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Whit Merrifield Suffers Left Foot Fracture

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The Braves’ battered infield mix took another hit last night when second baseman Whit Merrifield fouled a pitch off his foot during last night’s win over Toronto. As manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman) this evening, Merrifield was diagnosed with a fractured foot last night that was initially expected to keep him out of action for six to eight weeks. Fortunately, both club and player received great news when Merrifield was examined by a specialist today who told them that Merrifield was not at risk of worsening the injury by continuing to play. That’s made the issue a matter of pain tolerance, and Bowman went on to note that the Braves are hopeful the veteran will be able to return to the lineup next weekend when they face the Dodgers for a four-game set.

That’s great news for a Braves club that has been plagued by injury woes all throughout the year and is currently without both Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley as they nurse injuries of their own. Merrifield himself was brought into the fold after being released by the Phillies in order to help fill the void left by Albies when he suffered a wrist fracture back in July. He’s performed admirably as a fill-in since then, slashing a respectable .243/.359/.342 (103 wRC+) while walking at a 14.2% clip and going five for seven on the basepaths in 34 games with the Braves so far.

Once Merrifield is ready to take the field again, they’ll need him to continue acting as a stopgap option at the keystone at least for the time being. As noted by David O’Brien of The Athletic, Albies has been doing fielding drills and hitting from the right side but still feels discomfort when hitting lefty. Until that subsides, he won’t be cleared to move on to batting practice but could start a rehab assignment not long after being cleared to resume hitting. With Riley out until sometime during the postseason, Albies’s return could free Merrifield up to move to third base, where Gio Urshela’s 85 wRC+ in 15 games since taking over the club’s regular job at third base leaves something to be desired.

While Merrifield is unable to play, it seems likely that reserve infielder Luke Williams will get a look at second, though Snitker told reporters (including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that Eli White and Ramon Laureano could also be infield options on a stopgap basis while Merrifield’s foot is too sore for him to play. Williams is the most experienced infielder of the group but sports a career wRC+ of just 56 in the majors, including a paltry .152/.243/.212 line (33 wRC+) in 33 games this year. White has only limited experience at second base in the majors but has hit fairly well in an extremely limited sample this year with a 120 wRC+ in just 26 plate appearances.

While Williams and White being considered as stopgap options at the keystone is hardly a surprise, the fact that Laureano is also being looked at as an option to play the infield for the Braves is something of a shock. An outfielder by trade, Laureano has slashed an excellent .299/.336/.500 (130 wRC+) in 49 games since joining the Braves earlier this year but has virtually no experience on the infield, with a single inning of time at first base in the minor leagues representing all of his experience on the dirt as a pro. The 30-year-old has also become a key part of the club’s outfield mix while platooning with Jarred Kelenic in left field, further complicating the possibility. In all likelihood, the club will probably be best served using some combination of White and Williams at second over the next week while Merrifield rests up and looks to return to the position next weekend.

One possibility that wasn’t mentioned by Snitker was top prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. The 21-year-old made his big league debut earlier this year with an eight-game cup of coffee but didn’t hit a lick in that brief stint as a big leaguer, going just 3-for-30 with ten strikeouts and no walks or extra base hits before he was sent back down to the minor leagues. Giving that lackluster performance in the big leagues and his relative lack of experience at the Triple-A level, it’s perhaps not a surprise that the club would prefer to avoid using Alvarez in the big leagues again this year as they continue to develop the youngster as their shortstop of the future.

Royals Outright Dan Altavilla

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The Royals announced this afternoon that right-hander Dan Altavilla has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Omaha. The right-hander was designated for assignment by Kansas City earlier this week when they activated him from the 60-day injured list but did not add him back to the 40-man roster.

Altavilla, 31, was a fifth-round pick by the Mariners back in 2014 who made his big league debut in Seattle during the 2016 season. He provided solid middle relief for the club in the first few years of his career with a combined 3.28 ERA and 4.32 FIP in 79 2/3 innings of work from 2016 to 2018, but struggled badly over the next three seasons with the Mariners and Padres. In 36 1/3 innings of work across 41 games between 2019 and 2021, Altavilla posted a 5.70 ERA with a 4.55 FIP before undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of the 2021 season.

