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Reds Approaching Deadline Season As Buyers, Looking To Add Pitching

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The Reds are baseball’s hottest team. After knocking off the Rockies 8-6 this evening, Cincinnati has reeled off 10 consecutive wins to push a season-high four games over .500. Their 39-35 record has them atop a wide open NL Central, half a game up on the Brewers.

Cincinnati’s surprising hot streak comes as teams are beginning to weigh their approaches to the upcoming trade deadline. Reds general manager Nick Krall met with reporters before tonight’s game and suggested they’re trending towards adding to the MLB roster.

“We’re in first place. We’re looking to win,” Krall said when asked if the team was planning to add at the deadline (relayed by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Unsurprisingly, the GM pointed to the pitching staff — both the rotation and bullpen — as an area where they could try to improve (via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer).

The Reds’ midseason turnaround has been driven in large part by an influx of position players from the farm system. Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain have hit the ground running after midseason debuts. Fellow rookie Spencer Steer, who reached the majors last September, has somewhat quietly put together an excellent .278/.361/.475 showing while bouncing around the corner positions. Holdovers Jonathan India, TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley are all having strong years.

Rather suddenly, Cincinnati finds itself with a surplus of hitting talent. They designated Wil Myers — their highest-paid free agent pickup of last offseason — for assignment this afternoon rather than create room for him on the roster to return from the injured list. Corner infield prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand would likely have made his MLB debut for a number of teams by now thanks to a .348/.421/.687 showing in Triple-A. With Steer, India, McLain, De La Cruz and Joey Votto around the infield, the Reds don’t have the MLB playing time for Encarnacion-Strand at the moment.

Over the past month, only the Giants and Braves have scored more runs than Cincinnati. It’s a young lineup but one that’s firing on all cylinders. Perhaps injuries or a few slumps will open a clear need on the position player side within the next month, but there aren’t any obvious holes in the lineup right now.

The pitching staff is another story. Cincinnati entered the season with a top-heavy rotation reliant on second-year arms Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene and Graham Aschraft. All three are presently on the injured list. Ashcraft should be back this week, but he has an ERA pushing 7.00 over 13 starts. Greene will miss at least the next two weeks; Lodolo is out into August.

Rookie left-hander Andrew Abbott has carried over a breakout upper minors showing to toss 17 2/3 scoreless innings to kick off his MLB career. While he’s obviously a very promising pitcher, he has all of three big league appearances and is already the club’s best healthy starter. Offseason signee Luke Weaver has an ERA above 6.00 and is struggling mightily to keep the ball in the yard. Brandon Williamson has a 5.40 ERA over his first seven starts. Ben Lively has acquitted himself well at the back of the staff, but he’s a journeyman who didn’t start a single MLB game between 2019-22.

Even if Greene joins Ashcraft in making a quick return from the IL, the Reds need rotation help if they’re to fight for a division title. Cincinnati’s bullpen has been a little more reliable. They entered play Tuesday ranked 10th in ERA (3.73), although they’re just 22nd in strikeout rate (22.6%).

Alexis Díaz has been almost untouchable in the ninth inning. There’s room for help bridging the gap to Díaz, with Lucas Sims, Ian Gibaut, Derek Law and Alex Young representing David Bell’s highest-leverage setup arms. Young is the only left-hander in the current group, so another southpaw could be on the wishlist.

Krall predictably didn’t delve into specific targets. Whether the Reds would seriously vie for a top impending free agent trade candidate (i.e. Lucas Giolito or old friend Aroldis Chapman) during a season in which they’re surprise contenders isn’t clear. Perhaps the front office will prioritize players with multiple years of control, simultaneously trying to support this year’s club while adding to future rosters that’ll enter seasons with higher expectations than the 2023 team did.

How the team performs over the next six weeks could determine how much the front office is willing to push in young talent. That Krall is openly positioning the team as a buyer in late June is a testament to how quickly things have looked upwards. The GM has already suggested there’s room on the books to take on some money for the stretch run, a sentiment he repeated this evening. It’s an exciting time in Cincinnati, one that looks to have changed the deadline trajectory for a team that seemed to be a seller just a few weeks ago.

