The Weekly Rundown: 5/28/23 - 6/3/23
The Diamondbacks and Rangers are for real, Liam Hendriks strikes out cancer, and much more.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
It’s the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals, so I’ll forgive you if baseball isn’t at the top of your mind right now. We’re getting into the dog days of summer for MLB, anyway. We’ve got a long way to go.
Fortunately for you, you’ve got a weekly newsletter to catch you up on all of the top baseball stories you may have missed. And if you aren’t subscribed already, you can do so below. Free!
Now grab your coffee and let’s jump in…
Liam Hendriks Strikes Out Cancer
The feel-good story of the week is none other than Liam Hendriks’ much-anticipated return to a big-league mound.
Hendriks revealed his diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma on Jan. 8 and began treatment on April 3. The White Sox reliever began the season on the injured list to continue his cancer treatment, then announced he was cancer free on April 20.
On Monday, Hendriks officially struck out cancer in his first MLB appearance since his diagnosis. He received a thunderous standing ovation from fans at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The appearance didn’t go the way Hendriks had hoped. He allowed two runs in his lone inning of work. But on that night, the box score was secondary. Hendriks struck out his biggest opponent yet, and that’s all that truly mattered.
In his second appearance on Saturday, Hendriks looked as sharp as ever. He pitched a perfect inning and tallied a strikeout in a 2-1 win over Detroit.
Ump Show
We had a good old-fashioned ump show during Wednesday’s Twins-Astros game. Home plate umpire Jerry Layne got in Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena’s face for disagreeing with a questionable call, then ejected the hitting coach Alex Cintron for giving him a piece of his mind.
Some might mark that down as an argument in favor of robot umps. I won’t. Bizarre umpire moments like this are part of what makes baseball such a unique sport. It’s entertaining. We would never have had that “ass in the jackpot” moment if robot umps were around. Long live the Jerry Laynes, Joe Wests, and even the Angel Hernandezs of the world.
That’s A First
Can’t say I’ve seen this one before. The White Sox walked off the Tigers on Saturday after a pitch drilled the umpire’s face mask, allowing the runner from third to score.
Baseball is the weirdest sport. No debate.
High School Drama
Doug Mientkiewicz and Alex Rodriguez were friends and teammates at Westminister Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida. But during an interview on the “Foul Territory” podcast, Mientkiewicz unloaded on A-Rod in a rant that felt unnecessarily personal.
The former MLB first baseman ripped Rodriguez for A.) His steroid usage, B.) not communicating with his former high school buddies, C.) the “dumbass stuff he would do” during his time with the Yankees.
“He’s going to die a lonely man,” Mientkiewicz said. “It’s like, you’re just trying to get into heaven now. I’m still friends with my high school team. We still text often, not as often as we should, but we still text, group thread, constantly badgering each other. He’s just distant from it. I don’t care how good or how great you become and how far your career goes, you never forget your high school dudes.”
There’s much more to it than that. He went on for minutes about how much Rodriguez pisses him off. You can watch the full clip below.
Rodriguez took the high road with his response.
"There's always going to be people out there that have things to say, everyone has an opinion, but I certainly would never talk publicly negatively about any of my teammates, especially someone from high school," Rodriguez said. "I mean, look, we're almost 50 now. This is supposed to be the good old days when we look back, and we cringe about some of the weird things that we did, and we're proud of the relationships we built over the years. So, you take that with a grain of salt and you wish everyone well and you move on."
I gotta say, I’m Team A-Rod on this one. There is no obligation to keep in touch with your high school pals. It certainly doesn’t warrant that kind of personal attack. Mientkiewicz comes off as an envious, jealous asshole in that interview. Not a good look.
That reminds me, does Mientkiewicz still have the ball from the last out of the 2004 Red Sox World Series? The one that he somehow believed belonged to him because he caught Keith Fouke’s lob to first base? It does not shock me at all that he still comes off as an absolute tool.
Great defensive first baseman though.
Sweet 16
Remember the name: Ethan Salas.
Salas is a 17-year-old catching prospect — he turned 17 on Thursday — in the Padres organization. The kid is hitting tanks before he even has his driver’s permit. He skipped over the Rookie-level Complex League and was assigned to Single-A to begin his professional career on Wednesday, his last day as a 16-year-old.