The right-hander’s time with the Padres came to a close shortly after he went under the knife, and though he signed a two-year minor league deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2022 season he never made it into a big league game in Boston. He made his return in the minors with the Red Sox, however, with a 3.00 ERA but a lackluster 14.3% strikeout rate in eight appearances that spanned 12 innings in total before he was released by the club in August of that year. He didn’t catch on with another club down the stretch in 2023 but found a minors pact with the Royals back in December.

In Kansas City, Altavilla found his first big league opportunity since 2021 when the club selected his contract back in June. Unfortunately, the righty made just five appearances that saw him surrender six runs in just 3 2/3 innings of work before he found himself back on the injured list due to an oblique strain. He began a rehab assignment early last month but struggled at the Triple-A level during that time with a ghastly 9.39 ERA in eight appearances. That led the Royals to designate the righty for assignment once he had reached the maximum rehab time in the minor leagues, though he evidently went unclaimed on waivers and now will return to Omaha with the Royals as a non-roster depth option for the club down the stretch.

While the Royals have struggled to get consistent results from their bullpen this year with a relief corps that’s bottom five in the majors by ERA since the calendar flipped to August and bottom six overall this season, it nonetheless seems unlikely that the club would turn to Altavilla down the stretch barring injuries forcing the clubs’ hand. Lucas Erceg, John Schreiber, and James McArthur form a solid enough back-end trio for the club with strong peripherals despite mediocre results, and the trio of Kris Bubic, Sam Long, and Carlos Hernandez have performed well in the middle innings of late to leave few reasons for the club to make a change as they enter the stretch run in position to make the postseason for the first time since their 2015 World Series championship.

Orioles Sign Terrin Vavra To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that they’ve signed infielder Terrin Vavra to a minor league deal. Vavra was designated for assignment by the Mariners last week and elected free agency shortly thereafter. Since Vavra changed organizations after September 1, he will not be eligible to participate in the postseason with the Orioles.

Vavra, 27, was a third-round pick by the Rockies back in 2018 who was dealt to the Orioles at the trade deadline in 2020 as part of the deal that sent Mychal Givens to Colorado. He made his big league debut back in 2022 and posted a solid 40-game stretch with Baltimore where he hit a roughly league average .258/.340/.337 while splitting time between second base and the outfield for the club. Entering the 2023 season, Vavra was with the club in the big leagues but hit just .245/.315/.245 in 56 trips to the plate before heading to the IL with a shoulder strain.

That shoulder problem eventually turned out to be a torn labrum, and Vavra went under the knife to address the issue in September of last year. He returned to action back in May and, although he posted a decent .243/.350/.368 in 44 games at the Triple-A level with the club’s affiliate in Norfolk, he didn’t manage to crack the club’s increasingly crowded big league roster and eventually found himself designated for assignment back in August without having made a big league appearance for the club this year. Vavra was claimed off waivers by the Mariners shortly thereafter, but did not make it into a big league game with the club and played just three games with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma before being designated for assignment to make room for the return of infielder Luis Urias to the 40-man roster.

Vavra then elected free agency, leading him to his latest stint with the Orioles. While the 27-year-old won’t be able to play for the club in the postseason even if added to the 40-man roster at some point down the stretch, he still offers the club a familiar emergency depth option for the remainder of the regular season who can be called upon in the event more of the club’s infield options join Jordan Westburg, Ramon Urias, and Jorge Mateo on the injured list as the club remains engaged with the Yankees in a close battle for the AL East crown. The Orioles currently have Nick Maton and Livan Soto backing up their middle infield of Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday while Coby Mayo and Emmanuel Rivera split time at the hot corner.

Angels Place Kevin Pillar, Jo Adell On Injured List

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The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve place outfielders Kevin Pillar and Jo Adell on the 10-day Injured List. Pillar is out due to a left thumb sprain, while Adell is being shelved due to a left oblique strain. Outfielder Jordyn Adams was recalled to the big league roster and outfielder Bryce Teodosio had his contract selected to replace the pair on the big league roster. To make room for Teodosio on the 40-man roster, the Angels transferred right-hander Jose Soriano to the 60-day IL.

It’s not yet clear how long either Pillar or Adell is expected to be out, but absences of any significance are likely to spell the end of the season for the hitters with just three weeks left in the 2024 campaign and the Angels set to miss the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season. If Pillar doesn’t return this season, it’s possible that means he’s already played his final MLB game given that he acknowledged back in July that he’s likely to retire following this season.

