Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Red Sox roster moves incoming:
The Red Sox are nearing a deal with first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who was designated for assignment by the Nationals last week. Once that deal is finalized, the Red Sox will need to make corresponding moves in order to accommodate the addition of Lowe to both the club’s 40-man and active rosters. That 40-man move could simply come by way of transferring infielder Marcelo Mayer to the 60-day injured list after yesterday’s announcement that he’ll miss the remainder of the season due to wrist surgery, but it’s also worth noting that bench bats like Abraham Toro and Ali Sanchez, whose roster spots could be at risk with Lowe set to join the club, do not have options remaining and would need to be designated for assignment if removed from the roster.
2. Series Preview: Brewers @ Cubs
The Brewers just saw their incredible 14-game winning streak come to an end, but they still hold an eight-game NL Central lead thanks to excellent pitching and timely hitting — not only from regulars like William Contreras and Christian Yelich but also surprise heroes like Andruw Monasterio. Their win streak has coincided with some weak play from the Cubs, who have scuffled to a 6-8 record so far in August and a 12-14 record since the All-Star break. Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong aren’t hitting like the superstars they were in the first half, and the bullpen has begun to show cracks after being carried by unexpected contributors like Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz earlier this summer.
That leads into what could be the biggest series of the regular season for both clubs, with the Brewers headed to Wrigley Field for five games in four days — starting with a doubleheader today. Cade Horton (3.07 ERA in 16 outings) will face off against Freddy Peralta (2.90 ERA in 25 starts) in Game 1, followed by a second game with two as-of-yet unannounced starters. Tuesday’s game will feature southpaw Matthew Boyd (2.46 ERA in 24 starts) against longtime Brewers ace Brandon Woodruff (2.06 ERA in seven starts). The Brewers are slated to start rookie Jacob Misiorowski (3.89 ERA in eight starts) and righty Quinn Priester (3.48 ERA in 23 outings) for Games 4 and 5. Chicago has not yet announced its starters for those games. Former Brewer Colin Rea and ace Shota Imanaga would be on schedule, but the impending return of Jameson Taillon from the injured list could impact the club’s rotation at some point this week.
3. Pitchers’ Duel in Philadelphia:
The Mariners are in Philadelphia, and the their series against the Phillies will kick off with a particularly exciting pitching matchup. Seattle ace Logan Gilbert is scheduled to take the mound today amid a season where he’s posted a 3.31 ERA with a career-best 2.99 FIP across 17 starts. The Phillies counter with southpaw Ranger Suarez, who’s having a strong year himself ahead of reaching free agency this winter. Suarez sports a 3.28 ERA and 3.27 FIP across 18 starts, though he’s had a rough patch of late (6.59 ERA over his past five starts). With the Mariners just 1.5 games back of the Astros in the AL West and the Phillies tied with the Dodgers for the second playoff bye in the NL, it’s a high-stakes game — and series — for both clubs.
Bye bye Ali!!!!
Fen – Yeah I agree, he’s the one more likely to go. Seems like Narvaez is perfectly healthy now.
Three consecutive Red Sox articles …. love it!
They know how to get clicks here. Red Sox nation alive and well.
Gary – Agreed, and after 3 crappy seasons the fanbase is into it for the first time in a long time.
Red Sox need to take these two from Baltimore. Yanks are just 1/2 game behind and we’ve got a big four game set this weekend.
We’ll really see what’s going on by next Monday won’t we? Go Sox !!
If the Red Sox take 3 out of 4 against the Yankees, I would say that would end the Yankees season.
Fingers crossed !!
But admittedly, just a half a game behind us means they’re in the same boat we are?
It’s more of a collapse for the Yankees because they had just gotten so many pieces at the trade deadline and the Red Sox didn’t really do much and are playing better baseball than the Yankees.
Cora is keeping the Yankees close
Tar – Does tied qualify as close? Because that’s what they are right now, tied.
HUGE series this weekend.