He wasted no time making his presence felt, going 2-for-3 with a double, single, and a walk.
Salas already is the No. 87 ranked prospect in baseball and the No. 3 prospect in the Padres organization. In January, San Diego signed the Venezuela native to a $5.6 million bonus on the first day of the international amateur signing period.
The IL
Vince Velasquez, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates placed Velasquez on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort.
Cedric Mullins, OF, Baltimore Orioles
Mullins was placed on the 10-day IL with a right groin strain.
Riley Greene, OF, Detroit Tigers
Greene was placed on the 10-day IL and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks due to a stress fracture in his left leg.
Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP, Detroit Tigers
Rodriguez landed on the 15-day IL with an injury to his left index finger.
Matt Vierling, OF, Detroit Tigers
Vierling joined Greene and E-Rod on the Tigers’ IL (10-day) with a low-back issue.
Kris Bryant, OF, Colorado Rockies
Bryant was placed on the 10-day IL with a bruised left heel.
Alec Bohm, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies
Bohm is on the 10-day IL due to a hamstring injury.
Harrison Bader, OF, New York Yankees
Bader was placed on the 10-day IL for the second time this season due to a right hamstring strain.
Jesse Winker, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Winker is on the 10-day IL with a neck strain.
Pete Fairbanks, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays placed Fairbanks on 15-day IL because of left hip inflammation.
Lars Nootbaar, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Nootbaar was placed on the 10-day IL with a lower-back contusion.
Chris Sale, LHP, Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox placed Sale on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation.
Joey Gallo, OF, Minnesota Twins
Gallo was placed on the 10-day IL due to a left hamstring strain.
Justin Steele, RHP, Chicago Cubs
Steele was placed on the 15-day IL with a left forearm strain.
Trayce Thompson, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Thompson was placed on the 10-day IL with an oblique injury.
Dominant on the Bump
MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals
7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 11 K, 1 BB vs. Kansas City Royals
Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks
6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Boston Red Sox
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs
9.0 IP (CG), 1 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 1 BB vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Logan Allen, Cleveland Guardians
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Baltimore Orioles
Kodai Senga, New York Mets
7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Miles Mikolas, St. Louis Cardinals
8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 1 BB vs. Kansas City Royals
George Kirby, Seattle Mariners
8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 0 BB vs. New York Yankees
Tommy Henry, Arizona Diamondbacks
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 11 K, 2 BB vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays
7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 0 BB vs. New York Mets
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB vs. Los Angeles Angeles
Jon Gray, Texas Rangers
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 1 BB vs. Seattle Mariners
Edward Cabrera, Miami Marlins
6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 1 BB vs. Oakland A’s
Yu Darvish, San Diego Padres
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Chicago Cubs
Big Bombs
Aaron Judge went deep twice and robbed a homer for good measure vs. the Mariners.
Mike Trout crushed one 461 feet off Lance Lynn.
KeBryan Hayes belted a clutch three-run homer to put the Pirates ahead in their win over the Cardinals (7:16 mark below).
Welcome to the Show
Ben Joyce has arrived. The Angels’ flamethrowing prospect made his MLB debut this week and showed he will be a problem for opposing hitters. A third-round pick out of Tennessee, Joyce throws 100+ mph with ease.
Tigers pitching prospect Reese Olson made his MLB debut on Friday vs. the White Sox. The 23-year-old right-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished with two runs allowed on two hits and one walk in five innings of work. He struck out six.
Brewers rookie Blake Perkins hit a grand slam for his first career homer. You can watch it here as there’s no YouTube video and Twitter still won’t let anyone embed videos for some reason.
Web Gem of the Week
Kevin Kiermaier did Kevin Kiermaier things against the Brewers. The three-time Gold Glover made a sensational diving grab to throw his hat in the ring for Catch of the Year.
Quick Takeaways
Reds top prospect Matt McClain was called up in mid-May and, at least for now, he looks like the real deal. The 23-year-old shortstop, who was selected in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of UCLA, earned NL Player of the Week honors last week. Through his first 16 big-league games, he’s hitting .333/.398/.507 with two homers and nine RBI. Cincinnati’s young talent makes it a fun club to watch right now, and it will only get more entertaining when top prospect Elly De La Cruz gets promoted. That should happen sooner rather than later.
