Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on throughout the day today:
1. Red Sox, Brewers face off amid tense series:
The Red Sox and Brewers played last night, and right-hander Brandon Woodruff hit veteran first baseman Willson Contreras with a pitch. Contreras, who had spent the entirety of his career prior to this season in the NL Central, has been plunked by the Brewers 24 times in his career, including six by Woodruff specifically. That was enough to raise tensions on the field, and after the game both Contreras and a handful Brewers players commented on the situation (as relayed by Tim Healey of The Boston Globe).
“The 24th time, it’s not [a] coincidence,” Contreras said, as relayed by Healey. “They’re going there with a purpose. And that’s fine, that’s pitching. But next time you hit me, the message is clear: I’m going to take one of them out.”
Brewers veteran Christian Yelich was nonplussed by Contreras’s comments. “We’ve seen that skit for the last 10 years. It’s nothing new. Not surprising. You just keep it rolling. You got a game to win and lock the boys in, rally the troops.”
All of this sets up an interesting game between the clubs later today. At 6:45pm local time in Boston this evening, Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet will take the mound opposite hard-throwing righty Jacob Misiorowski. Crochet fell just shy of the AL Cy Young award last year and has a 3.27 ERA through two starts. Misiorowski, for his part, received an All-Star nod in his rookie season last year and has now posted a 2.45 ERA in his own first two starts of the year.
2. A’s 40-man roster move incoming:
The A’s are expected to select the contract of right-hander Joel Kuhnel later today. Before they can do that, however, they’ll need to create a spot on the 40-man roster for him. Right-hander Gunnar Hoglund is the only player on the club’s injured list at the moment. It’s unclear when exactly the right-hander will return from his current back injury, but he isn’t a known candidate for the 60-day injured list at this point. Barring a surprise transfer for Hoglund or a surprise trade that clears 40-man roster space, the A’s will have to designate a player for assignment today. That move can be expected sometime this afternoon, given that the club is slated to play their next game at 7:05pm local time in New York against the Yankees.
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
The regular season is in full swing at this point, with some clubs (like the 6-5 Angels) exceeding expectations in the early going while others (like the 2-8 Red Sox) have struggled unexpectedly out of the gate. Whether you’re wondering what to expect from your team this year or just trying to separate the contenders from the pretenders, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco has you covered with a live chat at 11:00am CT this morning. You can click here to leave a question in advance. That same link will also allow you to follow along with the chat live when things get underway and view a transcript of the chat after it concludes.
Contreras is leaning over the plate and then complains that he gets hit, it’s crazy. I’m a Red Sox fan, but can’t condone that slide or chirping at Murphy for an hour after the fact. He hasn’t done anything yet in Boston, I don’t feel like rooting for a diva.
He should focus on winning games, not taking out a Brewer. And come on man, you can’t say that. Because now if something happens, your butt is in the jackpot.
“leaning over the plate”
He wasnt leaning over the plate yesterday. When a player gets hit SIX TIMES by the same pitcher and the pitcher only has 33 hbp in the pitchers career, thats guy is holding a grudge (maybe its justified, maybe not). As a “Red Sox fan”, how are you so in tune with this Cards/Brewers rivalry. Better to ask their fans, they would be far more informed.
“he should focus on winning games”
Why would this be a diva thing? He’s trying to fire up his team. And they scored 8 runs. I dont see your correlation.
They scored 8 runs? If they scored 8 runs, the game goes to extras because the breers scored 8 runs. The Red Sox scored 6.
And my friend, go and watch the AB from yesterday. His hands are over the plate. Pitchers need to be able to throw inside. Now I’m not saying that he needs to back for the plate, because he can stand wherever he wants as long as the ump doesn’t dare, but if you crowd the plate don’t be shocked if you get it.
Good pitcher, which MIL is known for, work in and out, up and down. ESPN shows you the location of the pitch that he was hit with. You can go to the ESPN app, find the game go.to play by play and then find that AB. The little blue dot is covering the top right corner of the strike zone. It wasn’t some egregious miss on Woodruffs part. It was a little high and tight but it’s not like he whipped a FB at Contreras back. Woodruff is pitching to win the game, why on God’s green earth would be want to put another runner on?