The 35-year-old veteran has enjoyed his best offensive season in a 162-game campaign since 2015 by measure of wRC+ as he’s hit a decent .242/.298/.392 in 93 games between the White Sox and Angels this year, including a fantastic 145 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. In addition to Pillar’s excellent numbers against southpaws, he’s played solid defense at all three outfield spots and chipped in ten steals in 13 attempts on the basepaths. Should Pillar not return to the field this season and decide to retire, he’ll finish his 12-year career with a .256/.294/.408 slash line with 1042 hits, 113 homers, and 106 steals.

As for Adell, the 25-year-old was a big league regular for the first time since he made his debut back in 2020 this year, acting as the Halos’ everyday right fielder. Unfortunately, the tenth overall pick of the 2017 draft and former top prospect left much to be desired with his performance in that first taste of regular playing time. The youngster got off to a hot start early in the season with a .234/.301/.516 slash line in his first 43 games year, but in 87 games since then he’s hit a paltry .195/.270/.350 with as many home runs (10) in his final 307 trips to the plate as he had in his first 144 plate appearances this year. While his overall wRC+ of 89 is an improvement over his career 70 wRC+ entering the year, it’s still both a major disappointment for a player who was once a consensus top-5 prospect in the game and a far cry from the production expected from an everyday corner outfielder.

Replacing Adell and Pillar on Anaheim’s big league roster are Adams and Teodosio. The Angels’ first-round pick in the 2018 draft, Adams made his big league debut last year with a 17-game cup of coffee where he hit just .128/.125/.128 with a 40% strikeout rate in 40 trips to the plate. Following that lackluster debut, Adams has struggled at the Triple-A level this year with a .261/.333/.386 line in 549 trips to the plate, good for a wRC+ of just 81 in the Pacific Coast League this year. Despite that lackluster production in the minors this year, the 24-year-old will now get another taste of big league action down the stretch in hopes of establishing himself as a potential big league option for the Halos in 2025.

As for Teodosio, the 25-year-old Clemson product signed with the club as a undrafted free agent back in 2021 and worked his way up the minor league ladder to reach the Triple-A level this year. In 114 games at the level this season, Teodosio has slashed .276/.339/.418 with an 89 wRC+ with similar overall numbers to those of Adams, though he’s managed to separate himself a bit with an excellent 40-for-44 record on the basepaths. With Teodosio now poised to make his big league debut when he first makes it into a game, he’ll join Adams in the club’s outfield down the stretch alongside Taylor Ward and Mickey Moniak in hopes of making enough of an impression to be looked at as an option in the outfield headed into next year.

Making room for Teodosio on the 40-man roster is Soriano, whose season is now over after being transferred to the 60-day IL. As noted by Sam Blum of The Athletic, Angels brass indicated that Soriano has not suffered a setback and is dealing with the same arm fatigue issue that initially sent him to the IL in mid-August. The 25-year-old hurler moved to the rotation in 2024 after pitching in relief during his rookie season last year. With a 3.42 ERA and 3.82 FIP in 113 innings of work, Soriano generally impressed with his work out of the rotation this year and appears likely to head into Spring Training next year with the inside track toward a 2025 rotation job.

Yankees Outright Josh Maciejewski

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September 6: The Yankees announced that Maciejewski was outrighted to Triple-A, indicating he cleared waivers. He has the right to elect free agency by virtue of a previous career outright but it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so.

September 1: The Yankees announced this morning that they have designated left-hander Josh Maciejewski for assignment. The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Anthony Rizzo, whose activation from the 60-day IL was reported on yesterday. Rizzo takes one of four active roster spots created by yesterday’s demotions of Ben Rice and Will Warren as well as today’s expansion from 26 to 28 roster spots. Outfielder Duke Ellis was recalled to the majors alongside right-handers Scott Effross and Ron Marinaccio to fill the other three open spots.

Maciejewski, 29, was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster back in June and has made four multi-inning relief appearances for the club in total. He has pitched well in that limited exposure in the majors, with a 2.57 ERA and a 25.9% strikeout rate in his seven innings of work at the big league level. Those strong results contrast sharply with his ugly performance in the minor leagues this year, however, as Maciejewski sports a 6.02 ERA in 46 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level with the Yankees this year. That’s not far off from his career numbers at the level, either, as in 40 career appearances at the highest level of the minors the lefty has struggled to a 5.61 ERA.