Friedman: Dodgers Increasingly Likely To Target Pitching Help At Deadline

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The Dodgers were off tonight, a chance for a reset after a disastrous series that saw them swept by their archrivals. The Giants pulled past Los Angeles in the process, knocking L.A. to third place in the NL West and to the final spot in the Wild Card picture.

That rather pedestrian place in the standings and a solid but not exceptional 39-33 record represents unfamiliar territory for the Dodgers. Los Angeles has won the division in nine of the past ten years and has placed in the top two every season since 2011. There’s obviously time to turn things around, but team executives acknowledged the pitching staff hasn’t been up to par.

The Dodgers have a 4.66 team ERA that ranked 25th in MLB entering play Monday. The rotation is middle-of-the-pack with a 4.38 mark, but the bullpen is one of only two in the majors (the A’s being the other) allowing more than five earned runs per nine innings.

“We have not pitched well. There’s really no sugar-coating it,” pitching coach Mark Prior told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Both Prior and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed confidence in the staff to bounce back. Still, the front office leader acknowledged to Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic that the mounting struggles could impact the team’s trade deadline priorities.

“In spring training, I did not expect that in July we would aggressively be looking for pitching,” Friedman told Ardaya. “With the injuries and where we are, I think that focus has shifted. There’s no question that (pursuing pitching) is more likely than it was in March.”

Of course, there’s still plenty of time for teams’ focuses to change. Six weeks remain before the August 1 deadline. Notable trade activity tends not to take place until a few weeks into July. Friedman conceded the market isn’t likely to accelerate for a while yet.

By mid-July, the Dodgers should at least have a little more clarity on the status of the rotation. Julio Urías has been sidelined for a month with a hamstring strain. Skipper Dave Roberts said over the weekend he’s likely to be back around the beginning of July. Rookies Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan are each trying to cement themselves in the starting five. Miller has a 2.83 ERA with a 24.6% strikeout rate through five starts; Sheehan threw six no-hit innings in his MLB debut over the weekend. Those are impressive numbers but they’re each very early in their careers.

Noah Syndergaard signed a $13MM free agent deal to add veteran stability for a rotation that was likely to welcome young arms like Miller, Sheehan and Gavin Stone throughout the year. Syndergaard has instead been rocked for a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts and is on the IL with blister issues. Ryan Pepiot has yet to make his season debut after a Spring Training oblique strain.

The starting pitching trade market has yet to really come into focus. With the White Sox and Cardinals underwhelming, impending free agents Lucas Giolito, Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty could become available. Neither Chicago nor St. Louis is ready to punt on the season at this point, however. That’s also true of the Cubs with Marcus Stroman, who has a $21MM player option for next year.

The Tigers could listen to offers on Eduardo Rodriguez, but his ability to opt out of the final three years and $49MM on his contract at season’s end makes him a complicated trade candidate. Apparent sellers like the Royals, A’s, Rockies and Nationals don’t have much in the way of productive veteran starters to market.

There are some clearer trade candidates on the bullpen front. Kansas City is all but assured to deal Aroldis Chapman and seems likely to entertain offers on Scott Barlow. Controllable relievers on the Tigers and Nationals (i.e. Hunter Harvey, Alex Lange, Jason Foley and Kyle Finnegan) have already drawn some attention. Colorado could deal veteran lefty Brad Hand amidst a resurgent season. The White Sox can market rentals Reynaldo López and Keynan Middleton.

Even with Daniel Hudson expected back at the end of the month, the Dodgers seem certain to eventually add late-inning help. Evan Phillips has been lights-out, while Brusdar Graterol is getting a ton of grounders to offset a middling strikeout rate. Caleb Ferguson has been a quietly strong option from the left side. The rest of the relief corps has generally struggled to prevent runs aside from Shelby Miller, whose 2.40 ERA will be hard to maintain unless he gets his 15% walk rate in check.

Pirates To Promote Henry Davis

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The Pirates are preparing to call up Henry Davis to the majors on Monday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (Twitter link).  Davis is expected to make his MLB debut in the game against the Cubs.