He’s acting like a diva because he’s too busy trying to show everyone up instead of getting results. The ABs challenge that was actually a ball by like 0.5 inches, and before the ruling comes down he has a monster bat flip and takes off all his gear and goes to first. Wait for the ruling or else you’re going to look real dumb. And his chirping at Murphy was just dumb. Let it go dude. Then he goes and tries to take out Hamilton. Come on man, Sox fans are all too familiar with a dirty slide ending someone’s career – Machado into Pedroia. No need to end Hamilton’s career because you were leaning over the plate and got hit.
His hand are NOT over the plate during that AB. Its YOU need to take another look.
Diva, lol. I would much rather a player gets fired up in a situation like this than not. I guess you must have hated Varitek v Arod, Martinez v Zimmer.
Also, how to do you get “done nothing for the team”. Contreras has a 150+ OPS and is playing spectacular defense. Are you watching the same games?
The guy stands on top of the plate. He’s been hit six times because he’s played a million divisional games against the Brewers for the Cubs and Cards… And stands on top of the plate. It’s not that deep.
cwizzy6
Kitchen sink all you want. Contreras was NOT standing on top of the plate last night. That pitch was high and inside. “Its not that deep”.
I tried to look for other hbp’s all I found was another HBP by a Brewer pitcher and it was square in the numbers.
google.com/search?q=willson+contreras+hbp+brewers&…
Can you backup this hbp by hanging over the plate?
imgur.com/a/A3Z4ihb
Here is a screenshot from yesterday’s HBP. The pitch catches a good chunk of the plate, and Contreras drops his hands significantly from pre-pitch, to when he loads and actually begins to attack the baseball.
If that pitch was at the same horizontal location, but lower so it’s at the height of the strike zone, it gets called a strike lol.
“Over” means ABOVE. Your screenshot shows that he wasnt “leaning over the plate”. You have to break the Verticle Plain, not the Horizontal Plain to be “over the plate”.
The screen shot shows his hands were not above the plate. His hands are outside the strike zone box which tells us where the plate is. The pitch was not too far off the plate. So, I doubt they tried to hit him, but Contreras has apparently had enough.
While I still question whether Contreras was actually hit by that pitch last night? Typically a pitcher with decent control isn’t going to hit the batter intentionally in that situation. Contreras’s antics were way over the top and made it seem much worse than it was. Then his spikes high slide into Hamilton was uncalled for and he should have been tossed. He’s been HBP that often because he dives over the plate and also doesn’t make much effort to avoid not getting hit.
Frankly, I hope Miz plunks him in the hip or lower back with a 100+ fastball tonight. Unfortunately, Miz probably doesn’t have that type of control yet.
As someone else said, glad the Brewers have the younger brother instead of the older one.
Ok if you look at the horizontal component of the balls position, it is over the plate. If you draw a like up from the inside corner of the plate, you’re touching the ball. That’s the point I am making. The ball is above the plate, but it’s also above the strike zone
Mhm, and if you draw a line straight up from the corner of the plate, does the ball touch it or not?
If you extend the strike zone box upward, I’m sure it touches the ball. It MIGHT barely touch.
Wilson, wears more body armor than most players.
He is a hot head that’s with his 3rd team.
Teams get sick of his antics.
Someone should really hit the idiot over the head and knock some sense into that head of his.
LOL,you must be a red Sox fan.
As a Brewers fan I thank God that we got his brother and not this hot head.William is everything Wison isn’t. Hardnose player that goes about his job.
What some people aren’t keeping in mind when looking at the 24 times and “10 more than any other team”, is that up u til this year, he’s always played in the NL Central, meaning he’s played them likely well more than any other team and likely faced woodruff among the most times he’s faced any pitcher.
Whether he was over crowding the plate on that particular pitch, people have often said that he crowds the plate. When you do that, you run the risk of getting hit more. If you face particular teams more often, and you tend to be pitched inside, the more often you face a team, the more often you are to get hit by an inside pitch.
Nothing against Willson Contreras, he’s far from a nobody, but he’s also not necessarily someone you throw intentionally at, except maybe that he runs his mouth. But even then, is he necessarily worth giving a free base? Not really. Like others have said, he’s a fired up player, and likely looking to fire up his team some out of it, but part of it is also likely ego and thinking he’s thought of more than he is in all actuality.