Given Maciejewski’s lackluster body of work in the minors, it’s not necessarily a shock that the club opted to part ways with the lefty despite his small sample success in the Bronx. The lefty’s departure makes room for the return of Rizzo, who figures to step into his previous role as the club’s everyday first baseman down the stretch now that he’s recovered from the forearm fracture that kept him sidelined since mid-June. The 35-year-old will look to return to the form he’s shown in previous seasons after struggling to a .223/.289/.341 slash line in 70 games prior to the injury.

He’ll be joined on the roster by Ellis, a 26-year-old rookie who made his big league debut with the White Sox earlier this year. Ellis has just four plate appearances in the big leagues under his belt and hasn’t hit much throughout his career in the minors, but he nonetheless figures to be a worthwhile addition to New York’s positional mix thanks to his blistering speed and solid defense in the outfield. Ellis has already stolen four bases without being caught in his limited time at the big league level, and he’s stolen at least 50 bags at the minor league level in each of the last three seasons.

As for the pitchers, Effross’s first appearance with the club this year will be his first time pitching on a major league mound since 2022, as he underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after being acquired from the Cubs at the 2022 trade deadline and then had his return to action further delayed by back surgery back in February. The sidearming righty has been very effective at the big league level when healthy enough to take the mound, with a 2.78 ERA and 2.63 FIP in 71 1/3 innings of work. He’ll join the bullpen alongside Marinaccio, who has a 2.53 ERA despite a 4.63 FIP in 21 1/3 innings of work this year.

The Opener: Marte, Guardians, Dodgers, Pitchers’ Duel

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As the final month of the regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:

1, Marte nearing return:

The Diamondbacks have been without one of their stars since Ketel Marte went down with an ankle sprain around three weeks ago. Fortunately for fans in Arizona, it seems that absence will come to an end soon. MLB.com’s Injury Tracker indicates that Marte could return to action as soon as this weekend. It’s possible that Marte’s return will start with reps at DH rather than second base as the club eases their star back into regular duty.

Arizona has a firm grasp on a playoff spot at this point with a 79-62 record, but the club nonetheless figures to get a big boost from the return of Marte, who is slashing an incredible .298/.370/.560 with a wRC+ of 150 in 116 games this year. In his absence, the Snakes have relied on a platoon of Luis Guillorme and Kevin Newman at the keystone, though that partnership will continue for as long as Marte is used at DH — potentially pushing Joc Pederson and Josh Bell to spend more time on the bench.

2. Series Preview: Guardians @ Dodgers

Two of baseball’s best teams this year are set to square off in a three-game set over the weekend that could be a possible preview of the 2024 World Series. The Dodgers entered the season as the presumptive favorite not only in the NL West, but in baseball as a whole after an offseason spending spree that brought Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Teoscar Hernandez into the fold. By contrast, few expected the Guardians to be serious contenders after the club posted a 76-86 record last year and made almost no changes to their roster over the offseason. Even so, Cleveland’s 80-60 record gives them a four-game lead in the AL Central and the fifth-best record in MLB overall.

The Dodgers have mostly met their preseason expectations to this point despite lengthy absences from Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Mookie Betts while the Guardians have greatly exceeded expectations by establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the AL. As both clubs attempt to beat back a pair of divisions rivals nipping at their heels down the stretch and secure a bye through the first round of the postseason, the Guardians will send left-hander Matthew Boyd (2.38 ERA in four starts), veteran right-hander Alex Cobb (2.76 ERA in three starts), and youn righty Gavin Williams (4.55 ERA) to the mound at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers haven’t formally announced their rotation for the series, but rookie Landon Knack (2.72 ERA in eight starts) is expected to start today’s game against Boyd, while right-handers Gavin Stone (3.53 ERA) and Jack Flaherty (3.01 ERA) would be on turn for the final two games.

3. Pitchers’ Duel in California:

Elsewhere in the NL West, two of the NL’s best hurlers face off. In Saturday’s game between the Giants and Padres at Petco Park, groundball specialist Logan Webb is set to take on strikeout artist Dylan Cease. Webb, a Giant for the entirety of his career to this point, has excelled this year with a 3.43 ERA and a 2.97 FIP in an NL-best 183 2/3 innings of work. This season has been more of the same for Webb, who has been among the league’s most consistent pitchers in recent years with a 3.16 ERA and 2.99 FIP in 740 1/3 innings of work since the start of the 2021 season.

