Mets have won 7 in a row and only picked up a game and a half, I think, maybe 2, on the Braves. Next weekend is going to be fun, 5 game series. Both Max and Jake are slated to pitch.
Frankie Montas appears to have solid numbers against the AL East & Houston. He also has one more year of arbitration. With Severino moved to the 60 Day this was a excellent pickup.
Lou Trivino needs some fixing but also has 2 more years of arbitration. Should be fun when Trivino throws to Trevino.
Scott Effross is controlled through 2027 and is a very good pickup. Numbers against the AL East are too small to be meaningful but promising.
And Juan Soto is gone.
Who the hell is left as the face of our franchise?
Strasburg, who is, of course, on the injured list.
Hot damn! The NL West just got interesting. The Padres are going to be fun to watch the next couple of years.
I’ve got a better chance of pitching in the majors than does Strasburg. The only slightly interesting player to watch on the Nats now is Ruiz, there’s not even a Carter Kieboom to have hope for as he’s out for the year with Tommy John.
And the Yanks off-load Gallo to the Dodgers for their #15 prospect, a Right Handed Pitcher in AA. Clayton Beeter
This is addition by subtraction for the Yanks.
As far as Dodger pitchers named Clayton, he’s probably in the top 2.
Teddy will always be the face of the franchise.
Why were the Nats in such a hurry to get rid of Soto, when they had him under contract for another two years?
They’re going to be bad for those 2 years and wanted a good haul now while his value was extremely high.
They’d offered him a 15-year contract extension earlier this year, which he’d rejected, strongly suggesting that he wanted out of DC. And, as @What_Exit notes, his trade value was enormous right now, and they were going to be terrible for these next two years anyway.
I get that, but this continual ‘rebuilding’ and ‘grooming of young talent’ seems rather a Sisyphean task. Whose to say the prospects they got in return for Soto won’t one day follow the same route out of town?
I think that Nats management realizes that they are likely to be in an extended “down cycle.” Two years from now, at the end of Soto’s current contract, they may well be no better than they are now, and would have been likely to lose Soto in free agency anyway (as he had already rejected a massive contract extension from them).
So, why not trade him when you can get a lot for him, rather than letting him go in two years, and getting nothing in return?
(And, yes, some teams seem to be in perpetual “rebuilding mode,” and I imagine that it’s frustrating for players who are with that team, as well as making it an unattractive destination for free agents.)
Too late to edit:
To be fair, the Nats had a pretty nice streak of good baseball: from 2012-19, they finished in first or second in the NL East each year, and won a World Series in 2019. But, the wheels fell off immediately after that WS win, with their winning percentage declining across each of the past three years.
Without Soto or Josh Bell (who was also traded to the Padres), they don’t have an everyday player with a WAR over 1.0 right now; their “best” pitcher (Paulo Espino) has a WAR of 1.0 – they are just a really bad team right now, and have the worst record in the majors.
Whit Merrifield has been traded to the Blue Jays. Methinks he may now get the vaccine.
It looks like Willson Contreras and Ian Happ may be staying with the Cubs. As of 3pm today, they were both listed in the Cubs’ lineup for tonight’s game, and reports are coming out that they did not finalize deals for either player before the deadline.
I’m trying to figure this one out:
The Yankees and Cardinals struck a last-minute Deadline Day deal that sends outfielder Harrison Bader and a player to be named or cash to the Bronx in exchange for lefty Jordan Montgomery.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. A CF for a Lefty Starter who is still arb next season. I know Bader is a New Yorker and very good fielder, but he’s nothing special as a hitter. Apparently Yanks also get a Player to be Named or Cash.
Maybe they’ve got a deal lined up for Hicks?
Aaron Judge unanimously voted AL Player of the Month. No real surprise with 13 homers, .333/.446/.806 slash and 25 runs & 31 RBIs.
It’s a no-lose for the Dodgers. Take on a guy who is an amazing hitter in the middle of a very bad slump. Deadly slump. All you give up is a AA prospect and the Dodger organization has a history of rehabilitating players like Gallo. We shall see, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rebound out of Gallo.
I was still holding out hope that Monty would develop into a top starter.