Did the pitch that hit Contreras even cross over the batter’s box?
He crowds the plate, so he can’t hit inside pitches, so pitchers throw inside, so he gets hit because he’s crowding the plate. Then he complains about it, and is so unhinged that he’s still mindlessly ranting and making threats about it 3 hours later.
Too bad he sucks at catching or Milwaukee could swing at his forearm.
sea – He did NOT get hit by the pitch last night. It was very, very close but without question he faked getting hit to get on base and fire up the Sox. Even the NESN guys made it clear he didn’t get hit.
One thing worth noting, Willson Contreras is 2nd in HBP among all active MLB players. It’s not like the Brewers are the only team that’s hit him.
And the article doesn’t mention this, but Willson’s brother is the catcher for the Brewers.
I just looked at the actual pitch location on ESPN, and the pitch looks like it’s right in the top right corner of the strike zone. So… Yeah. I want to like this energy and fire he’s bringing but it seems misguided right now.
youtube.com/watch?v=9FJCMfmQdZU
Top of strike zone? No.
Did he get hit. I don’t see that… it was close.
What he did to Hamilton was bush league.
Rather have his brother on the Sox.
Plus, his brother’s a better player too. So you’d definitely rather have him.
The Brewers/Sox series isn’t “tense”. It’s one hot headed jackass that is well known for his antics and crying. He should be benched or suspended for his threats and his dirty slide at second as proof he will act out.
Hes also known as a 3x allstar, WS winner, an ambassador for Special Olympic, a humanitarian for Venezuela and someone who started a charity for stuttering children. Everyone that has ever been on his team, credits him for their success.
Didn’t say he’s not good. Every team he’s been on couldn’t wait for that contract to end.
He was beefing all night over the fantom pitch that never hit him, replay clearly showed it.
The umpires should get some balls and throw this puke out of games for his nonsense. An all-star that’s with his 3rd team because a toxic attidtude.
I’d be bitter too if I’ve lived in Milwaukee. Thanks for your stupid input though.
The replay shows no space between the ball and his hand. So, it may have hit him. This is why the umpires did not overturn the call of hit by pitch.
Willson pours his heart and soul into his team. A true leader. Clearly a move to fire up his teammates and get them out of the awful funk they are in. Baseball needs more players like him. Hes managerial material when he walks away from the game or if the Red Sox were smart, they’d fire Cora and let WC do both.
Slider – It’s guys like Willson that get their teammates injured.
It’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance.
John Lackey disagrees. Ha. I get your point though.
A true leader is a guy like Woodruff that just looked the other way when this laughing stock started his temper tantrum. Managers need a clear head like Pat Murphy that’s managed for 2 years and has been named manager of the year both of those years. He is truly a joy to have as a manager vs the sour puss Councell.
On a side note the Sox fans want the owner to sell, that’s funny.
Warren – Maybe you jinxed him, but his managing in the 6th inning tonight was horrendous.
The kid was approaching a career-high pitch count in brutal weather.
Why did Murph leave him in after the first 4-pitch walk?
And why did he leave him in after the second 4-pitch walk, to face Abreu of all people?
Inexcusable, and without question he gave the game to the Sox …. not that I’m complaining! LOL
Contreras has given no particular reason to cheer him thus far, and Anthony IS NOT the second coming of Ted Williams, contrary to media speculation. I don’t see how things could have been worse in the RedSox first 10 games, but also see no reason to expect much more than modest improvement. I’m going to save money and get considerably more sleep this summer! Somebody wake me when Cora and Breslow are gone or if we get really lucky and Henry sells!
Wait, the season started already?
swan – Cora says the season doesn’t start until Memorial Day weekend.
He says it’s a marathon, not a sprint. And he’s Rosie Ruiz.
Cora should be the first manager fired this season and Kotsay probably shouldn’t be A’s manager much longer but I think they want him to be there when they move to Las Vegas.
dlj – John Henry will never let Cora get fired. Best hope is Cora gets bumped up to the front office.
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora ran the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon on November 2, 2025.
hayzee – How far from the finish line did he get out of the Uber?
