Other than the fact that it means the season is now, fully and finally, over (which it already was), I like the trade. Mets get a top prospect and save about $20 mil on next year’s payroll. Next year they also will not be paying Cano $20 mil, and when you add in Carasco, Escobar, Pham and Canha (the last 2 likely to be traded tomorrow), overall something like a $70 mil reduction.
What top pitchers will be available next year?
Potentially Marcus Stroman, if he opts out of his deal with the Cub. But he’s said repeatedly that he loves Chicago, and would even consider resigning with the team if he was traded.
Scherzer’s splits this season are a tale of two different pitchers. One only likes Citi Field, although he only had 7 starts there:
Home: 2.18 ERA and surrendered 4 home runs in 41 innings.
Away: 5.16 ERA, allowing 19 homers in 66 innings.
Is Texas a pitcher’s park? If not, this might not be the smartest move.
I’ve never been much of a fan of walk up music, but it’s here to stay.
Not that anybody gives a shit, Royals fans like me included, but KC beat the Twins today 2-1 to sweep the series. It was the Royals first series sweep of the season.
Well, if if makes you (and me) feel better, the Royals attempted to balance their karma with the Baseball Gods by then trading away decently average Nicky Lopez to the Braves for Taylor Hearns. Hearns, 28, has just as much service time as Lopez, so it’s not like the Royals will get any extra playing time from Hearns. Not that they’d want to - if he’s ever put on the MLB team (he’s currently on his way to Omaha to be on the 40 man roster) he’ll compete with Jordan Lyles as the worst player in the major leagues.
Hearns was recently acquired by the Braves six days ago for a bag of peanuts and some spare change from the Rangers. This is as close to baseball malpractice I’ve seen in a long time. JJ Picollo hasn’t been the GM for a full year, but I’m ready to say he’s exceeded his stay.
Oh, FFS. Lopez was a likeable guy who can play anywhere.
Hearn, on the other hand, was DFA’d by the Rangers before Atlanta used their couch-cushion quarters to purchase his contract. In his one appearance with the Braves, Hearn went a third of an inning with two hits, two walks, and four earned runs.
I mean, what in the actual fuck are the Royals thinking in making this deal?
I don’t usually watch Sunday night baseball but I did tune in for this one to check out this Orioles team. I’m liking it.
On the trade front:
Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed pitcher Jose Cuas from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Nelson Velazquez.
The Cubs announced Monday they reacquired Washington Nationals third baseman Jeimer Candelario. In exchange, Washington gets Single-A shortstop Kevin Made and Double-A pitcher DJ Herz, both of whom were top-20 prospects in the Cubs system.
Arizona acquires Seattle Mariners closer Paul Sewald. Seattle receives rookie outfielder Dominic Canzone, utilityman Josh Rojas and Ryan Bliss, a Double-A middle infielder.
The Mets trade Mark Canha to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league pitcher Justin Jarvis.
So how’d everyone’s team do at the deadline? The Royals made a bunch of pretty minor moves, but decent ones (minus the atrocious Lopez deal). They held off on trading Salvador Perez. The smart baseball move is to get as much for him as they can - any rebuild in the future will be too far away from Salvy having healthy knees. But it’s not always about smart baseball - it can be an emotional one as well. Salvy is beloved by the city, and is the reason a lot of fans show up. Rumor was that he was willing to go to the right contender (he has a no-trade clause), but nothing came up.
The Yankees made essentially no meaningful trades, which is hilarious.
Saw a chryon on the TV at the brewery a few hours ago: Yankees Are Pathetic.
Seems about right.
Tough to lose Sewald, but the trade makes sense. Mariners need better bats. Kolton Wong was a major disappointment.
The Cardinals got rid of all their expiring contracts with a last-second trade of Jack Flaherty to the Orioles.
Jeimer Candelario had 4 hits in 5 at-bats and scored 2 runs in his first game with the Cubs. That might have been bigger news, but Chicago beat Cincinnati by a final score of 20-9.
The Orioles made a couple of low key moves but mostly did nothing. Mike Elias and company have gotten them this far without making any major waves in the trade or free agent markets, and they’ve more than earned the trust that they know what they’re doing.
I like the idea of few (or zero) trades. With too many player changes mid season (or sometimes even between seasons) I don’t even feel like it’s the same “team” anymore. The 2023 Mariners" has roster I’ve been watching since Opening Day. Those are the players I’m rooting for. Sure, you can move one or two up and down to the minors. A player may get hurt. But, for an extreme example, could you trade all 8 position players and say “it’s still the Mariners, they’re wearing the same uniforms?” I’d have no interest in following that team.
In other words, I don’t like more mid season change than necessary. This is my team. Let’s see if they can win with what they got. (minor adjustments allowed)
Rangers get Corey Seager back tonight just at the right time.
New thread for August:
I didn’t want to put this in August thread since it’s about the trade deadline, but I’m pretty happy with the moves the Mets made. We’re done for the season so it didn’t make sense to sit around trying to make a push. Trading away our older pitchers for prospects feels like a great move and I don’t mind spending money on the future now that we know “win-now” mode is not a viable option. I also liked sending Scherzer and Verlander to teams where they can make a post-season impact. Seems like a win-win for everyone involved.
The next few seasons will probably be rough but I still prefer Steve Cohen over the Wilpons.
Any indication that any non-Dodgers team has any serious chance of getting Ohtani in the offseason?