Acoss – Yanks have a 3 1/2 game lead for the final WC spot ….. even if they lose 3 of 4, which team do you think is good enough to catch them? I can’t see Cleveland, who is only 5-5 in their last ten. Royals have been hot but they’ve been playing the ChiSox, Nats and Twins. And the Rangers have slumped badly.
AL is so crappy the Yanks could make the postseason.
@Fever Pitch Guy
To be fair, the NL really isn’t that much better either. Cincinnati is the team looking outside of the wild card spot and after that, the team below them is below .500 for a record. At least the Indians and Royals have winning records. But as we’ve seen lately, the WC team has just as much of a chance as the rest of them to play well in the postseason.
York – The Padres, Dodgers, Brewers and Cubs are all dangerous … Phillies would have been too, but the Wheeler injury really hurts them.
I just don’t see any formidable teams in the AL except Toronto and maybe Detroit.
@Fever Pitch Guy
No, I don’t see any decent team in the AL but I’m just saying the NL, outside of the Brewers, Phillies and Dodgers, there really isn’t that much of a threat from the NL. Cubs have fallen off a cliff and the Padres have been hot in the second half because they’ve been playing easy teams for the most part like the Cardinals, Nationals, Marlins, DBacks and Giants. Their only serious competition was against the Mets (sweep) and Dodgers (got swept). The Padres even have the second easiest SOS for the rest of the way so I’d imagine they do well.
But regardless, as we’ve seen, once the playoffs start, any of the WC teams can go on a run and win it. I’m not sure if the Jays are serious or if they’re peaking at the wrong time.
York – Heyyy …. you don’t consider the Red Sox serious competition? Padres beat them 2 of 3.
Jays lineup is one of the best top to bottom in MLB.
I’m not counting out the Cubs, nor the Phillies actually.
@Fever Pitch Guy
No, I don’t think the Sox are serious competition.
Jays lost 2 of 3 to the Dodgers
The Reds have quality starting pitching depth to where if they get in they could be a dangerous team come October. Admittedly I am a Reds fan but I would think a lot of teams would hate to see them in a short series.
@Joe It All
Go, Reds, Go!
Fear not, Gary. Cora will bring in Isaiah Campbell for the save and,,,whoops!…0-2 right there.
bwmiller: I’m still amazed at how the Brewers took a guy like Vaughn, who the Sox couldn’t get to hit, and turned him into the player he should have always been. And so fast!
You’d crap the bed too if you played for a dumpster fire of a franchise like the wsox talent was always there for Vaughn, all he needed was to leave the Sox and come play for a winner like the brewers. Since about 2017 they’ve been very good.
Short answer? Our hitting instructors taught him to lay off pitches low and away. His chase rate as a Brewer is about HALF of what it had been. The Sox really need to invest in coaches.
Brewers hot streak may be over but the Cubs have been playing such mediocre baseball that I’m not sure the Cubs can win this series against them.
They need to take at least 4, not just win the series.
Their hope for the division are pretty slim now. I don’t think they’re playing to catch the Brewers as much as keeping that first WC spot in sight.
Oh it’s looking like a tall order to even win the series let alone sweep the Brewers.
The Cubs are not going to win 4.
I’m not sure they can win a game.
Not a rookie — he entered the season with 99 2/3 MLB innings already — but quite the success story for their player development and analytics departments all the same.
Priester, local Chicago suburb kid—not a rookie, but certainly a coup. Sometimes it takes first rounders a little bit of time. That said, his ascent is not that unordinary. Wish the town kid well, except this week. Kind of like Suwinski—uggh.
If the Brewers win two out of five, they basically wrap up the division. It’s nice playing with house money.
Best pitcher in the world?! lol. He struggled so badly in Japan he got demoted.
@Backinthebleachers
He’s got a 4.20 ERA in AAA. That wouldn’t play well in the MLB. He needs to work on his command. He throws far too many balls for his first pitch.
Who the hell is this York guy even talking about?
@libbyhill
Trevor Bauer. He’s cooked and should be finishing up baseball and go play in the senior softball league.
