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Indians Select Anthony Gose

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The Indians are selecting the contract of outfielder-turned-pitcher Anthony Gose, as first reported by Indians Prospective (on Twitter). The left-hander will be appearing in the Majors for the first time since 2016 — and for the first time ever as a pitcher.

Gose, now 31 years old, was a two-way star in high school and a second-round draft choice by the Phillies back in 2008. He focused solely on developing as an outfielder, and by the 2011-12 offseason, Gose ranked as a consensus top 100 prospect in all of baseball. He played the 2011 season as a 20-year-old in Double-A (about four years younger than the league-average age) and slashed .253/.349/.415 with 16 home runs, 20 doubles, seven triples and 70 stolen bases — the second 70-steal season of his young professional career.

In 2010, the Phillies traded Gose to the Astros alongside J.A. Happ and Jonathan Villar in the trade that brought Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia. Houston immediately flipped Gose to the Blue Jays for corner-infield prospect Brett Wallace, who’d been a first-round pick in 2008 and was a highly regarded prospect himself at the time.

Gose made his big league debut with the Jays as a 21-year-old in 2012 but never really found his footing in Toronto. He spent three seasons as an oft-optioned member of the Jays’ outfield but managed just a .234/.301/.332 output in that time. The Blue Jays and Tigers swapped Gose for second baseman Devon Travis in the 2014-15 offseason, and Gose only found marginally more success in Detroit. He batted .254/.321/.367 in his first season as a Tiger but played just 30 games in his second season (2016).

Those struggles at the plate carried over into Triple-A, and beginning in 2017, the Tigers gave Gose the opportunity to work off the mound all the way down in Class-A Advanced. The transition wasn’t particularly smooth, as one might expect. Gose appeared in 11 games, allowing nine runs in 10 2/3 innings. He fanned 14 of the 45 hitters he faced (31.1 percent), but the Tigers removed him from their 40-man roster and he opted for free agency at season’s end.

Gose signed a minor league pact with the Rangers in the 2017-18 offseason and was selected by the Astros in the Rule 5 Draft just days later. He didn’t make it out of Spring Training with the ’Stros before being returned to the Rangers. Gose made it to Double-A as a pitcher in the Rangers’ system and clearly intrigued the Indians’ baseball ops department enough to sign him as a minor league free agent the following offseason.

Gose has hung on with Cleveland ever since, but he hasn’t gotten a call to the big leagues until today. The lefty pitched for Team USA in the Olympics earlier this summer, and he’s had a generally solid season on the mound. Walks have been an issue since he made the move to the mound, and that’s true to an extent this season as well. Gose has worked to a 3.55 ERA with a hefty 34 percent strikeout rate but a bloated 19.4 percent walk rate.

However, most of those command issues came early in the season. Since returning from the Olympic team, Gose has yielded just one run in 14 frames. He’s walked six of the 52 batters he’s faced in that time (11.5 percent) and fanned a whopping 22 of them (42.3 percent). Given that recent run of dominance, it’s hardly a surprise that Cleveland is both rewarding Gose’s tenacity and also taking the opportunity to get a late look at him in the big leagues.

While Gose has appeared in parts of five big league seasons in the past, he has yet to even amass three years of Major League service time. As such, Cleveland would be able to control him all the way through the 2025 season — if he is indeed able to stick as a pitcher. Gose, by all accounts, has built his heater up to sit in the upper-90s and at times reach triple digits. Opponents are hitting just .172/.333/.328 against him so far in 2021 — including a .086/.192/.154 batting line since he returned from the Olympics.

It’s a frankly remarkable journey for Gose, who has been with four organizations in five years since attempting to reinvent himself as a pitcher. He’s pitched for clubs in the Puerto Rican Winter League and Dominican Winter League along the way after restarting his career as a 26-year-old in Class-A Advanced. He’ll now reap the benefits of that half-decade odyssey as he returns to the Major Leagues for what, in many ways, will be a second big league debut.

Yankees Activate Luis Severino, Release Sal Romano

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The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Luis Severino from the 60-day injured list and cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by releasing right-hander Sal Romano.