I tried to warn you all about the Diamondbacks. Actually, they’re even exceeding my lofty expectations so far this season. They went on a six-game winning streak to join the Dodgers atop the NL West and it doesn’t look like a fluke. Popular NL Rookie of the Year pick Corbin Carroll is living up to the hype with nine homers, 16 stolen bases, and a .870 OPS through 56 games. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are a legit 1-2 punch in the rotation. I’m not expecting Arizona to stick with the Dodgers over 162 games, but crazier things have happened. Start paying attention to this team if you haven’t been already.
This has been a takeaway every week it seems. But man, what a disappointment the Padres have been. I thought for sure they would have found their groove right now. They’re too talented not to. But as of today, they’re 27-31 and 7.5 games back (fourth place) in the NL West. It will be quite interesting if they don’t figure it out over the next month. Could they really become sellers at the deadline?
I’m ready to say the Rangers are for real. I was hesitant at first because of their injury-prone rotation, but it has been outstanding so far. Nathan Eovaldi has emerged as the ace and currently looks like a serious Cy Young contender. It’s starting to look like I was on the wrong AL West hype train (Mariners) heading into the season, though I’m not giving up on Seattle just yet.
The NL Central is a total crapshoot. Six-and-a-half games separate the first-place Brewers (31-27) and last-place Cardinals (25-34). The Pirates surprisingly haven’t fallen off and are right behind Milwaukee at 30-27. If I were a betting man, I would take the Cardinals to win the division right now at +340.
The A’s are 12-48 and are on track to be the worst team of all time. It’s sad, really.
Rapid Fire
The A’s designated Jesus Aguilar for assignment. Aguilar hit .221 with five homers through 36 games.
The Brewers DFA’d Luke Voit, who hit .221 and did not homer in 22 games.
Astros right-hander Lance McCullers was supposed to return from a forearm strain soon, but he recently suffered a setback. He was removed from throwing off a mound and back to flat ground.
The Padres picked veteran catcher Gary Sanchez up off waivers from the Mets. Sanchez showed he still has power with two quick homers for San Diego, but his defense already proved to be a liability as he cost the Padres with a blunder Wednesday vs. Miami.
With Cedric Mullins on the IL, the Orioles picked up outfielder Aaron Hicks following his release from the Yankees. Much to the chagrin of Yankees fans, Hicks (.188 BA with NYY this season) went 2-for-2 with a walk in his O’s debut.
Braves starter Michael Soroka returned to the mound for the first time since 2020 after undergoing multiple Achilles surgeries. He allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in six innings vs. Oakland.
Does the name Jon Singleton ring a bell? He was the Astros’ No. 1 prospect back in 2011. He made his MLB debut in 2014 but never panned out, partly due to testing positive for marijuana three times (something players aren’t tested for anymore) and getting suspended for 100 games. The Astros released him in 2018 and now, five years later, he’s getting another shot with the Brewers. Singleton was promoted to the big-league club and made his first MLB appearance in eight years on Saturday, going 1-for-4 with a run scored.
The Red Sox signed outfielder Rob Refsnyder to a one-year extension through the 2024 season. Refsnyder has been outstanding against left-handed pitching since joining Boston before the 2022 campaign.
Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg reportedly has been shut down from physical activity again and is dealing with "severe nerve damage.” There is doubt about whether he will ever pitch again. The 35-year-old has made only eight starts since signing his seven-year, $245 million extension after winning 2019 World Series MVP honors.
The Rumor Mill
Jonathan India’s name has popped up as a potential trade chip for the Reds over the last couple of years, but it doesn’t sound like Cincinnati is interested in parting ways with the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that although clubs have called about India, the Reds aren’t currently inclined to trade him. Of course, that could change in a heartbeat with Matt McClain and Elly De La Cruz looking like the future of the Reds’ middle infield.
Brewers co-aces Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff had their names mentioned in trade rumors throughout the offseason. Many believed if Milwaukee was out of the picture by the 2023 trade deadline, they would part ways with one or even both of their star pitchers. However, The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports Milwaukee will not sell this year. I guess that doesn’t come as a total surprise when the Brewers currently sit atop the NL Central.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading and remember to subscribe below (or gift one to a baseball fan for free!) if you haven’t already.
See ya next Sunday.