Cease gets to his front-of-the-rotation production in an entirely different way. His groundball rate since 2021 is more than 20 points lower than that of Webb, but his strikeout rate (30.3%) is nearly ten points higher. Cease’s 3.62 ERA and 3.18 FIP in 164 innings of work this year aren’t far off from Webb, but his career has had far more ups and downs; Cease posted lackluster numbers in his final season with the White Sox last year that inflate his 3.56 ERA and 3.35 FIP in 690 2/3 innings of work since 2021. The two hurlers are set to face off tomorrow at 5:40pm local time.

Orioles Outright David Banuelos

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September 5: Banuelos cleared waivers and accepted an outright back to Norfolk, the Orioles announced.

September 2: The Orioles announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Nick Maton. To make room for Maton on the club’s 40-man and active rosters, catcher David Banuelos has been designated for assignment.

Maton, 27, is back on the Orioles’ active roster for the second time this year. He made a two-inning cameo on defense at second base earlier this year but did not step up to the plate before being designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster back in June. The versatile fielder has been playing for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk ever since, and his season there has gone quite well. In 86 games at the level this season, Maton has raked to the tune of a .261/.368/.477 slash line with a 13.2% walk rate and 16 homers in 340 trips to the plate. In addition to that strong showing at the plate, Maton has flashed his versatility by splitting time between all four infield spots as well as both outfielder corners.

Now in his fourth season in the majors, Maton enjoyed success in a part-time role with the Phillies during the first two seasons of his career as he slashed a solid .254/.330/.434 in 216 trips to the plate across a combined 86 games in those years. Maton went on to be traded to the Tigers as part of the Gregory Soto trade during the 2022-23 offseason, but his time in Detroit left much to be desired. In 93 games with the Tigers last year, Maton hit a paltry .173/.288/.305 across 293 plate appearances, a rough performance that led the infielder to be designated for assignment over the winter and eventually swapped to Baltimore in a cash deal back in February.

Even in spite of those offensive struggles last year, Maton’s previous success in Philadelphia at the big league level and his strong minor league numbers with the Orioles this year provide some reason for optimism that he can be an effective bench bat for the club. A return to form would make Maton a valuable piece for the Orioles down the stretch, particularly as the club weathers the losses of Jorge Mateo, Jordan Westburg, and Ramon Urias to the injured list around the infield. Mateo is done for the year after undergoing elbow surgery last week, and while there’s optimism that both Westburg and Urias will return to action before the end of the season neither has a specific timetable for return to this point. That leaves Maton as the club’s primary backup on the infield behind youngsters Gunnar Henderson at shortstop, Jackson Holliday at second base, and Coby Mayo at third, though Emmanuel Rivera could also chip in at the hot corner on occasion.

As for Banuelos, the catcher was selected to the big league roster just yesterday to replace the injured Urias on the club’s roster. He did not ultimately make it into yesterday’s game before being designated for assignment, and he figures to head back to the minors with just one big league plate appearance under his belt from when he pinch hit for Colton Cowser back in April during his last cup of coffee at the big league level. In 22 games at the Triple-A level this year, Banuelos sports a .225/.361/.352 slash line across 86 trips to the plate.

The Opener: Extensions, Robert, Tucker

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On the heels of some big news out of San Francisco, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Will any other deals come together this September?

While the general rule of thumb is that in-season extensions are rare, they’ve become a bit more common in recent seasons, particularly near the end of the year. Chapman’s deal last night was the 13th extension signed in September or October going back to 2022, a year that saw major deals between Luis Castillo and the Mariners as well as Spencer Strider and the Braves come together in the season’s final months. Blockbuster extensions are hardly the only type that can occur just before the offseason begins: veterans Charlie Morton and Charlie Blackmon, for example, have both signed one-year extensions just before they were scheduled to hit free agency in recent years.

In Chapman’s case, the deal was surely spurred on in part by the impending opt-out in his contract, which he was all but certain to exercise. Chapman wasn’t the only player on that track this year, however. Lefty Sean Manaea is expected to opt out of his deal with the Mets and return to free agency this winter, and Chapman’s own teammate Blake Snell appears very likely to do the same on the heels of a dominant second half with the Giants.