Severino, 27, will make his return to a big league mound for the first time in nearly two years. His last regular-season appearance for the Yankees came back on Sept. 28, 2019. He hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since his Game 3 start against the Astros in that year’s ALCS. Severino underwent Tommy John surgery in Feb. 2020, and his return has been delayed in 2021 by setbacks throughout the recovery process, namely some shoulder and groin injuries.

Even including Severino’s postseason work in 2019, he’s pitched just 20 1/3 innings for the Yankees since Opening Day of that season. He missed nearly the entire 2019 campaign due to shoulder and lat strains, and his 2020 season was wiped out entirely by the aforementioned Tommy John procedure. It’s obviously not how the Yankees drew things up when signing Severino to a four-year, $40MM contract extension in Feb. 2019. That contract spanned the 2019-22 campaigns and gives the Yankees a $15MM club option for a fifth season.

Manager Aaron Boone suggested over the weekend that Severino’s return was imminent. However, the two-time All-Star and 2017 third-place finisher in American League Cy Young voting won’t return to the Yankees’ rotation this year. Severino did not have time to build up to the point where he could work as a starter, so he’ll work as a reliever down the stretch, perhaps being called upon for two- or three-inning stints.

Moving forward, there’s little doubt the Yankees hope to reinstall Severino near the top of their rotation. It’s been three years since we last saw a full season from Severino, but he’s among the best starters in the American League when healthy. From 2017-18, Severino logged 384 2/3 innings with a 3.18 ERA, an impressive 28.8 percent strikeout rate and a similarly excellent 6.2 percent walk rate.

Assuming Severino’s injury troubles are behind him, he’ll join Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Jameson Taillon and Domingo German as the top rotation options for the Yankees in 2022. Prospects Deivi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Medina and Ken Waldichuk are among the top options in the upper minors, and it’s of course possible that the Yankees will make an offseason move or two in an effort to deepen and strengthen their collection of MLB-caliber arms.

For Romano, today’s release marks the latest in a dizzying stretch of transactions this season. Since beginning the year with the Reds organization — where he was originally drafted and developed — his transaction log reads as followed:

  • May 14: Designated for assignment by Reds
  • May 17: Elects free agency
  • May 22: Signs minor league deal with Yankees
  • July 22: Selected to MLB roster by Yankees
  • July 31: Designated for assignment by Yankees
  • Aug. 3: Claimed off waivers by Brewers
  • Aug. 10: Designated for assignment by Brewers
  • Aug. 13: Elects free agency
  • Aug. 14: Signs minor league deal with Yankees
  • Sept. 9: Selected to MLB roster by Yankees
  • Sept. 10: Designated for assignment by Yankees
  • Sept. 13: Elects free agency
  • Sept. 14: Signs Major League deal with Yankees
  • Sept. 17: Placed on 10-day injured list (sprained finger)
  • Sept. 20: Released by Yankees

Romano has allowed a pair of runs in 3 1/3 innings with the Yankees this year and has been tagged for a 6.12 ERA on the season overall between Cincinnati, Milwaukee and New York. Romano has had a nice season in Triple-A and had some success as a rookie with Cincinnati back in 2017, but it’s begun to feel as though he’s spent nearly as much time in DFA limbo and minor league free agency this season as he has as an active member of an organization’s MLB or Triple-A roster. He’s gotten service time and big league pay for all of the time spent in the Majors and in DFA limbo, but the manner in which he’s been pinballed on and off MLB rosters has to be nevertheless frustrating.

Given that Romano was on the injured list at the time of his release, it remains to be seen whether he can get back to good enough health to return to the mound in 2021. If not, he’ll look for a more stable opportunity in free agency this winter.

Rays Promote Shane Baz

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Sept. 20: The Rays have formally selected Baz’s contract and created space on the 40-man roster by transferring Archer from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. That will formally end the season for Archer, who is battling renewed discomfort in his problematic hip. Tampa Bay opened a spot on the 28-man roster for Baz by placing righty Andrew Kittredge on the 10-day IL due to tightness in his neck.