The Contreras vs. Brewers thing could’ve been a fun rallying point but unfortunately this team is far too feckless so it’s just another embarrassing loss.
Yea willson coming across like a psycho right now. But hey maybe that’s what we need 🤷🏻♂️
Sean – How does he not get fined for stating he will take out someone if he’s hit again? I’ve been following baseball a long, long time and I’ve never heard a player come out and say something like that.
FPG, wake up to reality and look at what our leader said. There are no consequences for anything. But yeah, he’ll be punished.
That’s not what Caleb Durbin said either but far be it from the particular person to misrepresent comments a player made to further their own agenda.
Well I mean “technically” it would be assault and battery lol \s
I was hoping it’d be like a rallying point to turn stuff around a bit. Seems like it was a rallying point in that game… for the Brewers. I don’t dislike the energy but it looks pretty bad given the result.
Meow – I think it didn’t help the Sox because he’s new to the team and the feud history doesn’t involve the Red Sox. I mean do you think any member of the Sox wants to get involved in a beanball game today with Mis and Crochet?
It was funny when Durbin was asked about Willson last night. Durbin was actually the victim of an intentional Willson collision at first base, he said Willson is a player that’s hated by opponents.
Not really as big of a Red Sox fan anymore, but I already think they should’ve gone after the other Contreras this off-season when making trades with the Brewers.
Even with their higher end C prospect cooking, I doubt they would have made him available. His bat is good enough for future 1B/DH transition. He’s a stud.
On a different note than the Contreras HBP situation, the A’s opened the year playing 3 at Toronto then 3 at Atlanta. They flew home for 3 games with the Astros and turn around and are back in NY to play the Yankees. Who write this effed up schedule? MLB loves to screw the A’s. Been happening for years
You wanna be the best you gotta beat the best… and all that jazz \s. On a serious note… the stadium situation isn’t helping their case. Better to appease the masses than be concerned with a singular case of injustice \s. Damnit I did it again 😜
It’s more about helping the Yankees. Screwing the A’s is just a happy coincidence for MLB.
Nick Deeds does not know what nonplussed means.
“Nonplussed” is actually sort of a meaningless word at this point. It can mean both “bewildered” and “unaffected/unimpressed” which are practically opposites. The latter definition does fit the situation though.
The misuse nonplussed is due to the way it sounds. It’s like the way mundane came to mean trivial, when it actually meant the opposite. But, the misuse of nonplussed doesn’t have the same acceptance, or long-term established misuse, that led to that acceptance. The misuse of nonplussed, mostly limited to North America, has only occurred over recent decades.
It’s from the Latin, non plus, meaning no more, in that someone so perplexed or confused, can say or do no more.
What I’ve noticed is that people use it in an attempt to try to sound smart. But it’s probably a good idea when someone wants to use nonplussed, that they should look to see what it actually means, instead of assuming what it it means due to the way it sounds.
Jean – That reminds me of back in the day when my go-to word for sounding smart with the ladies was Callipygian. They never admitted to not knowing what it meant, instead they thanked me because I always said it in a way to imply I was complimenting them … which I was! LOL!
One could argue the etymology also supports the more neologistic definition: if there is “no more” to say then the person could very well be shrugging it off.
Either way, at this point both are listed definitions and in common usage at least in American English. It’s a word that needs to be used with context now, as it is here.
Just a thing that happens with words over time.
The definition doesn’t really say both usages are accepted. It simply notes an increased use that is opposite the original meaning. Merriam-Webster lists the meaning as perplexed or confused, then adds that the increasing alternate use has created a contradictory secondary definition.
If it was used correctly it wouldn’t need context. Deeds writes “Brewers veteran Christian Yelich was nonplussed by Contreras’s comments.” That isn’t really any kind of context. He uses the word, then has to follow with a sentence indicating what he meant. If used correctly someone could write that Yelich was nonplussed by comment, and nothing more be needed. Unfazed would have been a far better choice, and also would not need further explanation.
It isn’t great having a word that means opposite things. If people want to write or speak correctly, using a contradictory secondary definition is not the way to go.
The tide of language evolution, which includes shifts in pronunciation and sense/definition, is unstoppable and comes for us all.
