Category: MLB

The injuries have piled up for the Royals this year, and now they’ve affected their best player.

Bobby Witt Jr. was placed on the Injured List for the first time in his career on Wednesday, after missing the last two games with lower back tightness. The Royals selected infielder Andrew Velazquez from Triple-A Omaha and placed pitcher Stephen Kolek on the 60-day Injured List to make room on the 40-man roster.

Witt was playing like an MVP candidate for most of the year, hitting .279/.350/.450 with 13 home runs and a league-high 30 steals. He led the American League with 4.9 rWAR, and lead all defensive players in Outs Above Average at +19. Recently, he made his first-ever start in the All-Star Game, drawing a walk and scoring a run. Witt has played in at last 150 games in each of his first four seasons, and missed just five games last year. He missed six games earlier this year with a knee injury, but avoided the Injured List.

The Royals signed Velazquez to a minor league contract last month. The 32-year-old has played in parts of six MLB seasons with the Rays, Guardians, Orioles, Yankees, and Angels, hitting .189/.244/.293 in 275 games. He last played in the big leagues in 2023, appearing in 54 games with the Angels. He began this year in the Diamondbacks organization, and was hitting .259/.328/.315 in 18 games with Omaha. Velazquez is a switch-hitter who has played who has played ever position except first and catcher.

Kolek was on a rehab stint with Omaha to ramp him back up after he missed time on a family emergency, but suffered forearm tightness in his start at Triple-A on July 18. The Royals will get a second opinion on his injury, as forearm tightness is commonly associated with elbow injuries that require Tommy John surgery.

This past weekend was the celebration of the 2016 championship Cubs on their 10-year reunion. The various gatherings and events brought back a lot of nostalgia. Tuesday night’s Cub win also brought back some of that nostalgia. This was the blueprint of so much of that season. Jump all over the other team early and cruise to victory. Once Cub starter David Peterson was lifted from the game, there were just two more plays that registered any WPA. Aaron Civale allowed a single to the first batter he faced (-.001) and retired the second (.001). Each team had two turns at the plate, but neither dented WPA after that. 31 of the 86 plays in this game registered .000.

Perspective check: Four teams have more wins than the Cubs. The Cubs have solo possession of the first Wild Card position in the NL. The Cubs are on pace to win 91.4 games. They continue to have that tight projection in the 90-92 range. Overall, I think that range is probably something like 88-94, allowing for swings in either direction. As I keep saying, starting Friday, there is a significant test coming. The team has played well for over a month now. Hopefully, there is something they can take from that and bring forth into this stretch.

Ironically, the Cubs won this one the way they lost the one before. Granted, it was a much longer duration. But the Cubs weren’t particularly crushing Framber Valdez. But, they were patient, took what was given to them, got a couple of good breaks and poured it on, knocking Valdez out with more than 40 pitches thrown and only two outs recorded. That was the first time Valdez failed to survive the first inning since July 11, 2019 when he allowed four runs on four hits and three walks. This was only his second-ever start, in 185 total starts, where he didn’t throw at least three innings.

When it gets this lopsided this quickly, you end up with silly baseball. The Cubs faced two innings of position player pitching that accounted for three hits, four walks and two runs. So in the six innings against guys who get paid to pitch, the team had eight hits, seven walks, two hit batters and nine runs. Nine different Cubs had hits, six different Cubs drew walks, nine different Cubs scored runs, seven different Cubs had RBI’s. So it was a really balanced attack for the Cubs.

Leading the way was Pete Crow-Armstrong who started the game with a triple, walked later in the inning and ended up with two hits and three walks. That’s one very odd full house. He drove in two and scored a run. The Cubs only had one double, one triple and one homer. They stole one base. So this attack was death by a thousand paper cuts for the Tigers.

David Peterson threw a couple of pitches were crushed, but I do at least want to nod to pitching to the conditions with a huge lead and the wind howling in. On paper, Peterson’s results were terrific. He allowed three hits and a walk over 6.2 innings. He was so effective that the Cubs had a second straight day of coming up short on an odd stat. On Monday, the Cubs fell short of a potential 11th walk-off. On Tuesday, Aaron Civale was two outs short of becoming the 11th Cub to record a save. The three-inning save has been one of the more available vectors for the pitching staff to record saves.

This was definitely one of those wins that you hope you can carry some of that offense forward to Wednesday. It would be really nice to notch another series win before that 17-game gauntlet starts. There are definitely going to be some series losses in there. So you just want to bank as much as you can. With any luck, the team will see reinforcements from multiple directions during that gauntlet. They should have some of their own guys getting healthy and they should also trade for some live arms from other teams.

Keep marching on.