Sept. 18: Top Rays prospect Shane Baz will make his Major League debut on Monday against the Blue Jays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Baz was the third piece acquired along with Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow from the Pirates in the now infamous Chris Archer trade. The 22-year-old’s stock has risen since the trade, though the former first rounder has always shown tremendous promise.

In the Tampa development engine, he has become a refined starting prospect at the top of an impressive farm system. He was the Rays’ top prospect on Baseball America’s midseason report, and he’s the top prospect by MLB.com’s rendering as well. Baz won a silver medal alongside current Ray David Robertson while with Team USA at the Olympics in Japan.

He is not currently on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding roster move will be necessary. While Baz isn’t technically postseason-eligible right now, he could theoretically be added to the postseason roster through a petition to the Commissioner’s office as an injury replacement. That process has often been exploited in the past, and the Rays have shown a willingness to throw young hurlers into the postseason fire (see McClanahan, Shane).

Besides, while the Rays own the best record in the American League, they have the most dynamic (read: unpredictable) pitching staff. Practically speaking, it’s entirely unclear who might get the ball in a potential opening round playoff series, so there is at least a possibility that Baz could pitch his way onto the playoff roster. Because playoff roster changes cannot be made mid-series, the only opening he’d likely snag would be as a starter. Best case, he could make maybe three starts before the year is out — if the Rays view this promotion as an actual audition for playoff baseball.

The prospect of Baz as a playoff weapon isn’t all that far-fetched when you consider his dominance in the upper levels of the minors this season. He made seven starts in Double-A with a 2.84 ERA, striking out 49 in 32 2/3 innings. After earning a rapid promotion to Triple-A, Baz went back to work with a 1.76 ERA over 10 starts totaling 46 innings with a 64-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those eye-popping numbers certainly must make the Rays consider giving him an opportunity to help the parent club right now.

The rookie southpaw McClanahan is the only sure thing to be in the playoff rotation right now, and he’s currently on the injured list. Drew Rasmussen is making a strong push to be a postseason starter as well, having not allowed more than one earned run in any of his past six starts since joining the rotation. Ryan Yarbrough, Michael Wacha, and Luis Patino round out the rotation for now, though the Rays are likely to use at least one rotation spot (and maybe more) for bullpen days come the postseason.

Blue Jays Place Hyun Jin Ryu On 10-Day Injured List

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The Blue Jays have placed left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu on the 10-day injured list due to neck tightness.  The placement is retroactive to September 18.  Left-hander  Tayler Saucedo has been called up to take Ryu’s roster spot.

Jays GM Ross Atkins told reporters (including The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath) that Ryu woke up with a sore neck yesterday, a day after an abbreviated start against the Twins.  The team is hoping the injury is minor enough that Ryu will miss only one start, and make a quick return to a Toronto club that is battling to return to the postseason.

While Ryu will be missed in the Blue Jays rotation, a brief reset might have been in order given the southpaw’s struggles over his last two starts.  Ryu threw six scoreless innings against the Yankees on September 6 but left that game with some minor forearm soreness.  Both Ryu and the team felt he was well enough to keep pitching, though Ryu has since allowed 12 earned runs over 4 1/3 innings in rough outings against the Orioles and Twins.

Ryu had a minimal 10-day IL stint due to a glute strain earlier this season, but has otherwise been pretty healthy over his two seasons in Toronto, which is no small feat for a pitcher who battled multiple injuries earlier in his career with the Dodgers.  Ryu’s 159 2/3 innings pitched in 2021 is the third-highest total of his eight MLB seasons, though there has been some indication that the grind of the longer season could be getting to the 34-year-old, even prior to his forearm issue.  Ryu has an 8.10 ERA over his last 36 2/3 innings, as opposed to a 3.22 ERA in his first 123 frames.

Atkins said that Ross Stripling is a candidate to take Ryu’s next turn in the rotation, which falls Wednesday against the Rays.  Since Toronto doesn’t play on September 27, Ryu would line up to return for a September 28 start against the Yankees if he is able to be activated from the IL when first eligible.