It wouldn’t be unstoppable if we were well-educated enough to know what words actually meant before using them. Or didn’t use them not knowing what they actually meant. The exact meaning of words over time does evolve, but that is usually more of a shift, and not as extreme as a new meaning being the complete opposite of what it actually is.
I once called into an NPR talk show, that had a linguist as the guest. He had noted that use, and exact meaning of words did evolve over time. I asked him about what had become a common usage in terms of it ever becoming proper. He said no, somethings are just wrong and will never be correct.
Is it okay to be wrong, if being wrong has become common? I’m surprised that you, who seems well-educated, are defending the incorrect use of words as just part of the evolution of language.
Humans have been around for thousands and thousands of years. Few double-check a dictionary before they use a word. Since nonplussed has multiple common usages, that’s how it is.
Over time, what was wrong becomes correct, if enough people use it that way.
And apparently anybody can make up rules like they did against double negatives, inventing a fake rule against saying ‘you and me’, and the fortunately ignored ‘rule’ against ending a sentence with a preposition.
I never expect anyone to consult a dictionary before they use a word. But maybe they shouldn’t use words, especially when trying to appear smart, when they don’t know the meaning.
Again, to quote the linguist I talked to, some things will always be incorrect.
I have never pointed out grammatical errors that aren’t important like those you listed. I do agree with Winston Churchill on ending a sentence with preposition. He said, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up, with which he will not put.
I don’t really see it as “defending incorrect usage”.
Clearly you and I and Nick Deeds and many others are familiar with the definition of nonplussed that means “unaffected.” It’s clear in the context of the article what meaning the author intended it to carry. Whether that’s a “proper” definition is a philosophical debate and whether it was even a good inclusion in the sentence is an editorial one. We understood what was being conveyed. In my opinion, the goal of language is to communicate ideas and feelings clearly and without undue social friction, which was accomplished.
This is all in response to your original comment that Nick Deeds doesn’t know what nonplussed means, which I don’t think is a fair statement because of the above.
Also, with a word like “nonplussed” where its roots aren’t apparent in the modern day, I think it’s a lot easier and more reasonable for drift to happen. I think this is a particularly interesting case, because without considering the etymology I think “plussed” really sounds like a word that would mean “bothered”. Sounds like a mix of “pissed” and “fussed”.
I could talk about this all day but I’ll stop now 😸
“We understood what was being conveyed.”
Not me. My first thought was why would Yelich be nonplussed. In the next sentence it became clear what Deeds meant; that he was using the contradictory secondary definition.
Writing should clear, and for people who know what nonplussed has meant for centuries, this was not. It’s not good for the reader to have to wonder what a writer means. A lot of people know the long established definition of nonplussed, and should not have to read on to figure out what the writer meant.
And this contradictory secondary definition is not just drift. When it is used when the opposite is intended, calling it drift is minimalizing it.
We have beaten this to death, and will have to agree to disagree. It was a good debate though. I enjoyed it.
What a hoot, sounds more like roller derby post game interviews than after a baseball game. Brew crew vs. R.S. too funny.
Boston radio is now calling Anthony “Ramen” Anthony. due to his noodle arm . Crochet hits someone in the 2nd inning tonight.
cdc – hi!
I hafta admit, that’s a clever nickname. But all the people jumping off the Roman bandwagon already makes me feel sick. Good fans are supposed to be loyal.
Hamilton is the last guy to pay the price, therefore Mis is more likely to be the first to go up and in.
While I’m not worried yet, it is alarming that I thought the pitching and defense would be vastly improved… quite the opposite so far… as for HBP… somewhere Don Baylor is shaking his head… Ball to Manny , thrown by Clemens was worse..lol… and can we please stop with putting Roman in the class of ex left field greats of Boston…I am a long time die hard/ dirt dog fan .. our fan base has put him on a pedestal like the second coming of Yaz… Let’s pump the brakes a little.. while I hope he turns into the player he’s supposed to be let him get to Troy O’Leary plateau first… Then maybe Gator( way underrated) and so on… I’m nearly 60 with two operations on right arm and I could have made a better throw!! Okay maybe not but close….
I’m nearly 70 and I could NOT have made a better throw! Williams, YAZ and Rice are in special territory. Gator if he’d lasted longer. Now back to that throw. Maybe when I was 50. Maybe.
