The Weekly Rundown: 7/23/23 - 7/29/23
Trade deadline approaching, Shohei Ohtani is an alien, and more.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
We’re two days away from the MLB trade deadline and we’ve already seen plenty of player movement over the last week. We’ll get to those trades plus all of the deadline rumors later. But first, a quick plug.
I’m back to podcasting. I recorded an episode with Gary Sheffield Jr. this past week and I think it’s worth your time. If you’re interested, you can check it out below:
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Now let’s get into the pre-trade deadline rundown.
Trade SZN
The MLB trade deadline is 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. We’ve already seen a bunch of players moved. Here are the notable deals so far:
The Braves acquired reliever Pierce Johnson from the Rockies in exchange for pitching prospects Victor Vodnik and Tanner Gordon.
The Dodgers made multiple moves. First, they sent two minor-league pitchers to the Red Sox (Nick Robertson and Justin Hagenman) in exchange for utility man Kiké Hernández. They also sent veteran hurler Noah Syndergaard to the Guardians for shortstop Amed Rosario. On Friday, they acquired right-hander Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly from the White Sox for outfielder Trayce Thompson and pitching prospects Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure.
The Red Sox acquired reliever Mauricio Llovera from the Giants for minor-league righty Marques Johnson.
The Angels decided to go all in. They took advantage of the White Sox’ fire sale by acquiring righty Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez from Chicago in exchange for two prospects: catcher Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush.
The Marlins and Twins swapped right-handed relievers. Miami sent Dylan Floro to Minnesota for Jorge Lopez.
The Mets sent veteran reliever David Robertson to the Marlins for infield prospect Marco Vargas and catching prospect Ronald Hernandez.
The Brewers acquired veteran slugger Carlos Santana from the Pirates for shortstop prospect Jhonny Severino.
The Astros acquired reliever Kendall Graveman from the White Sox for catching prospect Korey Lee.
Here’s the big one: The Mets traded two-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer to the Rangers for prospect Luisangel Acuña. Scherzer also exercised his $43 million player option for next season, meaning he's set to be in Texas through 2024.
Ohtani Isn’t Human
I hope we’ve reached the point where everyone truly appreciates what they’re witnessing when Shohei Ohtani takes the field. It’s superhero-like.
In a doubleheader on Thursday, Ohtani pitched a complete-game one-hit shutout in Game 1 and belted two homers in Game 2. The AL home run leader was removed from Game 2 with cramps but returned to the Angels lineup on Friday and hit a home run in his first at-bat.
Ohtani now has 39 homers on the season and has a real chance at topping Aaron Judge’s home run record (62 homers) set last year.
Tempers Flare In Houston
We had a little dust-up in Houston between AL West rivals, the Astros and Rangers.
It started when Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was drilled with a pitch in his first at-bat back from the injured list. Astros pitcher Framber Valdez drilled Rangers star Marcus Semien shortly thereafter. I’ll let you be the judge of whether it was intentional.
The next batter, Nathaniel Lowe, made Valdez pay for beaning Semien by clubbing a homer. Later, Semien hit a homer of his own and let Valdez hear about it as he rounded the bases. Semien had a few words for Astros catcher Martin Maldonado when he crossed the plate.
Valdez then threw up and in to Lowe (again, the whole intentional thing… you be the judge). Valdez was eventually pulled from the game, but the Rangers continued to pile on. Adolis Garcia hit a grand slam, took his sweet time to admire his work, and that’s when the fireworks began.
Watch the full sequence below.
Semien and Maldonado were ejected from the game.
It wasn’t anything crazy, but I see it as a preview of the chaos we’ll witness if these two teams meet in the postseason. If the baseball gods are good to us, we’ll get that matchup.
Shit Happ-ens
Cubs outfielder Ian Happ drilled his former teammate, Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, on his backswing during the first inning of Thursday’s matchup. Two pitches later, Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas retaliated by drilling Happ with a pitch.
Mikolas was ejected for intentionally throwing at Happ. His manager, Oli Marmol, was ejected as well. Watch below:
Both Mikolas (five games) and Marmol (one game) ended up being suspended. Pretty soft, if you ask me.
The IL
Gabriel Moreno, C, Arizona Diamondbacks
Moreno was placed on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation.
Kris Bryant, OF, Colorado Rockies
Bryant was placed on the 10-day IL due to a fractured left index finger.
Aaron Hicks, OF, Baltimore Orioles
Hicks was placed on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain.
Jesse Winker, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Winker was placed on the 10-day IL due to back spasms.
Jonny DeLuca, Los Angeles Dodgers
DeLuca is on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain.
Chase Anderson, RHP, Colorado Rockies
Anderson is on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation.