In the interim, the Blue Jays will have to get by without one of their top starters, though the Jays rotation has become a quiet strength.  Led by Cy Young Award candidate Robbie Ray and bolstered by the likes of Ryu, Steven Matz, trade deadline pickup Jose Berrios, and star rookie Alek Manoah, Toronto ranks eighth in baseball in starter ERA.  Stripling has a 4.69 ERA over 86 1/3 IP as a starting pitcher this year, as he has continued to be plagued by hard contact and problems with allowing home runs.

Alex Avila To Retire After 2021 Season

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Nationals catcher Alex Avila will retire at the end of the season, The Athletic’s Maria Torres reports (Twitter link).  While Avila plans to remain involved with the sport and “doesn’t intend to stay out of the game for long,” the veteran backstop will be hanging up his glove after 13 Major League seasons.

Breaking into pro ball as a fifth-round pick for the Tigers in the 2008 draft, Avila is best remembered for his eight seasons in Detroit, highlighted by a Silver Slugger performance in 2011.  Avila hit .295/.389/.506 with 19 homers over 551 plate appearances in that breakout year, earning an All-Star nod and a 12th-place finish in AL MVP voting.

While Avila never again quite reached those heights, he has often provided good offensive production from the catcher position throughout his career, offering on-base skills and a bit of power (while also struggling to avoid strikeouts).  Over his 3626 career PA, Avila has a .233/.348/.393 slash line and 105 home runs, good for an above-average 101 OPS+ and 104 wRC+.

Defensively, Avila has been one of baseball’s best at preventing stolen bases, throwing out 30.13% (213 of 707) of baserunners trying to steal.  He has also been a solid pitch-framer for much of his career, and he been widely praised as a game manager and handler of pitchers.

This reputation has helped Avila catch on with six different teams (the Tigers, White Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Twins, and Nationals) over the course of his career, mostly recently his one-year free agent deal with Washington.  Avila has made only 99 PA over 29 games, as calf injuries kept him on the injured list for almost two months, and he also missed time at the start of the year on the COVID-19 list.  Injuries have been a significant part of Avila’s career, including multiple concussions and leg problems.

Only 34 years old, Avila now moves onto the next phase of his baseball career, and could very well continue his family’s history of off-the-field success.  His father Al Avila is the Tigers’ general manager, and his grandfather Ralph was a longtime Dodgers scout who was a key figure in the development of the Dominican baseball pipeline.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Avila on a fine career, and wish him the best in his next endeavors.

Miguel Rojas Reaches Vesting Threshold, Guarantees 2022 Contract

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TODAY: Rojas hit the 500-PA threshold last night, so his $5.5MM salary is officially guaranteed for 2022.

SEPTEMBER 17: Two years  ago, almost to the day, Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas inked a two-year, $10.25MM extension that bought out his final arbitration year and first free-agent season. The contract carried a $5.5MM vesting option for the 2022 season, and as the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson points out, that option will likely vest this weekend — perhaps as soon as tonight. Rojas’ $5.5MM salary for the 2022 season becomes guaranteed if he reaches 500 plate appearances in 2021, and he’ll enter play tonight at 496 plate appearances on the year.

The contract looked plenty affordable at the time and has been nothing short of a bargain for the Fish, as Rojas has improved at the plate and continued to play high-end defense at shortstop. In 160 games over the life of the contract, he’s hitting .278/.342/.421 with a dozen homers, 39 doubles, four triples and 17 stolen bases (in 20 tries). The rate stats are a bit inflated by an uncharacteristic power surge in last year’s shortened season, but even this year’s .270/.327/.400 mark is a bit better than league average, by measure of wRC+ (102).

On the defensive side of the coin, Rojas has been excellent. He’s committed just 13 errors in that span of 160 games, and newer defensive metrics all agree that he’s been sharp. Since the beginning of the 2020 season, Rojas has been credited with six Defensive Runs Saved and a hearty 9.3 Ultimate Zone Rating. Statcast’s Outs Above Average isn’t quite as bullish put still rates him as a positive defender at plus-1.

When Rojas’ option does officially vest, he’ll become only the second player on the Marlins with a guaranteed contract for the 2022 season, joining reliever Anthony Bass, who’s set to earn $3MM next year. Miami has some players in line for arbitration raises, which will add to that modest total.

