The Weekly Rundown: 6/25/23 - 7/1/23
The 24th perfect game in MLB history, Ohtani doing Ohtani things, and more.
Good morning and Happy July!
We’re now just over halfway through the 2023 MLB season and it’s been a hell of a ride so far. These rundowns have been loaded each week with things I never would have anticipated writing about before the season started. To show just how unpredictable this stupid sport is, I wrote a piece revisiting my preseason predictions and seeing how they compare to what has transpired through the first half.
You can read that here for a good laugh.
A big thanks to those of you who have subscribed and read these Weekly Rundowns each Sunday through the first half of the season. The next 81 games or so should be a hell of a ride.
Perfection In Oakland
Yankees right-hander Domingo German tossed the 24th perfect game in MLB history on Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum. It’s the first perfect game thrown since Mariners star Félix Hernández accomplished the feat in 2012.
German entered the game with a 5.10 ERA this season. Nothing cures a slump like a trip to Oakland to take on the 22-62 A’s in front of a whopping 12 fans in the stands.
Shohei Ohtani Isn’t Human, Pt. 432
Ohtani heads into July with a league-leading 30 home runs. Fifteen of those homers came in June. Two of them came on the same night he took the mound and struck out 10 White Sox hitters in 6.1 innings while allowing only one run.
Ohtani’s only the sixth player since 1900 to hit two homers in a game and strike out at least 10 batters. He’s the first MLB player to reach base 4+ times, hit 2+ home runs, and strike out 10+ batters all in the same game since 1890.
Don’t take this guy for granted.
Steve Cohen Faces The Music
The Mets are arguably the biggest disappointment of the 2023 season after spending nearly a half-billion dollars during the offseason. They’re 36-46 and 18.5 games back in the NL East.
The man responsible for that spending, owner Steve Cohen, addressed the media on Wednesday to discuss the team’s ongoing struggles and his plans going forward. Here were the most notable quotes…
On trade deadline approach
“All is not lost yet, but it’s getting late. I’m preparing my management team for all possibilities. If we don’t get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline, and that’s not my preferred end result but I’m preparing all contingencies.”
“It’s on the players.”
“And we’ll see where it goes. It’s on the players, right? They’re veterans. They’ve been there before. These are players who have done it, and we’ll see if they can get their act together and string together some wins. I can’t pitch and I can’t hit. That’s the way it goes.”
On potential firings
“I’m a patient guy, OK? Now, everybody wants a headline. Everybody says: Fire this person, fire that person. But I don’t see that as a way to operate.
“If you want to attract good people to this organization, the worst thing you can do is be impulsive, OK, and win the headline for the day. ... You’re not attracting the best talent. You’re not going to want to work for somebody who has a short fuse. Listen, I know fans, they want something to happen. I get it. But sometimes, you can’t do it because you have long-term objectives.”
I give Cohen credit for facing the music and talking to the media amid his team’s awful season. All fans ask for is accountability (though wins would be nice too). For instance, Red Sox fans have heard from John Henry once since the 2019 season. That’s a bad look. Cohen is at least doing his part to try to build a World Series winner and he’s not shying away from his shortcomings.
You can watch the full presser below (starts at 6:15 mark):
New Low For Manoah
Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah entered this season as a Cy Young favorite after a spectacular 2022 campaign. Let’s just say things have not gone as planned.
Manoah was demoted to the Florida Complex League (rookie level) after a disastrous start to the season (1-7, 6.36 ERA). He made his first FCL start on Tuesday, allowing 11 earned runs on 10 hits through 2.2 innings. The man is broken.
He’ll look to take a step in the right direction today when he starts for the Blue Jays Double-A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. If he gets rocked again, I’m not sure what Toronto’s next step could even be. It’s a truly bizarre situation.
Chapman Traded
The first major trade of the summer went through on Friday as the Royals traded veteran closer Aroldis Chapman to the AL West-leading Rangers for right-hander Cole Ragans and minor-league outfielder Roni Cabrera.
Chapman, a seven-time All-Star, has been the subject of trade rumors for the last month. The 35-year-old is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season and served no purpose on a Royals club that has no shot at contention. He posted a 2.45 ERA with 53 strikeouts and 20 walks in 29 1/3 innings with KC.
As great as the Rangers have been, they need the bullpen help. It ranks 24th in the majors in ERA. However, Chapman joins an already-solid back end that includes Will Smith and Josh Sborz.
All-Star Starters Announced
Fan voting for the 2023 All-Star Game has concluded and we now have our starting lineups, which you can check out in the fancy graphic below:
Some takeaways:
Seeing Mookie Betts on there is one thing (and a no-brainer), but seeing J.D. Martinez listed as a starter has to pain Red Sox fans. Martinez appeared to be cooked last year, but he already has more homers than he did his entire final season with Boston.
Imagine telling someone before the season that Orlando Arcia would be an All-Star starter? That’s just the way things are going for the Braves this year, I guess.
A Betts, Corbin Carroll, Ronald Acuña outfield is what dreams are made of.
Look at Rangers rookie third baseman Josh Jung cracking the starting lineup! What a year for the Rangers in general with FOUR All-Star starters in the AL lineup.
Aaron Judge is hurt, so it’ll be interesting to see who replaces him in the AL outfield.
The complete All-Star rosters will be announced tonight at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The All-Star Game is on July 11 at 8 p.m. ET.
Home Run Derby Contestants
Julio Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Mookie Betts, and Randy Arozarena have committed to the 2023 Home Run Derby. We’re still waiting on four more contestants (one from the AL, three from the NL) to join the field.