It’s all Trevor Bauer nonsense. Some people refuse to pull the plug and admit he’s dead. Probably wife beaters.
@Unclemike1526
Most players beyond 30 aren’t that good and should hang it up. Unfortunately, we have a lot of supporters of these players on here as well.
Most players beyond 30 aren’t that good? That’s an odd statement. I don’t think you’ll find any data to support that statement at all.
@Unclemike1526
Position players: community.fangraphs.com/joint-model-of-the-war-agi…
Pitchers: blogs.fangraphs.com/pitcher-aging-curves-introduct…
Batters peak around age 27, and most players are in decline by age 30.
For pitchers, Joint Model WAR aging curve offers a nuanced, bias-adjusted performance peak around age 26.8. The velocity-based studies highlight physical decline—especially for relievers—becoming more significant as pitchers cross into their 30s.
If I’m an owner, I would not hire anyone beyond 30. Not worth it.
You’ve somewhat misinterpreted this. The model that says 26 – 27 as a peak is a predictive one for prospects. Since most don’t become more successful players in the majors, the earlier curves of WAR by age tell a much different story. Successful players age far better than this.
So if you were an owner you’d be Sternberg – profitable but lacking success beyond the occasional playoff qualification in most years
Bauer? In AAA with a 4.20 ERA? Since when?
@NyyfaninLAA land
I don’t think you read the position I took. I wasn’t speaking of successful players, which are few and far between. Maybe try reading before you reply but that seems to be a suggestion in our modern society. Everyone gets a trophy and is always correct.
Anyway, I’d recommend finishing school before you reply again…
York – Have you seen Logan’s Run?
You’d really, really like that movie!
As others have mentioned, Priester was a fantastic steal, but not eligible for RoY which is going to a different Brewer in Isaac Collins.
While kudos to the Brewers and Priester, let’s see what the return looks like in a few years. The same thing with the Yankees and Narvaerz
Trevor Bauer and *class* are contradictory terms.
Also, he’s be pretty bad the last couple of seasons.
“Decency” (and “common sense” or “courage”) shouldn’t be used in the same sentence w/him either.
Ah the much anticipated Cubs-Brewers 5 game series. Wish it still meant something.
Aloha uncle, well at least we have hoyer around for more years now, please note an attempt at sarcasm. He was the biggest news at the tdl this year. Nothing against Tucker but I don’t think he profiles well in Wrigley. The fo needs to prepare for his departure and just accept only a comp pick in return. I hope in the future this organization can pick and develop talent better like their rival, Milwaukee. Especially pitching. Mahalo
Yeah, Brewer fans had hope there would be some playoff atmosphere. Wrigley is a morgue. There is no life in the Cubs. Might as well play the Pirates.
Aloha Doug, it really is sad. I realize they played well the first almost 2/3’s of the season since the All Star game is actually more than half way through the season. I really had hoped for this season to be like 2014-15 but hoyer was in his walk off year and wanted to make a big splash last off season. I wanted them to work on pitching, possibly securing a good young controllable arm like a Cabrera, I think Ryan would have cost too much. But hey the starting rotation stronger. Then this off season, make other moves as necessary. I don’t think the fo had a very good plan for this season but probably wanted to sell tickets, thus getting a rental in Tucker. And now he’s been in a big almost 2 month slump as well as others. Credit goes to Milwaukee for not giving up early in their season when it didn’t look good. Cubs will be lucky to get 3 wins in this series. Take care now. Mahalo.
I don’t think the Cubs are going to get ANY wins in this series. A total team collapse is now underway. And when a team that can’t hit with runners in scoring position at all plays a team that seems almost supernaturally able to do so, it’s not hard to see what is going to happen.
Aloha Alan, I was actually thinking Milwaukee could sweep this series. Tough decision but had to be made, benching Tucker. Caissie had a big game today playing RF and driving in 3 rbi’s. That’s a positive. I don’t think my Cubs will regain the division lead but if Tucker moves on and Caissie can continue to grow/develop into a successful MLB player, it gives us fans some hope. Take care now. Mahalo
20 years and 850 new account names from now, this broken tool will still be talking about Trevor.