2. Robert exits with injury:

It’s been a brutal season for center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and the White Sox. Things went from bad to worse yesterday when the club’s 8-1 win over the Orioles, just their 32nd victory of the season, was soured by Robert exiting the game due to tightness in his right hamstring. Per MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, interim manager Grady Sizemore told reporters following the game that the hamstring issue first started on Tuesday and that he made the decision to pull Robert when he saw the outfielder running the bases more gingerly than usual.

Given Robert’s importance to the club as one of their few potential impact pieces and the team’s dismal 32-109 record, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Sox prioritize Robert’s long-term health and place him on the injured list to ensure his hamstring heals fully. It’s been a tough year at the plate for Robert, who has slashed just .219/.274/.398 (86 wRC+) with defensive metrics in center field that are closer to league average than the elite numbers he posted in previous seasons. The club figures to turn to Dominic Fletcher in center field in the event that Robert misses time nursing his ailing hamstring.

3. Tucker nearing return:

Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker has been on the shelf since early June, and it recently came to light that despite the fact that Houston brass consistently referred to his injury as a bone bruise throughout his lengthy rehab process, Tucker had actually suffered a fractured shin. Regardless of the unusual messaging from club officials regarding Tucker’s injury, it appears that a return is on the horizon. Manager Joe Espada told reporters (including those at MLB.com) yesterday that Tucker is “really, really close” to being activated from the injured list and could return to the club’s lineup as soon as today, although Espada did caution that a return to action tomorrow was the more likely outcome.

Tucker got out to a scorching start this year with a .266/.395/.584 slash line (175 wRC+) in 60 games prior to his placement on the IL. Ben Gamel and Jason Heyward have been handling right field in the star’s absence, and it’s possible that Tucker’s return could create a roster crunch that impacts one of those veterans. Corresponding moves will need to be made to make room for Tucker on both the 40-man and active rosters before he can be activated.

Giants Extend Matt Chapman

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The Giants made a major splash overnight, announcing that they’ve extended the contract of third baseman Matt Chapman. The deal guarantees Chapman $151MM over six years and runs from 2025 to 2030, with a $25MM annual salary and a $1MM signing bonus paid out in 2025. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Chapman’s deal contains a no-trade clause.

Chapman, 31, signed with the Giants on a three-year deal worth $54MM with opt outs after each season over the offseason when his market didn’t develop to expected levels last winter. In the months since then, it’s become apparent that the first of those opt-out opportunities would be exercised as the infielder has largely quelled his doubters with his best season in half a decade. His first season in a Giants uniform has seen him post a strong .247/.343/.445 slash line, good for a 118 wRC+, in 136 games. In addition to a strong season at the plate, he’s also put together his most impressive defensive season in years with +7 OAA and +13 DRS, his best showing in either metric since 2021.

With Chapman poised to return to free agency in search of a bigger contract elsewhere, the Giants have now made sure that he’ll remain with the club for the foreseeable future. The third baseman’s deal figures to keep him in San Francisco through the end of his age-37 season, and matches the six-year, $150MM prediction we at MLBTR made regarding Chapman’s contract ahead of the 2023-24 offseason almost exactly. The contract is representative of the potential upside that players who take opt-out laden deals can find if their initial foray into free agency doesn’t go according to plan; Chapman now figures to ultimately walk away from his time with the Giants having pocketed $169MM over seven years, though of course this outcome required not only a healthy season from the 31-year-old but his best season overall since 2019.

By staying in San Francisco long-term, Chapman ensures that he will spend the majority of his playing career in the Bay Area. The longtime Athletic was selected 25th overall by Oakland in the 2014 draft and made his debut with the club back in 2017.  He’d ultimately spend the first five seasons of his career in an A’s uniform, earning three Gold Glove awards, finishing in the top 10 of AL MVP voting twice, and making his first and so far only career All-Star game during that time. When the A’s began a total rebuild following the 2021 season, however, he was shipped to Toronto just before the 2022 campaign began and spend two years in Toronto. Now that Chapman is on a long-term deal with the Bay Area’s other MLB team, one of the stars of the Athletics’ final playoff team in Oakland will outlast the team itself in the community as the club stands poised to relocate following the 2024 campaign.