Selected with the first overall pick of the 2021 draft, Davis will be making a pretty quick trip to the majors, though it’s hard to argue that the catcher isn’t ready.  Davis has been crushing the ball at every level, including a .286/.432/.514 slash line over 45 plate appearances at Triple-A.  Though Davis was only recently promoted to Triple-A and has only 10 games under his belt at the top minor league level, the Pirates have seen enough to believe he is ready to contribute in the Show.

The timing of the promotion can’t be overlooked, as if Davis remains on the big league roster for the remainder of the season, he’ll only amass 105 days of Major League service time.  This all but ensures that he won’t achieve Super Two status, and thus won’t gain an extra year of arbitration eligibility.  Given how the Pirates surely feel Davis can be a cornerstone player for years to come, it perhaps isn’t surprising that the small-market team already has an eye on the catcher’s future price tag, assuming he lives up to expectations as a future star.  Finances also factored into the Bucs’ selection of Davis in the first place, as he signed for a $6.5MM bonus that was well below the slot value attached to the first overall pick.

Davis was a consensus top-100 prospect entering the season, with Keith Law (who had Davis 30th), Baseball Prospectus (46th), MLB Pipeline (57th) and Baseball America (73rd) all ranked him amongst the game’s top minor leaguers.  Law cited Davis’ wrist injuries in 2022 and his need to improve against offspeed pitching, but Law was perhaps highest of the pundits on the Louisville product’s potential because Law believes Davis will be able to stick at catcher — far from a universal opinion among scouts.

While Davis has played some right field during his young pro career, that could be less a reflection of his defense than the fact that Pittsburgh also has another top catching prospect in Endy Rodriguez.  Because Rodriguez can also play the outfield as well as second place, there’s a chance that neither of the Pirates’ “catchers of the future” ultimately end up as catchers, though having both players gives the Bucs some flexibility in determining the best path for both players.  Davis’ plus hitting ability makes him valuable wherever he lines up on the field, though it would naturally have the most impact coming from the catcher position.

Austin Hedges and Jason Delay have mostly split catching duties in Pittsburgh this season, with Hedges contributing his usual excellent defense but next to nothing at the plate, while Delay has hit .304/.371/.418 over 91 PA.  Since the Pirates obviously aren’t bringing Davis up to sit him on the bench, it creates an interesting short-term issue for the Pirates in determining which catcher stays.  Delay still has three minor league options so the likeliest scenario is that he is sent to Triple-A while Hedges stays as a glove-first complement and perhaps a defensive mentor to Davis.  Should Davis establish himself as a big leaguer, Delay might become an interesting trade chip for the Pirates to market at the trade deadline.

It’s a whole lot to ask that Davis can provide an Adley Rutschman-esque impact on the Pirates lineup, replicating how Rutschman’s promotion almost instantly sparked the Orioles from rebuilding team to contender in 2022.  However, the Pirates have a 34-35 record but are only 1.5 games out of first place in the NL Central and 3.5 games out of a wild card berth.  Given the compact nature of the National League standings, the Pirates still have a chance of mounting a playoff push, but at the very least the team has already shown that their rebuilding status is over.

Mets Activate Pete Alonso From 10-Day Injured List

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Pete Alonso has made a quick return from the injured list, as the Mets announced that the first baseman has been activated from the 10-day IL after just the minimum 10 days.  In the corresponding move, New York optioned Mark Vientos to Triple-A.

Alonso was hit on the left wrist by a Charlie Morton fastball back on June 7, leaving the slugger with a sprain and a bone bruise.  While Alonso at least escaped a more serious injury like a fracture, he was still expected to miss at least 3-4 weeks recovering.  Instead, the Polar Bear easily beat that timeline and is already on his way back to the Mets lineup.

Getting Alonso back so soon is a nice outcome for a Mets team in dire need of a break.  After losing 10 of their last 13 games, the Mets are 33-37 and sit in fourth place in NL East — a wholly disapppointing result for a team that won 101 games in 2022, and is spending at record levels this season.  While there’s still plenty of time for the Mets to get on track, the Amazins have already dug themselves a big hole, and a wild card may be their only path to the playoffs since the Braves lead them by 11.5 games.