Justin Wilson, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers
Wilson has landed on the 15-day IL due to a left lat strain.
Jordan Romano, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
Romano was placed on the 15-day IL due to lower back inflammation.
Jonah Heim, C, Texas Rangers
Heim has been placed on the 10-day IL with a left wrist tendon strain.
Dominant On The Bump
Jesus Luzardo, Miami Marlins
7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 13 K, 2 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay Rays
7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 2 BB vs. Miami Marlins
Alex Cobb, San Francisco Giants
6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Oakland A’s
Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins
9.0 IP (CG), 5 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers
6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 13 K, 0 BB vs. Cincinnati Reds
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
9.0 IP (CG), 1 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 3 BB vs. Detroit Tigers
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB vs. Baltimore Orioles
Zack Wheeler, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies
6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 11 K, 1 BB vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Big Bombs
Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz crushed a 456-foot missile against the Brewers.
Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim recorded the first multi-homer game of his career.
Orioles slugger Anthony Santander walked it off vs. the Yankees.
J.D. Davis propelled the Giants to victory over the Red Sox with a walk-off homer off the foul pole.
Web Gem Of The Week
Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman robbed the Cardinals of a walk-off homer to seal the victory for Chicago.
Welcome To The Show
Brewers prospect Sal Frelick followed up his stellar MLB debut with his first career homer.
Giants prospect Marco Luciano got the call to The Show and collected his first career hit on Friday vs. the Red Sox.
Pirates prospect Alika Williams notched his first career hit and RBI on Saturday vs. the Phillies.
Quick Takeaways
I’ve beaten this storyline to death over the last couple of weeks but the Angels will regret taking Shohei Ohtani off the market. Yeah, I get they’re still in the wild-card race. I get Ohtani is probably the best thing to happen to the sport of baseball and they’re raking in revenue from his merchandise and all that. But if they’re serious about competing in the future, they should have traded him for a haul while they had the chance. Believe me, I want Ohtani and Mike Trout in the playoffs as much as anyone. They might squeak in, but to think this team has what it takes to go all the way is foolish. Wasted opportunity.
The Triston Casas doubters are in shambles. After a slow start to the season, the Red Sox rookie first baseman is hitting .350 with 21 hits, seven homers, 13 RBIs, 16 runs scored, and a 1.251 OPS in 19 games since July 1.
The Cubs might not be sellers after all after winning seven straight and inserting themselves into the NL playoff race. They’re not only 4.5 games back in the NL Central. Gotta go for it at this point.
The MVP races may already be settled. Shohei Ohtani in the AL, and Ronald Acuña Jr. in the NL. Acuña became the first player ever to notch 20 or more home runs and 50 or more stolen bases before the end of July.
Rapid Fire
The Guardians signed reliever Amir Garrett to a minor-league deal. Garrett was DFA’d by the Royals last week.
The Angels designated first baseman Jared Walsh for assignment.
Aaron Judge returned to the Yankees lineup on Friday after being sidelined since June 3 with a toe injury. He went 0-for-1 with three walks in his first game back vs. the Orioles. On Saturday, he crushed a 442-foot homer.
The Reds inked manager David Bell to a three-year contract extension.
Red Sox pitcher Corey Kluber, currently on the IL, has been shut down from baseball activities after a setback in his rehab.
The Rumor Mill
The Braves and Phillies are among the teams interested in Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall, per MassLive.com and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Cardinals will either sign hard-throwing reliever Jordan Hicks to an extension or trade him before the Aug. 1 deadline. The Rangers are aggressively pursuing a trade for Hicks, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Other teams reportedly interested include the Yankees, Rays, and Diamondbacks.
Also expected to be moved by the Cardinals are shortstop Paul DeJong and a chunk of their pitching staff, including starters Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery.
The Angels and Nationals have discussed a trade involving third baseman Jeimer Candelario, according to Morosi.
After trading Santana to the Brewers, the Pirates could move a number of players including starters Mitch Keller and Rich Hill, closer David Bednar, catcher Austin Hedges, and set-up man Colin Holderman.
The Marlins and Orioles are among the teams interested in Tigers starter Michael Lorenzen.
Tim Anderson could be the next White Sox player to go. The shortstop is garnering trade interest from teams including the Marlins.
The Brewers and Marlins reportedly are interested in White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez, though it’s unclear whether Chicago would actually be willing to part ways with him.
The Mets reportedly are getting “aggressive interest” in ace Justin Verlander. The Rangers, Dodgers, Reds, and Astros are among the teams in the mix, though the Rangers might be out of the conversation now after acquiring Scherzer.
That’s it for this week. We’ll most definitely have a loaded rundown next Sunday. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.