horton—I’m guessing we’ll see more of a pitch count management that innings (although they are translateable)…..I can see that backed into the 70s and low 80s.
Well if that happens to Horton I predict his effectiveness to plummet. Because other teams will see that and 2 Things will happen. 1) He’ll throw more strikes and get hammered and 2) other teams scouts will see that and make him throw more strikes. You see the effect of having had that through his minor league career by the amount of 0-2 pitches he throws for strikes because of it. I’d rather they just sent him down and rested him. Counsell threw Thielbar BTB the other day for the first time and you saw what happened. He got hammered and they lost. The Cubs have an ancient bullpen that they are now asking to throw major innings. The Cubs better do 2 things sooner rather than later. Lock up Willi Castro and lock up Brad Keller. And next year Jed has to step up to the plate and either bring up our own guys plus sign a guy who can help Palencia if he fades or gets hurt. It’s time Jed started spending money on the pen instead of FA’s for the field. Seems like Alzolay Deja Vu about to happen now and I don’t want to see that at all since Jed is here now. Time he started acting like he’s going to be here long term.
Kind of an unfair shot at Theilbar, don’t you think—he literally gave up a home run to one of the best players in baseball, who he struck out the day before, and you say he got hammered.
And literally—it was not the first time he went back to back. He went back to back just four days before.
He gave up NO runs in May, two in June and two in July (after that horrible April where he gave up THREE).
He’s thrown 600 pitches this year and only maybe two of them have been bad.
As we saw yesterday—every once in a while, a guy hits a home run.
He’s come in and pitched a 1/3 of an inning and maybe he came back the next day. IDK. Shot at him? He’s just old. You really think he will hold up pitching every day because with Soroka here and all this innings management the relievers will have to. Cubs have 5 relievers over 35. You think they’ll stand up? I just don’t have that kind of enthusiasm. With Neely and Hodge struggling for now they will have to bring up other guys. But Jed doesn’t do that does he?
He didn’t give up the home run because he’s old—he gave up the home run because Gunnar Henderson is a really good ball player too.
If Thielbar pitches every day like you suggest he won’t hold up—you are right about that.
Sure these guys are “old”–but that are also among the most well trained, conditioned (although Kittredge may disagree) people in the world. 25 year old arms get worn out and injured just as often as these grizzled vets.
These no reason to think these arms, that have been doing for dozens of years, are any more at risk of holding up than the young ones (your Horton example).
Hope you’re right. If not it will be proof that bullpen by cheap isn’t really effective( Again). He’s been doing it for years.
Hope so too—one thing that has been very, very evident this year—guys who aren’t performing are gone almost immediately or completely sent to non leverage situations.
Little, Wicks, Roberts, Pearson, Cabrera, Merryweather—“here’s you go—boy, you suc*ed, see you later….or never”
They have not been patient with overall ineffectiveness thus far this season and if any of these “old” guys hit a bad patch they won’t be able to move forward.
How about that bunt from Tucker in the first with no outs? Beautiful bunt. Small ball at its finest!
Takes the bat out of Tucker’s hands against the righty Brandon Young with Seiya Suzuki on deck and PCA in the hole. Young has been torched by lefties all year and Council has Tucker bunt Busch over to third.
Ahahahhahahaha! Brewers getting in Council’s head.
Pretty sure Tucker did that on his own.
I cant see Tucker bunting in that spot without getting the sign but I guess its possible.
He might have been bunting for a base hit, put one down the third baseline with Westburg holding the runner at the bag. I guess he could of been trying to catch the defense off guard instead of trying to slug the ball, bad call from one of the two though, no outs in the first. Could of been Tucker playing small ball, awful either way.
True. And there’s no denying the Brewers are in the Cubs heads. But it’s their own fault. De Shaies and I don’t remember who was the play by play both said it was Tuckers idea in all likelihood. Counsell is pretty much anti bunt in general. And I’m not arguing. Either way it was a bad look. At least he planted a seed for whatever that’s worth. Not much really, LOL. The Cubs need to decide what kind of team they want to be. Hoyer’s straddling of the fence isn’t winning any playoff games.
Just curious Mike- What non leverage situations are there for the next 2 months? There aren’t going to be many 12-0 games one way or the other I suspect.
I’m pretty sure Boyd is on an innings limit as well. Jed really whiffed by not adding a legit SP at the deadline. You can’t claim to be “all in” for one year of Tucker which helped lead to one of the best records in the sport only to pivot and be conservative at the deadline.
Jed’s whiffs air condition Chicago and explain the temp reduction in the City. The one thing Jed should absolutely do this off season is sign Ryan Helsley. Solidifies the back end while giving the middle finger to the Cardinals. That would be a primo move to make. Can’t wait to see the newest reunion of Marcus Stroman now that Maeda’s gone. It should get even cooler around here.
Remember Andrelton Simmons later years with the Angels? Keep Betts at short and there’s your comparison. So keep him there. I’d guess every other team prefers what they’re seeing