The Weekly Rundown: 9/10/23 - 9/16/23
Division and wild-card races down to the wire, Chaim Bloom fired, and more.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
Football is back in full swing and that’s great, but we still have plenty of exciting baseball ahead. Division and wild-card races are coming down to the wire and in just a couple of weeks we’ll be gearing up for what should be a hell of a postseason.
So before you shift your focus to today’s slate of NFL games, take some time to catch up on all of the big stories in MLB from the last week. It was a busy one.
Let’s jump in.
Sox Fire Bloom
After the 2019 season, the Red Sox hired Chaim Bloom as “chief baseball officer” to replace president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. A few months later, Bloom and Co. traded superstar Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Red Sox ownership brought Bloom to Boston to trade Betts, get under the luxury tax, and replenish the farm system while remaining a relatively competitive ballclub. He mostly accomplished those feats, but a couple of last-place seasons and his hesitance to make a big, high-risk move proved to be his demise. That, or ownership knew Bloom served his purpose and it was time to return to spending.
The Red Sox fired Bloom on Thursday with the team on the brink of another last-place finish. I thought they’d give him the offseason to put the final pieces of his puzzle together. This winter is set up to be a pivotal one for Boston, so whoever takes over will immediately be tested. If the new CBO (or whatever their title is) shies away from bidding wars and hesitates to make big trades, then what was the point?
Guardians president Chris Antonetti and Athletics GM David Forst were mentioned as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi as two candidates to replace Bloom. Other intriguing names include former Astros GM James Click and Dodgers exec Brandon Gomes. Perhaps current Red Sox manager Alex Cora could elevate to a front-office role similar to how Brad Stevens did with the Celtics.
Tough Break For Dominguez
Top prospect Jasson Dominguez’s emergence was the only reason for excitement in the Bronx with the Yankees out of contention. He immediately caught fire in the majors with four homers in his first eight MLB games.
But last Sunday, the 20-year-old was scratched from the lineup because his right elbow limited his swing during batting practice. It turns out he needed Tommy John surgery, meaning his season is over and his recovery timetable is 8-10 months.
Obviously, it’s a nightmare ending to an awful season for the Yankees, but it’s also a brutal blow for any baseball fan who enjoys watching young talent. The good news is we should see Dominguez back by next summer, perhaps even earlier if he has a Bryce Harper-like comeback.
Ohtani Out For Season
Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani is officially done for the year — and perhaps done in Anaheim — with right oblique inflammation. He cleared out his locker at Angel Stadium on Friday, though Angels GM Perry Minasian says that’s nothing to read into.
“I think, in his mind, he thought there was a possibility for a procedure today, and that’s why he packed,” Minasian said, according to MLB.com. “He’s so focused on, ‘Season’s over, I’ve gotta get ready for ’24.’ And that was what his mindset was. He’s planning on being here the last homestand.”
Ohtani, who’s set to be a free agent this winter, already was shut down from pitching due to a torn UCL. It’s unclear whether he’ll need to undergo Tommy John surgery.
While those injuries will hurt Ohtani’s value this offseason, he should still become the highest-paid player in MLB history. It’ll be fascinating to see which teams creep into the Ohtani sweepstakes alongside the usual suspects like the Dodgers, Padres, and Mets.
The IL
James Paxton, LHP, Boston Red Sox: 15-day IL, right knee inflammation.
Max Scherzer, RHP, Texas Rangers: Out for rest of regular season, right teres major muscle strain.
Adbert Azolay, RHP, Chicago Cubs: 15-day IL, right forearm strain.
Jose Siri, OF, Tampa Bay Rays: Out for rest of regular season, right-hand fracture.
Brandon Belt, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays: 10-day IL, lumbar spine muscle spasms.
Triston Casas, 1B, Boston Red Sox: 10-day IL, right shoulder inflammation.
Michael Fulmer, RHP, Chicago Cubs: 15-day IL, right forearm strain.