You spelled Bartolo Colon wrong
Haha just said the same thing in one of the other threads. Priester and Pivetta with Crochet, Bello, and Gio would have us looking pretty. What if what if what if. Maybe the kids we drafted with the brewers pick and compensatory pick will end up being as good as Quinn one day 🙁
Sean – Let’s not forget two others the Sox foolishly let go, Eovaldi and Wacha.
No kidding, on both counts. Eovaldi has been incredible this year.
Margins are pretty thin on this series:
– Brewers win the series?: well, yeah.
– Cubs 5-0. Wow, but really? It’d be a game changer in the division though, for shock value as well as numbers.
– Cubs 4-1 – would certainly change the vibes, and make things feel sweaty in Milwaukee, especially given respective strength of schedules, even if it objectively shouldn’t move the dial hugely.
-Cubs 3-2 – changes hardly anything, and really just focuses Cubs on the wild card.
Game one of the double header is a big one for Milwaukee, I reckon. Brewers bullpen taxed, starting pitching hasn’t been quite as robust as recent record suggests. Offense has been over-performing for quite a long period. So getting that first win would be a very solid foundation for Milwaukee. Losing game one ramps up the pressure quite a bit.
And what if game 1 is a blowout for Milwaukee and the Cubs barely get any hits?
LOL. Yeah, the Brewers looked really scared.
Isaac Collins is a game changer for the Brewers and has taken over NL RoY likelihood. Congrats on his new born.
This series is going to be tough for the crew. Cincinnati wore down a lot of relievers and having 2 today will tax it even more. Fastball Freddy, getting through 6 innings is a tall task. If he fails to go 5, I don’t see the Brewers winning this series. Cubs catching Milw at the most opportune time.
Thank you Rockies for letting your best player go for nothing.
I’m not smarter than all of you about baseball and I’m not particularly skilled as a scout, beyond very obvious things that anyone would see. But I humbly submit that I see some things *sooner* than a lot of you do. I’ve been watching baseball a long time.
I saw that Tucker is not a good hitter before just about anyone did. I took some abuse for saying so. But gradually, one by one, his defenders among you started going silent, or changing the subject, or grudgingly acknowledging that what Brett Taylor, and many others, told us from the day the trade was made was not true. He is not a superstar, he is not “transformational,” he is not “a generational talent”–in fact, he’s a lot like late Jason Heyward. I was right all along.
Some of you might still think he is going to turn it on and finish strong. He might; I don’t know for sure. And I’m really not saying I-told-you-so. What I am saying is, be skeptical. Don’t believe everything you read or hear from supposedly authoritative voices. They are mostly just echoing what they heard others say, and they are often wrong.
Take it from a man whose career as a Cubs fan, in-season at least, is entering its last 6 weeks.
Imagine being Alan.
That is all.
Alan (the troll who claims to be 72 years old) and the troll with the Trevor Bauer fetish (currently known as “Backinthebleachers”) are the same person. It all makes sense now.
He definitely ain’t 72 – the other day he didn’t know who Gollum was 😂
He didn’t exist in this site til the last few months. I don’t think he started posting til the Cubs ran into their current funk. I looked at the Tucker posts back when the Cubs signed him and there wasn’t no pretend Alan commenting. Lloyd I trust you if you sleuthed your way into finding an old identity of the pathetic troll.
Just imagine waiting on bated breath sitting around all day waiting for an MLBtraderumors post about the Cubs to go live so you could start hating on a team you “love”.
Seriously what a weird life.
Rock on Gollum!
Okay, Alan53. “Backinthebleachers”, “Voice of Reason”, blah blah blah….go play with your blow up Brett Taylor doll and call it a night.
How did Manfred’s interview on Sunday Night Baseball last night where he said he hopes to have two expansion sites named by 2029 and hinted (heavily) at geographical realignment go completely unnoticed here?