As for the Giants, the deal represents the second largest financial outlay in the club’s history and is dwarfed only by Buster Posey’s $166.5MM guarantee in his early-career extension with the team. By keeping Chapman in the fold, San Francisco locks up a potential cornerstone after failing in multiple well-documented pursuits of star players in recent years, ranging from Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton to more recent pursuits of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. While Chapman doesn’t have the star power of any of those players, he’s a reliable defender and source of power at third base who offers a solid floor of 3 WAR on an annual basis, with upside much higher than that when he’s at his best.

Of course, it’s worth noting that Chapman’s reliability could decline on both sides of the ball as he enters his mid 30’s, a particularly notable caveat given the fact that he’ll play next season at 32 years old. At the same time, the deal makes Chapman the latest long-term piece put into place by a Giants club that has seemed somewhat listless in recent years as they search for an identity and struggle to contend in the era following the departures of Posey, Brandon Belt, and Brandon Crawford. Alongside Chapman, the club has Logan Webb and Kyle Harrison locked into the rotation, Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos in the outfield, and Patrick Bailey behind the plate through at least the end of the 2028 campaign. That’s a core of talent that could compete for a playoff spot in the coming years if properly supplemented, which is a clear step in the right direction for a franchise that appears to be trending towards its third consecutive sub-.500 finish this year.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

The Opener: Darvish, Holmes, Twins

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As the stretch run of the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Darvish returns to the mound:

Veteran right-hander Yu Darvish is scheduled to make his first start for the Padres since May tonight against the Tigers. The 38-year-old missed time due to hamstring and elbow issues earlier this summer before being placed on the restricted list due to an undisclosed family matter back in July.

Prior to his lengthy absence, the veteran looked to be rebounding from a fairly pedestrian 2023 season. After posting a lackluster 4.56 ERA last year, Darvish impressed with a 3.20 ERA and 3.54 FIP in 11 starts this year before hitting the shelf. Since being traded to the Padres after a second-place finish in NL Cy Young award voting with the Cubs in 2020, Darvish has put together a 3.80 ERA with a 3.69 FIP and a 26.2% strikeout rate. With the Padres firmly in the playoff picture, both Darvish and fellow veteran Joe Musgrove figure to factor into the club’s postseason rotation alongside Dylan Cease and Michael King.

2. Yankees weighing late-inning options?

As noted by The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner overnight, Yankees manager Aaron Boone refused to answer a question regarding right-hander Clay Holmes’ status as the club’s closer following yesterday’s heartbreaking loss where Holmes surrendered a walk-off grand slam to Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford. Boone said during his postgame presser the club plans to “talk through it and do what we think is the best thing” but didn’t want to say more while the team was still “raw and emotional” following the loss.

Holmes, who earned his second career All-Star nod this season, sports a 3.27 ERA and an excellent 2.91 FIP in 55 innings of work. Despite those strong rate numbers, however, he hasn’t exactly been a shutdown ninth-inning option in his third year as the club’s closer. He’s converted just 29 of his 40 save opportunities. Those 11 blown saves lead the majors, well ahead of even other struggling closers like Craig Kimbrel and David Bednar, both of whom have blown six saves in 29 chances.

3. Twins roster move incoming:

As noted by Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune yesterday, the Twins are expected to recall right-hander Louie Varland before today’s game against the Rays. Varland is poised to pitch in a multi-inning relief role after scheduled starter Ronny Henriquez, who hasn’t thrown more than two innings in an outing with the big league club this year. After today’s scheduled outing, it’s not clear if Varland will pitch for the club in a bullpen role down the stretch or remain stretched out as a starting option, but Nightengale suggests that the 26-year-old figures to remain with the club going forward rather than return to the minor leagues.

Varland entered the year as a rotation candidate in Minnesota, with a career 4.40 ERA (96 ERA+) in 94 innings as a swing option at the big league level. Unfortunately for the righty, he surrendered a disastrous 9.18 ERA in four starts back in April and was quickly demoted to the minors. He’s looked much better since, with a 3.60 ERA and 4.33 FIP in 20 innings of work at the big league level while shuttling between the majors and minors, but he’s been leapfrogged by Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and Zebby Matthews on the Twins’ rotation depth chart. Minnesota will need to make a corresponding active roster move prior to today’s game to accommodate the addition of Varland.

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