Hayzee… back in the day they called that throw … A Worm killer..
olm – The Sox have last year’s league leader in getting HBP and also the #2 active player in career getting HBP, so Don Baylor would love this Sox team! But Don isn’t even Top 4 for franchise HBP …. Youk is #1 thanks in large part to Joba the Hut.
That Manny/Roger thing was fueled by roid rage on both sides, pitch wasn’t even close to Manny.
Fans can be so fickle, one minute they think a player will be the GOAT and literally the next minute they want to bench him. Same thing with the team, “best pitching staff in baseball blah blah blah” ….. that’s what happens when you combine lack of memory with lack of patience with believing ST & WBC games are the same as regular season games.
All I gotta say is ….. 25 days!!!!!!
FPG… so true.. Again not ragging on Anthony at all, just as I’ve said many times… The most overrated word in sports is Potential.. Now the serious stuff… I’ve watched all the big preps and have my horse ( to be announced at later date) already R/O at work and Mrs Brais made sure betting app up to date…Sad that in Illinois you can’t go to a OTB and bet the Derby anymore… what a crock… don’t think I ever asked you… did you ever have a chance to visit Arlington rack track here when it was open?? What a beautiful track/ grandstand etc… just a “little” better than sportsman’s park and Hawthorne track in Cicero that I would frequent as a younger broken down horse player…funny when we visited daughter years ago at BC I saw that the last stop on the T was to a racetrack ( can’t remember name) Mrs Brais had to reel me in… it was buggy racing anyway not 🏇
olm – I totally agree with you on Roman, and I’m totally fine if he can’t field going forward. I’ve never valued defense as much as others, as long as the player contributes offensively.
I’m in the same situation as you now, not allowed in my current state or bordering states. I have to fly to another state to put down my wagers.
No never been to Arlington, the only time I’ve ever been to Illinois was when I stayed at a hotel in the Belleville Basher’s hometown October 27, 2004 as I attended Game 4 that night. Lifetime memories, it went so fast. I bought up every newspaper in town the next morning.
So you’re class of ’66 too huh? We are in good company with Schilling, Wakefield, Stan Belinda, Greg Maddux, Heathcliff Slocumb etc.
There’s not a player in the history of major league who wouldn’t pissed off at a team and a pitcher if he had been hit that many times.
This is not rocket science. It’s not leaning out over the plate. It’s not about being a diva.
Have some freaking common sense.
Holy cow.
it’s people trolling. If the same pitcher hits you 6 times he clearly throwing at you.
hayzee – While I believe the Brewers go inside on Contreras the most because of their longstanding division rival history, he uses HBP to boost his OBP just like Durbin did last year.
Again, only one other active MLB hitter has been hit more often than Contreras. That doesn’t happen if you make any sort of attempt to get off the plate.
Look up Ron Hunt. Over the last 7 years of his fine career, 192 HPB’s and 151 extra base hits.
I watched Ty France get hit 20+ times a year for several years, and he had the maturity to understand his positioning in the box increased his HBP numbers. Crowd the plate, get hit, remove his armor, walk to 1st.
Contreras has been around long enough to react without anger, especially 3 hours later talking to reporters. And by rule, it should’ve been a dead ball/no free base since the batter was hit OUTSIDE the batter’s box.
I get Contreras’ frustration but this team just looks so bad right now that doing something stupid to get kicked out of the game or potentially suspended is not the way to endear himself to his new teammates. The best revenge is on the field with the bat. Ignite the offense and win a few games.
This team is lifeless. I appreciate Dave O’Brien and Lou Merloni giving Breslow the business in the booth the other day and of course Breslow gave a bunch of non-answers but something needs to change. I’m not the one who usually calls for the Manager’s head but maybe it’s time to move on from Cora
Rsox – The question is, does ownership want to make the postseason badly enough? I just don’t see enough sense of urgency to make a managerial change, especially if they sold a ton of tickets already.
I mean look at last year, they were 30-35 on June 6th and Cora still kept his job.
So what do you think of this ….. tonight they are going up against a righty flamethrower, and yet they are benching their best contact hitter who also happens to be lefthanded …. in favor of the righty Rafaela who has a .231 OBP and .551 OPS against RHP …. I mean seriously, which of the two has a much better chance of making contact or drawing a walk (Yoshida has 8 walks, Rafaela has zero).