An inconsistent offense has been one of the factors in New York’s slide, so Alonso’s power bat will be welcome.  Even after missing time on the IL, Alonso still leads the National League with 22 home runs, and only Shohei Ohtani (23) has more homers league-wide.  The first baseman is hitting .231/.326/.546 over 261 plate appearances, and Alonso’s batting average and OBP are both down from career norms.  Still, Alonso is making tons of hard contact, and his incredibly low .199 BABIP indicates that Alonso could be hitting a lot better than his already-productive slash line.

Vientos was called up to the majors about a month ago, and he hit .178/.224/.244 over 49 PA.  It was an underwhelming performance for a hitter considered one of the Mets’ top prospects, though Vientos also didn’t receive much in the way of consistent playing time.  Working mostly as a DH with a few appearances at both corner infield positions, Vientos only played a full game in seven of his 16 appearances.  He’ll now head back to Triple-A to await his next opportunity, though Vientos may not have anything left to prove in the minors, given his 1.104 OPS over 166 PA at Syracuse this season.

Royals Release Jackie Bradley Jr.

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TODAY: The Royals announced that Bradley has been released.

JUNE 12: The Royals announced Monday that they’ve designated veteran outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to outfielder Dairon Blanco, whose selection to the big league roster is now official.

Bradley, the longtime Red Sox center fielder, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason and joined Matt Duffy and the since-released Franmil Reyes as veteran non-roster invitees who made the club out of spring training. Bradley wasn’t able to correct the offensive nosedive that began in 2021, however, hitting just .133/.188/.210 in 113 trips to the plate with Kansas City.

Even when he was hitting for a low average with the Red Sox late last decade, Bradley walked enough to maintain respectable on-base percentages and hit for some power to help prop up his overall production. That’s all evaporated in recent years, however. Bradley had a strong .283/.364/.450 showing with the Red Sox during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but he’s since turned in 911 plate appearances with a dreadful .176/.238/.275 batting line, a below-average 6.2% walk rate and minimal extra-base pop (42 doubles, four triples, 11 homers, .099 ISO).

The Royals’ outfield has been the least-productive unit in MLB this year. Kansas City’s outfielders have combined for a disastrous .200/.268/.328 batting line, with Bradley’s struggles factoring into the group’s MLB-worst wRC+ (62). Bradley alone is hardly to blame, as the Royals have received below-average production from MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Drew Waters and Nate Eaton. The previously mentioned Reyes and fellow veteran Hunter Dozier also had brief, unproductive appearances in the outfield prior to being released. Edward Olivares is the only player on Kansas City’s roster who’s delivered even average offense while playing the outfield.

Kansas City will have a week to trade Bradley, pass him through outright waivers or release him. He has the service time to reject an outright assignment even if he clears waivers, and it’s hard to imagine a team trading for him. One way or another, a return to the free-agent market seems likely in the near future.

Guardians Designate Mike Zunino For Assignment

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The Guardians have designated catcher Mike Zunino for assignment, per a team announcement. Cleveland also optioned reliever Cody Morris to Triple-A Columbus while selecting right-hander Touki Toussaint onto the MLB roster.

A June DFA is surely not what the Guardians envisioned for their Opening Day catcher. Cleveland signed the veteran backstop to a one-year, $6MM free agent deal in December. It was a buy-low flier on a glove-first veteran. Zunino’s final season with the Rays had been ruined by thoracic outlet syndrome, but he was only a year removed from an All-Star appearance and a 20th-place finish in AL MVP voting.

The anticipated bounceback hasn’t materialized. Zunino has contributed very little offensively, hitting .177/.271/.306 over 140 trips to the plate. A lofty strikeout total is par for the course with Zunino, but this year’s 43.6% clip is high even by his standards. Including his .148/.195/.304 line in 36 games with the Rays before his ’22 campaign was cut short by TOS surgery, Zunino is a .163/.236/.305 hitter over his last 263 plate appearances.

A former third overall draft choice, Zunino has had a mercurial career offensively. He’s perennially near the top of the league in strikeout rate. At his best, however, he’s shown the ability to compensate for the whiffs with plenty of walks and huge power. Zunino blasted 33 homers with a .559 slugging percentage in only 109 games for Tampa Bay two seasons back. He’d also topped 20 longballs on three separate occasions early in his career with the Mariners.