Right-handers Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and Elieser Hernandez are among the team’s first-time eligibles in arbitration. Dylan Floro, Garrett Cooper and Brian Anderson are all up for their second arbitration raises. Richard Bleier and Jesus Aguilar are up for their third and final raises. Aguilar figures to be the most expensive, as he’s due a raise on a $4.35MM salary. That said, even he doesn’t seem likely to eclipse $7.5MM or so, making it a relatively light class on the whole.

Suffice it to say, while the Marlins aren’t ever going to be mistaken for a high-payroll club, they’ll have some money to splash around with this winter. Miami spent roughly $63MM payroll in 2021, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez. The combination of Rojas, Bass and that arbitration class shouldn’t clock in at much more than $40MM. Second-year general manager Kim Ng ought to have some resources to strengthen this club via free agency or by taking on some salary on the trade market.

Turning back to Rojas, he again made clear to McPherson that he hopes to play in Miami well beyond the 2022 campaign — a stance he’s expressed in the past. That’ll be up to the front office and ownership, of course, and while Ng declined to discuss any possible extension talks with McPherson, she had nothing but positives to say about Rojas and what he means to the club.

“He really does embody all the things that we look for in a player to represent the organization, to represent the sport and that is a big compliment,” Ng said of Rojas. “…If all players had Miggy’s character and outlook, we’d be ecstatic.”

Reds Place Jesse Winker, Shogo Akiyama On 10-Day Injured List

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Just a day after returning from the 10-day injured list, Jesse Winker is heading back to the IL due to the same intercostal strain that sidelined him for over a month.  The Reds announced that both Winker and fellow outfielder Shogo Akiyama have been placed on the 10-day IL, with Akiyama suffering from a right hamstring strain.  The two open roster spots will be filled by outfielder TJ Friedl (whose contract was selected from Triple-A), and right-hander Art Warren, who was activated from the 60-day IL.

Winker was hit by a Brusdar Graterol pitch in the eighth inning of last night’s 3-1 win over the Dodgers, and had to be removed from the game for a pinch-runner.  Reds manager David Bell indicated that the swing prior to the HBP may have been the cause of Winker’s re-aggravation, but whatever the cause, Winker will now again miss time given this crucial stretch of the Reds’ season.

Given the timing, it is certainly possible that Winker might not play again in 2021.  He’ll miss at least the next 10 days, and even if he is able to return after this second intercostal issue, the Reds might not want to risk further injury if the team is already out of the playoff race.  This is technically the third time that Winker has been sidelined with this intercostal injury, as he missed a few games prior to his first IL stint in an attempt to solve the problem through some rest, before again being hampered when returning to action.

It’s a terrible break for both Winker and the Reds, as Winker’s bat is a major reason why Cincinnati is even in the postseason race.  Winker has 24 home runs and a .305/.394/.556 slash line over 485 plate appearances, with a 151 wRC+ that ranks fifth among all players with at least 450 PA.

Winker and Akiyama join Tyler Naquin (bruised ribs) on the IL, leaving the Reds suddenly thin in the outfield.  Aristides Aquino and Max Schrock have been serving as a left field platoon in Winker’s absence, with Delino DeShields getting action along with Naquin and Akiyama in center field.  With Akiyama now out, it opens the door for Friedl to make his Major League debut as the Reds play some of their most important games of the season.

Friedl joined the Reds as an undrafted free agent in 2016, and he has worked his way through the system up to the Triple-A level this year, where he has batted .264/.357/.422 with 12 homers in 448 PA.  Baseball America ranked Friedl 22nd on their midseason list of the top 30 prospects in Cincinnati’s farm system.  Friedl has experience at all three outfield positions and has spent the bulk of his time in center, so he could essentially slide right into Akiyama’s spot as a left-handed hitting complement to DeShields.

Warren’s return might also be no small matter for a Reds bullpen that is eager for fresh arms.  Warren posted a 1.88 ERA over 14 1/3 innings before being placed on the injured list due to an oblique strain back on July 15.  The right-hander has posted some big strikeout numbers since the start of the 2018 minor league season, which earned him a brief look on the Mariners’ roster during the 2019 season.  The Rangers claimed Warren from the Mariners after last season, and Cincinnati then acquired Warren in a trade with Texas last January.