Dominant On The Bump
Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins
8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 14 K, 0 BB vs. New York Mets
Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers
8.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. New York Yankees
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers
9.0 IP (CG), 6 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB vs. Miami Marlins
Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers
6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Miami Marlins
Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 1 BB vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 2 BB vs. Oakland Athletics
Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates
8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB vs. Washington Nationals
Kodai Senga, New York Mets
6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Lucas Giolito, Cleveland Guardians
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 12 K, 1 BB vs. Texas Rangers
Zach Eflin, Tampa Bay Rays
7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 0 BB vs. Baltimore Orioles
Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Los Angeles Angels
Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 0 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
Chase Anderson, Colorado Rockies
7.0 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 5 BB vs. San Francisco Giants
Jose Berrios, Toronto Blue Jays
7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 0 BB vs. Boston Red Sox
Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 0 BB vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Chris Sale, LHP, Boston Red Sox
6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 2 BB vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Big Bombs
Astros slugger Kyle Tucker recorded his 100th career homer (5:55 mark below):
Aaron Judge propelled the Yankees to victory over the Red Sox with a grand slam.
Twins third baseman Royce Lewis belted his FOURTH grand slam in just 20 days.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. became the second player since 1900 to hit a grand slam and steal three bases in a game. Mike Cameron accomplished the feat in 2002.
Web Gem Of The Week
Brewers rookie outfielder Sal Frelick preserved the combined no-hitter against the Yankees with a wild catch despite colliding with the center fielder. This one was so great, it got the Jomboy breakdown treatment:
Welcome To The Show
Rangers prospect Evan Carter notched his first MLB homer in a win over the Blue Jays.
Tigers pitching prospect Sawyer Gipson-Long made his MLB debut against the White Sox on Sunday. The 25-year-old righty allowed two runs on four hits while striking out five in five innings of work.
Cubs top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong made his MLB debut on Monday.
Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela and Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio tallied their first career homers.
Nationals pitching prospect and former No. 1 draft pick Jackson Rutledge made his big-league debut Wednesday vs. the Pirates and it didn’t go well. The 24-year-old righty allowed seven runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out two in 3.2 innings.
The Orioles called up their No. 3 prospect Heston Kjerstad. His first MLB hit was also his first home run Friday against the Rays (6:52 mark below):
Quick Takeaways
The Rangers put together a six-game win streak to get right back into the AL West race. They’re only a half-game behind the first-place Astros. The Mariners are right there with them at 1.5 games back. Get your popcorn ready.
The other division race coming down to the wire is the AL East. The Orioles and Rays are fighting for that top spot and they’ve been going head-to-head this week in Baltimore. Tampa took the first two games of the series to tie for the division lead, but Baltimore regained sole possession of first place with a win in Game 3. Game 4 of the series is today.
Matt Olson is the new Braves record-holder with 52 home runs this season. What a year for the former Oakland A.
We’ve got a couple of division clinchers: the Braves in the NL East, the Dodgers in the NL West. No surprises here. An NLCS matchup between these two powerhouses seems like a foregone conclusion.
The Blue Jays and Mariners are fighting for the third wild card spot in the AL. Toronto currently holds a half-game lead there.
The NL Wild Card race is much more interesting. Arizona and Cincinnati are tied for that third spot and Chicago is only a half-game ahead of them. Meanwhile, Miami is only a half-game back of that coveted third wild-card spot, and San Francisco is hanging on by a thread at 2.5 games back.
Rapid Fire
The Mets hired former Brewers GM David Stearns as their next president of baseball operations. Stearns will make $10M per season over the next five years.
The Nationals signed GM Mike Rizzo to a multi-year contract extension.
The Padres shut down veteran righty Yu Darvish for the rest of the season due to a stress reaction in his elbow. They signed Darvish to a six-year extension last offseason.
The Angels apparently are willing to trade Mike Trout if the future Hall of Famer
John Means is back. The Orioles ace was activated from the 60-day IL and returned to the mound against the Cardinals. He allowed three runs on five hits in five innings.
Blue Jays righty Alek Manoah’s abysmal season is over as he was shut down after refusing another Triple-A assignment. A preseason Cy Young pick by many, including myself, Manoah finishes the 2023 campaign with a 5.87 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in 19 starts. Oof.
Thanks for reading!