When he’s not driving the ball out the yard, he’s among the sport’s worst offensive players. In just under 900 career games, he’s hitting .199 with a .271 on-base percentage. The swing-and-miss has become particularly problematic this season. Of the 336 batters with 100+ trips to the plate, none has whiffed more often than Zunino, who’s making contact on just 59% of his swings.

Offense isn’t the whole story, of course, particularly behind the plate. The Guardians tolerated well below-average hitting from Austin Hedges for years on account of his defensive acumen. Zunino comes with a similarly strong reputation for managing a pitching staff, but his public defensive marks this year have been poor.

Zunino has been charged with an MLB-worst five passed balls on the season. He’s been behind the dish for the fifth-most wild pitches. The pitching staff deserves some of the blame, but Statcast has estimated Zunino as allowing a league-high 10 more offerings than average to get behind him. He’s gotten average marks for his pitch framing this year and has thrown out a below-average 16.7% of attempted basestealers.

The struggles on both sides of the ball led the Cleveland front office to go in another direction. The Guardians were running with three catchers on the MLB roster, so the duo of Cam Gallagher and David Fry could be in for an uptick in playing time. Gallagher hasn’t hit in a backup role either, posting a .147/.177/.187 showing in 29 games. Bo Naylor has a strong .253/.393/.498 line through 60 games in Triple-A Columbus, and while the Guardians didn’t immediately call him up, there’s a strong argument for turning to the 23-year-old.

Whatever direction the Guards go behind the dish, they’ll be moving on from Zunino within the next few days. They have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. With a little over $3MM in salary still to be paid out, it’s likely he’ll clear waivers and hit free agency. At that point, another team could sign him for the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum.

Toussaint joined the organization on a minor league deal over the offseason. The former top prospect has appeared in parts of five big league campaigns between the Braves and Angels. He’s struggled to a 5.34 ERA over 170 1/3 MLB innings while working in a swing capacity.

He’s been pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen with Columbus. Toussaint has worked to a 4.06 ERA in 37 2/3 frames over 20 outings. He has fanned over 30% of opponents with a quality 45.7% ground-ball percentage. He’s yet to solve longstanding control woes, though, as he’s walking nearly 15% of batters faced.

Toussaint will start tonight’s game in Arizona. Triston McKenzie had been slated to take the ball, but Zack Meisel of the Athletic tweets that he’s been scratched after experiencing some elbow discomfort. Toussaint has been working in two to three inning stints with Columbus, so it’s likely to be a bullpen day. He’s out of minor league options, meaning his stay on the roster could be brief unless Cleveland is willing to give him a lasting bullpen spot.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Write For MLB Trade Rumors

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We’re looking to add to the MLBTR writing team, in a part-time position that pays hourly.  The criteria:

  • Strong availability throughout the week, with extra hours expected in September and October 2023.
  • Exceptional knowledge of all 30 baseball teams, no discernible bias. Knowledge of hot stove concepts like arbitration, the competitive balance tax, and new aspects of the latest collective bargaining agreement.
  • A high school degree is required, and further education is preferred. Please include your highest completed level of education in your application.
  • Writing experience is necessary, and online writing experience is preferred.
  • Attention to detail and ability to follow the MLBTR style and tone.
  • Ability to craft intelligent, well-written posts analyzing and contextualizing MLB hot stove news quickly and concisely.
  • Ability to use Twitter, Tweetdeck, and WordPress.  Experience with these is strongly preferred.
  • Ability to incorporate feedback to improve performance.
  • If you’re interested, email mlbtrhelp@gmail.com and explain how you stand out and qualify in a couple of short paragraphs.  Please attach your resume to the email.  We often receive several hundred applications, so unfortunately we will not be able to reply to each one.

At the end of your application, please fill in the blank:  After the ____ season ends, assuming he does not sign a contract extension or go to the minors, Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan will become a free agent.  Rather than give an explanation, simply write, “McClanahan question: [Year]” at the end.

Nevada Governor Signs A’s Stadium Bill

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This afternoon, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo signed the bill proposing $380MM in public funding for the construction of a Las Vegas ballpark. Sean Golonka, Tabitha Mueller and Jacob Solis of the Nevada Independent and Steve Sebelius of the Las Vegas Review-Journal were among those to cover the news.