Three Positives and Pete:

• David Peterson gets the top spot with 6.2 scoreless innings.
• Dansby Swanson had two singles, drew a walk and scored three runs.
• Ian Happ had a single, drew a walk and was hit by a pitch. He drove in a run and scored another.
• Pete’s appearance here is more than obligatory. He was the star offensively, reaching base five times. Forget any mention of the word slump. As great a season as he is having, Pete added four points to his batting average, seven to his on base, and eight to his slugging percentage. The net result was four points on his wRC+. Always unbelievable.

Game 101, July 21: Cubs 11, Tigers 2 (57-44)

Reminder: Heroes and Goats are determined by WPA scores and are in no way subjective.

THREE HEROES:

• Superhero: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.146). 2-2, 3B, 3 BB, 2 RBI, R
• Hero: Carson Kelly (.121). 1-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI, R
• Sidekick: David Peterson (.110). 6.2 IP, 24 BF, 3 H, BB, 0 R, 4 K (W 2-1)

THREE GOATS:

• Billy Goat: Kevin Alcantara (-.035). 0-2
• Goat: Dansby Swanson (-.013). 2-3, BB, 3 R, SB
• Kid: Justin Dean (.000). 0-1

WPA Note: Dean, Pedro Ramirez and Aaron Civale all registered .000 WPA. Of the three, Dean’s was the most “negative” outcome of the three. While Civale allowed two runs, his job was clearly to eat outs and he did that. Obviously, Dean’s job was largely to give PCA a few innings off. But in these spots, I will make a choice for the last spot.

WPA Play of the Game: Carson Kelly’s two-run single in the first, driving in the first two runs. (.116)

Tigers Play of the Game: Framber Valdez’ strike out of Kevin Alcantara for the second out in the first inning. (.028)

Cubs Player of the Game:

Game 100 Winner: Ian Happ 38 of 55 votes.

Rizzo Award Standings: (Top 5/Bottom 5)

The award is named for Anthony Rizzo, who finished first in this category three of the first four years it was in existence and four times overall. He also recorded the highest season total ever at +65.5. The point scale is three points for a Superhero down to negative three points for a Billy Goat.

• Pete Crow-Armstrong +21
• Carson Kelly +17.5
• Michael Busch +16
• Ben Brown/Alex Bregman +13.5
• Jameson Taillon/Phil Maton -10
• Nico Hoerner -11
• Caleb Thielbar -14
• Dansby Swanson -16

Up Next: The third and final game of the series between the Tigers and Cubs. Colin Rea (7-6, 4.74) starts for the Cubs. Rea is just 2-3 with a 5.00 over his last seven appearances (36 IP). He does have two wins and a quality start over his last three starts. The Tigers start Keider Montero (6-5, 3.22). The 26-year-old Venezuelan hasn’t started a game since June 26. In five July appearances, he is 2-0 with a 2.08 (13 IP). His high pitch count in there is 58. He only threw 43 in his last one. That may help explain the Tigers going to position players for the final two innings. Montero feels unlikely to get deep in this one. Even when he was starting, he topped out at 96 pitches. Last June, the Cubs scored four runs in 5.2 against him. The four runs were four solo homers (Suzuki, Busch, Crow-Armstrong and Shaw).

Unlikely to be easy but go win a series.

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It might have taken until the 25th hour last night, but Jacob Wilson delivered my longest home run prop of the year at +1140, and let's hope it's the start of a home-run heater. Let's cash some MLB player props.

Fading Dean Kremer has to be on the card, and Masataka Yoshida is the left-handed bat I want, while Aaron Nola has been serving up long balls all year and nobody has seen him more than Freddie Freeman. 

Finally, how can we leave Jacob Wilson off the card after last night, and at a better price, today? Spoiler: We can't.

These are my favorite home run predictions and MLB picks for Wednesday, July 22. 

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Masataka Yoshida	+1000
Freddie Freeman	+406
Jacob Wilson	+1180
💲Today's HR parlay	+48476

Home run pick: Masataka Yoshida (+1000)

After backing Jacob Wilson at +1140, I'm like a vampire with a thirst for 10/1 home runs or better, and Dean Kremer at Fenway with the wind blowing out is my next target. I'm playing this down to +750 in the first game of a doubleheader, where Kremer could be asked to eat innings.

Kremer currently owns the worst HR/FB rate among qualified MLB starters and the third-worst HR/9. He's already surrendered nine home runs in just 26 innings, with left-handed hitters doing most of the damage.

Masataka Yoshida is one of only two Red Sox with an OPS north of 1.000 over the last 30 days and ranks near the top of the club in most offensive categories. He isn't known as a prolific home run hitter, but he's in the middle of a nice power surge with two homers and a .351 average over his last 10 games.