MLB Places Marcell Ozuna On Administrative Leave

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TODAY: Ozuna’s administrative leave has been extended through September 24, The Athletic’s David O’Brien reports.

SEPTEMBER 10: Major League Baseball has placed Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna on administrative leave as it continues to investigate domestic violence allegations made against him, reports David O’Brien of the Athletic. MLB has not made a formal announcement.

The league has the authority to unilaterally place players on administrative leave for up to seven days, per the MLB – MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. The leave can be extended thereafter by mutual agreement between MLB and the Players Association. Placement on administrative leave is not a disciplinary action and does not reflect any sort of finding in the league’s investigation. Players placed on administrative leave continue to be paid and to accumulate Major League service time.

Ozuna has been on the 10-day injured list since May 28 after fracturing the middle and ring fingers in his left hand. He has not appeared in a game since bring arrested on May 29 after police responded to a domestic disturbance at his residence. Court filings at the time indicated that the responding officers saw Ozuna place his hands around his wife’s neck, throw her against a wall and strike her with the cast that was on his hand.

Felony charges originally brought against Ozuna were dropped in early August, but prosecutors moved forward with a pair of misdemeanor charges. This week, Ozuna agreed to enter into a three-to-six month domestic violence intervention program that could see those charges dropped if he completes all the required measures.

The joint Domestic Violence policy authorizes MLB to impose discipline in the absence of criminal charges. Even if both misdemeanor charges against Ozuna are ultimately dropped, he could still face a suspension depending upon the results of the league’s investigation.

Padres Sign Vince Velasquez, Place Blake Snell On Injured List

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The Padres announced they’ve signed Vince Velasquez to a minor league contract. He’ll be selected to the big league roster to start a game against the Cardinals this weekend, per the team. They’ll need to make active and 40-man roster moves before his start. In related news, San Diego placed lefty Blake Snell on the 10-day injured list due to a left adductor groin strain.

Velasquez becomes the second recently-released pitcher added by San Diego in as many days. The Friars signed reliever Ross Detwiler to a major league deal yesterday, just a few days after he was cut loose by the Marlins. Those moves come a month after San Diego picked up Jake Arrieta once he was released by the Cubs. It has been an “all hands on deck” approach to a pitching staff that has been beaten up badly by injuries throughout the year.

It hasn’t been an especially productive season for Velasquez, who has only managed 81 2/3 innings over 21 appearances (including 17 starts). He’s pitched to a career-worst 5.95 ERA in that time despite a 23.5% strikeout rate and 10.8% swinging strike percentage that each check in right around the league average.

That’s mostly a reflection of Velasquez’s walk and home run troubles, issues that plagued him throughout his six years in Philadelphia. He’s doled out free passes to a lofty 12.5% of opponents, the highest single-season mark of his career. And Velasquez’s always low ground-ball rate has dipped to 33.3% this year, nearly ten percentage points below the league average. That’s contributed to his serving up seventeen homers (1.87 HR/9), although the San Diego front office is surely hopeful a move to a less homer-friendly ballpark could alleviate that somewhat.

Velasquez’s recent struggles led to his release from Philadelphia yesterday. At this stage of the season, competent big league starting pitching is almost impossible to acquire, so the Friars moved quickly to add the 29-year-old once he passed through waivers. Velasquez had been on the injured list due to blister troubles at the time of his release, but he’d already made a pair of minor league rehab appearances. The team’s announcement that he’ll start this weekend suggests he’s healthy and ready to step back into MLB action.

Logging some innings will be critical for a San Diego team that has lost a pair of starters to the IL in recent days. Chris Paddack landed on the shelf earlier this week, and Snell joins him after leaving his start on Sunday night after just eleven pitches. The Friars were down to Arrieta, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove in the rotation, so Velasquez steps in to add some length and hopefully make a few productive starts down the stretch. The Phillies will be on the hook for the balance of his $4MM salary, with the Padres’ paying him just the prorated portion of the league minimum.