Lombardo’s signature was the final governmental hurdle for the A’s to clear before they can formally apply to MLB for relocation. Lombardo has been a strong proponent of the plan, so there was never any doubt he’d sign after the bill was passed by the Nevada legislature earlier in the week.

“I’m excited to officially sign SB1 this afternoon,” Lombardo said in a statement. “This is an incredible opportunity to bring the A’s to Nevada, and this legislation reflects months of negotiations between the team, the state, the county, and the league. Las Vegas’ position as a global sports destination is only growing, and Major League Baseball is another tremendous asset for the city.”

The plan calls for the construction of a 30,000 seat retractable roof facility on the Vegas Strip. The A’s will receive $180MM in state tax credits which they’re allowed to sell to other businesses for cash, around $120MM in county-issued bonds, and a $25MM county credit. According to the Nevada Independent, the A’s will still need to hammer out various contracts with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority to codify the organization’s community benefits and non-relocation commitments. They’ll also still need approval from the FAA since the stadium site is within close proximity to Harry Reid International Airport.

None of that is expected to present real obstacles to relocation, which now seems all but inevitable. The next step for the A’s is to put their proposal in front of MLB officials. Commissioner Rob Manfred has already stated he’d waive the organization’s relocation fee.

Manfred addressed the process at the end of this week’s owners meetings in New York (relayed by Evan Drellich of the Athletic). The league is expected to put together a relocation committee to review the A’s proposal once it’s filed. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link) the committee will be chaired by Brewers’ owner Mark Attansasio, who’ll be joined by two yet to be determined owners.

The commissioner declined to put a timetable on a potential relocation vote. Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggested this week a vote was likely to occur before the All-Star Break. If/when the league approves, the A’s can set in motion their construction efforts.

The A’s lease at Oakland Coliseum runs through the end of the 2024 season. Reports have suggested the A’s are targeting 2028 for the opening of the Vegas facility. A’s president Dave Kaval said in April the franchise hadn’t yet decided on its plans for the 2025-27 campaigns.

Kaval suggested the organization could look into a temporary lease extension at the Coliseum to bridge that gap, though the animosity between the franchise and Oakland leadership makes that appear unlikely. The A’s Triple-A affiliate, the Aviators, play in Las Vegas and could temporarily host the major league club. Manfred said today there’s been no final decision as to whether the A’s could attempt to get out of their lease early and play at the Triple-A ballpark as soon as next season.

Nevada Senate, Assembly Approve A’s Stadium Plan

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JUNE 14, 8:02pm: The Senate has concurred with the Assembly’s amendments, tweets Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent. The bill is officially headed to Lombardo’s desk for ratification.

JUNE 14, 7:19pm: The State Assembly passed the proposal by a 25-15 vote after making a few minor amendments, Mueller relays (Twitter link). Those changes will have to be agreed upon by the State Senate, though that’s not expected to be an issue.

If/when the Senate concurs with the Assembly’s amendments, the bill can officially go to Lombardo for ratification. At that point, the A’s will be able to formally ask MLB for approval to relocate.

JUNE 13: On Tuesday afternoon, the Nevada State Senate voted 13-8 in favor of the A’s proposal for roughly $380MM in public funding to construct a stadium in Las Vegas. Jacob Solis, Sean Golonka and Tabitha Mueller of the Nevada Independent were among those to cover the news.

It’s a notable hurdle cleared for A’s ownership. The bill will be put in front of the state assembly tomorrow afternoon. If approved by the assembly, it’d go to Governor Joe Lombardo’s office for ratification. Lombardo has been a strong supporter of the legislation and would be expected to ratify. At that point, the A’s could formally apply MLB for relocation.

MLB’s owners are conducting a quarterly meeting in New York this week. However, the A’s stadium situation has not been put on the docket. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that no vote on relocation is likely to take place this week even if the bill clears the assembly and governor’s office within the next few days. Nightengale notes that such a vote would likely take place before next month’s All-Star Break, though.