The Derby is set for July 10, at 8 p.m. ET.
The IL
Jose De Leon, RHP, Minnesota Twins
De Leon sustained a right flexor muscle strain while warming up and was subsequently placed on the 15-day IL.
Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates
Hayes is on the 10-day IL with lower back stiffness.
Merrill Kelly, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Kelly was placed on the 15-day IL due to a calf strain.
Chris Taylor, UTIL, Los Angeles Dodgers
Taylor is on the 10-day IL with a bone bruise
Luke Jackson, RHP, San Francisco Giants
Jackson was placed on the 15-day IL with a lower-back strain.
James Kaprielian, RHP, Oakland A’s
Kaprielian is on the 15-day IL with a shoulder strain.
Keegan Akin, LHP, Baltimore Orioles
Akin was placed on the 15-day IL with lower back discomfort.
Jake Woodford, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
Woodford is on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder strain.
Shane McClanahan, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays
McClanahan was placed on the 15-day IL with mid-back tightness
Dominant On The Bump
Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto Blue Jays
7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 2 BB vs. Oakland A’s
Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels
7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Chicago White Sox
Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Minnesota Twins
Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians
7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB vs. Kansas City Royals
Eury Perez, Miami Marlins
6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies
7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 1 BB vs. Chicago Cubs
Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 12 K, 1 BB vs. San Francisco Giants
Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds
6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 3 BB vs. Baltimore Orioles
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 1 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Chicago White Sox (also hit 2 homers)
Dane Dunning, Texas Rangers
8.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 10 K, 0 BB vs. Detroit Tigers
Domingo German, New York Yankees
9.0 IP (CG), 0 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Oakland A’s
Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals
7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Seattle Mariners
Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox
7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 1 BB vs. Miami Marlins
Jesus Luzardo, Miami Marlins
6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Boston Red Sox
Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays
6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 12 K, 3 BB vs. San Francisco Giants
Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians
6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 1 BB vs. Kansas City Royals
James Paxton, Boston Red Sox
7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Justin Steele, Chicago Cubs
6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB vs. Cleveland Guardians
Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 4 BB vs. Houston Astros
Justin Verlander, New York Mets
7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB vs. San Francisco Giants
Bailey Ober, Minnesota Twins
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 0 BB vs. Baltimore Orioles
Big Bombs
Matt Olson recorded his 200th career homer.
Shohei Ohtani crushed his league-leading 30th homer of the season 493 (!!!) feet.
Spencer Torkelson went deep twice against the Rangers on Thursday.
Alex Bregman hit a go-ahead grand slam for the Astros against the Dodgers.
Carlos Santana belted a two-run walk-off homer with two outs in the ninth on Friday night vs. the Brewers. He topped it off with the celebration of the season.
Kyle Schwarber slugged a grand slam vs. the Nationals on Saturday.
Web Gem of the Week
Anthony Santander robbed Julio Rodriguez of a homer with an incredible grab.
Welcome To The Show
Orioles prospect Jordan Westburg got the call to The Show and collected his first big-league hit.
Pirates prospect Nick Gonzales got his first MLB hit AND homer on Tuesday.
Quick Takeaways
The Braves are the best team in baseball from top to bottom. They went 21-4 in the month of June and have widened their NL East lead to seven games over the second-place Marlins. They wrapped their incredible month up with a 16-4 win over Miami.
The Red Sox snapped their five-game losing skid on Friday, but unless they get hot before the All-Star break it’s getting harder to justify not selling at the deadline. This team isn’t going to compete for anything this year anyway, so it makes sense to get what you can for trade chips like James Paxton, Adam Duvall, Justin Turner, and Chris Martin.
We’ve reached the halfway point in the 2023 season and there has been no shortage of surprises thus far. The Reds are an absolute blast. The Diamondbacks are legit contenders. The Marlins are in the mix. The Padres, Cardinals, Mariners, and Mets all stink. There is simply no predicting baseball.
Rapid Fire
Freddie Freeman joined the 2,000-hit club with a double vs. the Astros.
The Reds will be without flamethrower Hunter Greene until sometime in August due to his hip injury.
Tigers starter Matthew Boyd underwent Tommy John surgery.
The Red Sox signed pitcher Dinelson Lamet to a minor-league deal after he was released by the Rockies. He’s a low-risk add who’s three years removed from a fourth-place Cy Young finish and will be a reclamation project for Boston.
The Rockies DFA’d catcher Jorge Alfaro and activated Kris Bryant from the IL.
The Rumor Mill
The Astros are willing to move one of their outfielders and are looking to acquire a big left-handed bat and/or a pitcher at the trade deadline, per their GM Dana Brown. Houston is four games behind the Rangers in the AL West standings.
Unsurprisingly, the Rockies are ready to sell off their impending free agents. This includes Jurickson Profar, C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk, Brad Hand, and Pierce Johnson.
The Blue Jays are looking to add an arm to their rotation, according to their GM Ross Atkins. The top four of their rotation is strong with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios, and Yusei Kikuchi, but Alek Manoah’s absence has been glaring.
Max Scherzer may be willing to waive his no-trade clause under the right circumstances. The Mets are currently 36-46 and watching their postseason hopes slip away.
The Rangers are interested in trading for veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The Pirates aren’t interested in such a deal at this time, which makes sense considering they’re still in contention in the NL Central. I’d consider a trade for McCutchen unlikely regardless given his connection to Pittsburgh. My money is on him finishing his career there.
Thanks for reading. Catch ya next week!