Rsox – Honestly in this site’s defense, it’s not news. Manfred has been saying for a while he wants to expand to 32 teams before he retires as commissioner, and realignment always is in play when new cities join MLB.
BTW – During the last lockout, it was basically agreed upon that when MLB does expand to 32 teams they will add an additional WC to each league.
I fear Manfred will drive one last stake through the heart of tradition and do away with the American League/National League and go with Eastern/Western Conferences as he heavily emphasized travel in the interview.
Rsox – Well if that happens, breaking league records would be gone forever. If Roman Anthony hits 65 homers in a season, he won’t be breaking Judge’s league record.
I think I can officially say that the Tucker trade is the worst trade in Cubs history. And if it’s not it’s in the top 2. It was ridiculous at the time and looks worse by the day. This is what happens when you have a (Bad-Horrible) POBO lame duck in position. This should be a learning experience for Ricketts. If he was smart, He’d admit his mistake and eat the money he gave Gollum and either fire him or give him an honorary position with no power and move on. But I have as much hope of that happening as I do of seeing Gollum do something smart.
Uncle, settle down. It’s frustrating, no doubt. Looking at things realistically, it’s just baseball and we are just fans. As I say when things go bad for our sports teams, which is unfortunately quite often, is ultimately IDRGAF.
Fred- You really don’t think this team has a chance in you know where to win a Playoff Series against anybody even assuming they make the Wild Card do you? Which by the way is exactly what I said before the season started anyone remember? No? OK. The bullpen was another Hodge Podge ( 4 Years in a row BTW) And there was no hope of bringing any hitters up even though there should have been. Happ is failing, Suzuki is fading, And Tucker? Lets just say I haven’t seen choking like that since I looked at the Heimlich chart in a restaurant I was in. I’ll bet anything Gollum brings back Kitteredge next year for 8 million bucks and he just falls apart or gets injured at 39. He’ll have another bullpen where nobody can be optioned and because he has really never brought guys up and given them any respect. It’s brutal. Frustrating? I was frustrated in May even when they were winning. I just see a bunch of guys failing and they all are making big money next year and have NTC’s. That scream success to anybody? Frustrating came and went because this should be going so much better with the young talent that’s blocked. Triantos should be a Utility guy( Blocked), Caissie should be in RF but I bet they’ll hold this mini trial against him, Alcantara should be in LF( Blocked), Ballesteros should be DH( Blocked). It’s pathetic.
Aloha uncle, I was very skeptical of the Tucker trade. As the Astros GM said, 14 yrs of controllable talent vs 1 year. I don’t think Jed had a real plan going into the office season. He was shooting from the hip. But he knew the rotation and BP needed the most help. Pitching wins championships. But as you know, in his walk off year he wanted to make a big move. He probably thought, who cares about giving up Paredes and a future 3B in Cam S, ownership will let me get Bregman…Paredes was having a nice AS season before his injury. Smith has cooled off a little but still, a rookie with only 2 months in the minors?! Yes, this will go down as one of the worst trades in recent time. They could have kept the young talent and try to get a good #1 or 2 starter like Cabrera, possibly Ryan under control. Do it in the off season. Then allow Caissie, Ballesteros and others opportunities to make their case. Had Cam Smith and Shaw both been in the system, they could have made their cases to come up and then you consider trading Paredes. But Jed didn’t allow this to play out. BTW how about his other off season trade with Cleveland sending Alfonsin for Eli! Been on the IL the whole season and Alfonsin is killing it in their system, really turned a corner there. Cleveland won that trade. And we won’t talk about Jed’s trade for Pressly! I was so surprised that ownership gave Jed an extension. Well, always hoping for the best. Take care now. Mahalo!
Hope springs eternal in Cub fans. But Gollum kills it every year.
Go Cub go, time for a sweep! First step to another title. Stack them up!
Yeah you got us- the Cubs have a pitiful 3 World Series Titles. It pales in comparison to those historical juggernaut White Sox titles they’ve racked up over decades. All, um, 3 of them. Dagnabbit. Dumpster Divin Dumba$$ strikes again.