There’s little question about the A’s finding support from Lombardo or MLB. Commissioner Rob Manfred has publicly backed the franchise’s efforts, agreeing to waive the relocation fee to facilitate the move. (As Joe Garofoli and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle write, a pair of Bay Area representatives announced the introduction of a bill this morning that would require a departing franchise to pay a decade’s worth of local and state taxes to their former location. However, there’s little expectation of that measure gaining legitimate traction in Congress.)

Assuming the A’s get approval from the Nevada assembly, it’s highly likely their relocation plan will be successful. Their efforts had slowed in the past few weeks, as their push for public funding hit an initial snag in the state senate. As Golonka, Mueller and Solis wrote this morning, the bill’s proponents made some alterations to the franchise’s community benefits agreement that evidently tipped enough voters in favor of the proposal.

Lance McCullers Jr. Undergoes Season-Ending Flexor Tendon Surgery

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4:16PM: Brown spoke with reporters (including Danielle Lerner) today about McCullers’ injury, and didn’t give any more specifics on when in 2024 McCullers could return.  The right-hander will begin throwing in November.

2:53PM: The Astros announced that Lance McCullers Jr. underwent forearm surgery on Tuesday, which will end the right-hander’s 2023 season.  The procedure removed a bone spur and, more significantly, repaired McCullers’ damaged right flexor tendon.

McCullers has been rehabbing a muscle strain suffered early in Spring Training.  Houston GM Dana Brown said last month that the team was looking at the All-Star break as a very rough estimate for when McCullers would be fully ready to return, but in the interim, McCullers suffered a pair of setbacks — he went from mound work to throwing off of flat ground, and was then shut down altogether due to continued soreness in his right arm.  A subsequent MRI presumably revealed the flexor tendon damage, and thus McCullers will now close the books on his 2023 campaign without a single pitch thrown.

As Brown explained in a team press release, “each time [McCullers] built himself up to an increased pitch total off the mound, the pain would come back.  It’s unfortunate, but we look forward to him being back on the mound next season.”  Perhaps noteworthy is the fact that Brown and the release’s initial paragraph didn’t specify when McCullers could be back in 2024, which would seemingly hint that the righty won’t be ready for the start of Spring Training.

This will mark the second lost season for McCullers in the last five years, as he also missed all of the 2019 campaign due to Tommy John surgery.  A flexor tendon strain suffered during the 2021 playoffs also limited McCullers to 47 2/3 innings last season, though he did return in time to make some starts down the stretch and throughout the postseason during the Astros’ World Series championship run.  The press release noted that the Spring Training injury represented a re-aggravation of that same 2021 injury, so hopefully the surgery will finally correct the issue that has plagued McCullers for the better part of two years.

Between McCullers’ procedure and Luis Garcia’s Tommy John surgery, the Astros have lost two members of their projected starting five to season-ending injuries.  Jose Urquidy has also been on the 15-day IL since the start of May due to shoulder inflammation, and while an MRI came back clean, Urquidy isn’t expected back until perhaps the All-Star break.  (On the plus side, Urquidy did tell Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle that he is hoping to throw a bullpen session in about a week’s time.)  If these injuries weren’t enough, former top prospect Forrest Whitley might also miss the rest of the season due to a lat strain.

Somewhat remarkably, Houston’s makeshift group of starters has still been one of the better rotations in baseball, in the latest testament to the organization’s minor league depth.  Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier have led the way as more experienced arms, but rookies Hunter Brown and J.P. France and swingman Brandon Bielak have all pitched well.  The latest edition of the MLBTR Podcast addressed what the Astros might do at the deadline in regards to adding starting pitching, including whether or not they might prioritize hitting over pitching in the wake of Yordan Alvarez’s oblique strain.

Between McCullers’ abbreviated 2022 season and now his lost 2023 season, it has been an unwelcome start to the five-year, $85MM extension the right-hander inked in March 2021.  McCullers is still owed $51MM between 2024-26, and if he is able to put his flexor problems behind him, there is plenty of time to better make good on the Astros’ investment.  Of course, it is also yet to be seen exactly how much of the 2024 season McCullers could miss, or whether or not he’ll be able to fully stay healthy given all the accumulated wear and tear on his arm in recent years.

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