Cora can’t make out a lineup to save his life. At least he’s ditched the L/R crap.
Yoshida needs to be in the lineup everyday right now as he and Abreu are the only one’s consistently getting on base. Bring Rafaela in later for defense if necessary. Story needs to sit for a game or two also
Brewers are unlikely to resign Turang in ’30 and could be entertaining trades this season with the CBA uncertainty cooling the free agent / trade markets in ’27.
It’s a big risk in terms of remaining competitive but there should be a strong market this season for a player like Turang who Id have above Bo Bichette. Three years of team control after ’26. Turang likely to make 40M+ over the next three seasons, Bichette signed for 3/126M, Brewers offering an allstar 2B at an 80M dollar discount. Return would be in line with the Soto trade.
The Guardians are a good fit and they can put together a good package. The Tigers also a good fit with some good prospects. The Orioles might deal if they can move Gunnar to 3B.
The Red Sox might stack a plate. The Royals have a spot for Turang.
Turang for Jones, Volpe, Hess, LaGrange, Wells? Yankees might make that trade.
Turang’s trade market in ’26 is likely red hot. Im not sure if its a good trade this season, it is hard to get 80M return in prospect capital but its the Bichette contract that has Turang’s trade market off the charts and that is an inflated deal.
The CBA potential to cool the market off and that could make it a good trade this season. If the Brewers can cash in big, with Pratt at SS and Rengifo at 2B, I could see the Brewers making a big trade this summer.
Id also like to say, after reading Jean’s thorough (highbrow) lesson above, that I have thought Nick Deeds to be the most matter-of-fact writer on the site. He has truncated (latin for “to cut off) his articles to be concise and reports the data in a way that is easy to digest. He also has improved much in tone, developing a very professional voice, one that reads like a top flight newsman.
He has been the best writer on the site this year and that is more than an acheivement amongst a talented group of reporters that have been at it far longer.
All of this nonsense, back and forth arguing about Contreras and acting like it matters is so stupid. Screw that guy. The Red Sox suck. It’s not just because of him, but give me a break. They can’t hit, they can’t field and they can’t pitch. Stop tiptoeing around the gigantic elephant in the room. The Red Sox suck because ownership is after dollars and not championships. Fans and owners want two different things. Eventually you guys will catch up to reality.
The red Sox spend plenty in the aggregate. Just not wisely aggregated. They set a hard ceiling on a player which can be a good thing… if the price is reasonable and in line with player ability and team need.
However, they have seemed to set those prices unrealistically, leading to spreading money around unwisely.
Why did Crochet start the seventh inning????
Because they’re 2 and 8????
What’s the hell is going on????
Have some common sense.
hayzee – After Murphy’s mental implosion, I can’t say a bad thing about Cora …. not tonight anyway.
Pitch count was high, im with you there hayzee, but I think they were hoping crochet would stoke some fire in the rest of the lineup and help push them over the finish line in this one… and i bet Garrett was demanding to go back out, sale-style.
I wouldnt have done it, not with as many pitches as he was at, so early in the season. … but then again, they pay me nothing for my thoughts either.
They desperately needed the W tonight, and got it.
I get it but I think if they’re not 2 and 8, they take him out after 6. And I think that’s the right thing to do right now. And yes, they needed the win. But at what cost? Because wins are NOT all equal. Some cost more than others. That has to be taken into consideration over 162 games.
hayzee – I’m honestly surprised at your take. Thought you were old school and didn’t believe in coddling 26 year old 6’6″ 245 pound horses who have been pitching on extra rest all season and will continue to do so.