As with yesterday’s Detwiler signing, picking up Velasquez is solely about improving the Padres’ odds of grabbing a Wild Card spot this year. Both players joined the organization after August 31 and would be ineligible for postseason play. They each have enough service time to qualify for free agency again this winter. So they’re both being brought in for the next three weeks only, with San Diego trying to outplay the Cardinals, Reds, Phillies and Mets for the National League’s final postseason spot. St. Louis is in pole position, holding a half-game advantage over Cincinnati and a one-game lead on the Padres.

Ryan Braun Announces Retirement

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Longtime Brewers slugger Ryan Braun formally announced his retirement as a player Tuesday, thanking Brewers fans and the organization in a video announcement shared by the team (on Twitter). Braun didn’t sign with a club last offseason but hadn’t formally retired prior to today.

Now 37 years old, Braun was selected by Milwaukee with the No. 5 overall draft pick out of the University of Miami back in 2005. He was immediately tabbed as one of the game’s top-ranked prospects and would go on to make his big league debut not even two years after being drafted.

Braun hit the ground running, as he led the National League in slugging percentage as a rookie and batted .324/.370/.634 overall en route to narrowly edging out Troy Tulowitzki for National League Rookie of the Year honors. Braun hit 30-plus home runs in each of his first three big league seasons, despite not making his MLB debut until late May in 2007, and received All-Star nods and Silver Slugger Awards each season from 2008-12.

It’s impossible to look back at Braun’s career without remembering the controversy surrounding his 2011 MVP Award. Braun batted .332/.397/.597 with 33 home runs, 38 doubles, six triples and 33 stolen bases that season, eventually being named Most Valuable Player over then-Dodgers superstar Matt Kemp. It was a clear two-horse race, with Braun receiving 20 first-place votes and Kemp, who’d posted a very similar .324/.399/.586 batting line, receiving 10. (Prince Fielder and Justin Upton each received lone first-place votes as well.)

At the time, “Braun or Kemp?” was the type of spirited debate sports fans have relished for years: two elite players at the top of their game posted similar seasons… who was better? Who was more valuable? Not even two months later, that changed. An ESPN report revealed that Braun had tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, and he was reported to be facing a 50-game suspension.

As with the majority of players who test positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Braun appealed the suspension and fought the punishment. In an extreme rarity, however, he indeed had the suspension overturned on something of a technicality. The test collector who’d picked up Braun’s urine sample did not deliver the sample to the lab on time, prompting Braun to question the legitimacy of the result and the collection process.

“There were a lot of things that we learned about the collector, about the collection process, about the way that the entire thing worked, that made us very concerned and very suspicious about what could have actually happened,” Braun said following the appeal.

The identity of the collector, Dino Laurenzi Jr., was leaked and his reputation tarnished — even in spite of a lengthy, detailed statement explaining the delayed nature of the delivery which Laurenzi claimed was in line with MLB protocols.

Less than two years later, Braun was again linked to performance-enhancing drugs — this time for his involvement with the infamous Biogenesis clinic scandal in 2013. Braun eventually received a 65-game suspension — down from the original 100 the league reportedly sought — and did not appeal. He later apologized both privately and publicly to Laurenzi, stating that he “deeply” regretted his comments and his actions in light of the original positive test.

Braun’s production following his suspension notably remained strong — albeit not at its prior levels. Detractors will naturally point to the PED correlation, although Braun would hardly be the first high-level slugger to settle in as an above-average but no-longer-elite bat in his early to mid-30s. From 2014-20, Braun batted .276/.338/.492 and tacked on another 141 home runs to his career totals.

All told, Braun will be remembered fondly by many Brewer fans who were willing to move past the PED scandals but will of course be viewed in a different light by the majority of other fans. He spent 14 years in a Brewers uniform, batting .296/.358/.532 with 1963 hits, 352 home runs, 408 doubles, 49 triples, 216 stolen bases, 1080 runs scored and 1154 runs batted in. Baseball-Reference valued his career at 47.1 wins above replacement, while FanGraphs pegs him at 43.9 WAR.

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