Crochet, Cora and the coaching staff all talked about this long ago …. he pitches on extra rest (6 days between starts) and therefore isn’t held back because of pitch counts. I know you think the Sox are totally incompetent, and I honestly can’t blame you for thinking that sometimes, but on this they can’t be criticized ….. we are talking 107 pitches here, not 127 pitches, in a very important game after numerous bullpen meltdowns. I’m sure you’ll ignore all this logic though. LOL
I’m actually not old school. I’m a former actuary (sports analytics is a natural fit for me) and I pitched until I was 41 against mostly college baseball players in a very competitive men’s league. I’m also a long time endurance runner with over 20 marathons, mostly in the 3:30-4:00 range. I understand how overuse leads to injury. I understand why more pitchers are requiring Tommy John surgery. I have a nephew on my wife’s side who was drafted and had to retire after two TJ’s and thoracic surgery. I had teammates who made it as high as AAA, one who played pro indoor football, another who was an Olympic alternate. And just for fun, I grew up in the next town to Tommy John himself and in the same town as Mel Stottlemyre, as well as, brace for it, Bucky Dent.
I don’t take what I say lightly except for my admittedly insufferable puns, which my wife has been putting up with for almost 40 years.
I’m happy with the win. I’m still debating the efficacy of bringing in relievers mid inning as this had a profound effect for both teams.
hayzee – Thanks, I appreciate the background.
I’m a student of the game and I can say with certainty the pitcher injuries are more the result of too much max velo too often, rather than innings pitched or pitch counts.
Think about it …. the explosion in pitcher injuries began, ironically, when our very own Aroldis Chapman burst onto the scene and threw 105 MPH in September 2010 and suddenly every team wanted pitchers to throw over 100MPH or close to it.
How else do you explain pitchers back in the day regularly throwing over 200 innings and even over 300 innings in a season without getting hurt? And I’m sure you’ve heard the legendary pitch counts, over 150 pitches in a game. Tiant threw 163 pitches in one WS game! How did they do it back then? They didn’t just throw the ball as hard as they could, they actually pitched.
Now I fully understand why it’s better these days to bring in a fresh reliever (or 3) instead of riding with a gassed starter, but the fact remains back when starters were expected to pitch 7-8 innings every 5th day there were hardly any injuries.
Anyway I always appreciate your posts. Wish we could agree on more subjects, but it is what it is.
We agree on the most important subject:
Go Red Sox!
Fever- its interesting when you talk about ‘max velocity hurling’ vs ‘pitching’….
But dont you remember last season when crochet himself (and the subject of last night’s count) himself lamented how he had been trying to ‘pitch’ and focus on location too much, and that *HE* preferred to just reach back and fire away, max effort – aka, hurling? And that he intended to return to focusing on the latter?
So, in light of that, is 107 pitches, on a cold (i think upper 40s?) Night in the fens, just 2 weeks into the season too much considering what ST ramp up was like and what his counts were at before opening day?
What’s done is done. And yes, the ‘pen’ has issues, but, part coming from cora’s decisions – uberstein should’ve been lifted after 2, weissert used in the wrong spot. Blah blah blah.
GaSox – I don’t remember that particular Crochet quote, I’d have to look it up and see the context. If he was getting beat with his offspeed stuff then yeah, I agree he should stick with his best pitch which is obviously his fastball.
Besides the fact Crochet was well rested and will continue to be going forward, what other options did Cora have? Coulombe, Moran and Watson all pitched the previous night. Whit was not gonna pitch more than an inning because he pitched the night before. Chapman was being saved for the 9th. Slaten was unavailable due to injury (now replaced by Samaniego). And Weissert has been brutal.
Add to the lack of BP options, this was a very important game to win therefore it made perfect sense to leave in Crochet.
Don’t make me defend Cora, dammit! LOL
BTW – Staying on the subject of velo & K’s, Chapman’s have been down … he has only a 16.7 K% on the season. Dude has never been below 27% in his career and has been below 33% only once in his career. But guess what? He’s been quite effective by pitching rather than throwing triple digit fastballs.
Fever – not the best article because they give too little of his comments and cop them up. But they do summarize his position via the title:
Crochet is a thrower, not a pitcher, and thats now he wants it.
“I think just pitching passively,” said Crochet. “I’ve been talking in my past couple pressers about getting to the glove side. It became something where I was trying to pitch instead of just throw. I’ve always been a bit of a thrower, which is just who I am.
mlb.com/news/garrett-crochet-issues-5-walks-throws…
GaSox – Thanks, that’s an interesting article. The fastball is definitely his best pitch, so it makes sense to use it a lot. Let’s hope he doesn’t lose his velocity anytime soon, because throwers don’t pitch well without their velo.