The matchup and the setting are there today to take a shot at a massive price. There is only one lefty arm in the Orioles pen today, as well. 

• Time: 1:35 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NESN, MASN

Home run pick: Freddie Freeman (+406)

Citizens Bank Park still ranks as the No. 2 home run park on today's slate, according to Ballpark Pal, despite a slight wind blowing in.

That's great news for the Dodgers' bats against Aaron Nola, who has been one of the more home run-prone pitchers in baseball this season. He served up three homers in his last start on the 16th and has allowed multiple home runs in five of his last seven outings. It's a dinger upgrade across the Dodgers' lineup, and Nola doesn't discriminate, giving them up to both lefties and righties.

Only Tommy Edman owns a better OPS than Freddie Freeman over the last 30 days in the Dodgers' clubhouse, and Freeman has plenty of history against Nola with 76 career at-bats. Nola has gotten the better of him over the years with a .237 average and just two home runs allowed, but this version of the Phillies' right-hander is the most vulnerable Freeman has ever faced.

Almost the entire Dodgers lineup projects as +EV to go deep today, but Freeman at +370 or better is where I'm landing. It also helps that the Phillies have just one available lefty in the bullpen.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, SportsNet LA

Home run pick: Jacob Wilson (+1180)

How about some damn respect for Jacob Wilson, who has gone deep three times over his last four games and cashed a monster ticket last night at +1140. The Athletics' leadoff man has seen at least five plate appearances in each game during this heater and is riding a nine-game hitting streak, batting .421 with a .721 slugging percentage and six multi-hit performances.

The matchup is in his favor again today against Merrill Kelly, who has been one of the hardest-hit pitchers in baseball this season. Kelly owns the worst BlastContact% of any starter on today's slate and ranks among the bottom 50 in both HR/FB and HR/9. He has also been far more vulnerable at home, posting a 6.69 ERA compared to a 4.28 mark on the road. Since the start of 2024, his HR/9 is also 0.4 higher at home.

I'm riding the Wilson train until this price drops. I'd play this dinger down to +800 today.

• Time: 3:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBC Sports California, Diamondbacks.TV

Today’s HR parlay

Masataka Yoshida	Bet Now +48476
Freddie Freeman
Jacob Wilson

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This game is priced as a coin flip, with Chicago and Texas both carrying -110 odds on the moneyline.

Anthony Kay is not pitching as well as his results indicate, and the lefty-mashing Rangers should take full advantage of that.

Let's break it all down with my White Sox vs. Rangers predictions and MLB picks for Wednesday, July 22.

Who will win White Sox vs Rangers today: Texas Rangers moneyline (-110)

Anthony Kay’s 3.15 ERA has masked the fact he owns a 4.85 xFIP over the last 30 days.

The southpaw is playing with fire, and there’s real potential he gets burned against the Texas Rangers. 

They have hammered left-handed pitching unlike any other team, ranking first in average, OPS, and wOBA since June 1. 

The Chicago White Sox sit 21st in wOBA vs. right-handed pitching this month. They’re in a bit of a rut, which should help Cal Quantrill avoid a blow up.

Back the Rangers to take the rubber match up to -125.

COVERS INTEL:Kay ranks in the 12th percentile with a 5.35 xERA this season.

White Sox vs Rangers Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-120)

Kay has posted an xERA of 5.05 or worse in three of his last four starts. He’s allowing a lot of quality contact and it’ll be tough to get the cat back in the bag against an offense feasting on lefties.

While the White Sox haven’t lit it up of late, this is a good spot to get on track. They’ll see a lot of Quantrill, who ranks in the 21st percentile in barrel rate and has allowed 2.14 homers per nine innings the last month. That should play well for their power.

Bet to -130.

White Sox vs Rangers weather

This game will be played in a dome.

White Sox vs Rangers odds

• Moneyline: Chicago -110 | Texas -110
• Run line: Chicago -1.5 (+150) | Texas +1.5 (-175)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-120) | Under 8.5 (+100)

White Sox vs Rangers trend

Texas has hit the Game Total Over in 18 of the last 24 home games (+11.35 units, 42% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for White Sox vs. Rangers.

How to watch White Sox vs Rangers and game info

White Sox vs Rangers latest injuries

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Another day of minor league baseball is in the books. See the results below.

AAA: Sugar Land Space Cowboys (48-48) won 3-2 (BOX SCORE)

Sugar Land got on the board in the 2nd inning on a Guillemette groundout. Hendrickson started for Sugar Land and pitched well allowing 2 runs over 6 innings while striking out 7. Sugar Land tied it up in the 6th on a Brooks RBI single. The bullpen pitched well keeping the game tied at 2 and in the bottom of the 10th, Biggio walked it off as Sugar Land won 3-2.

Note: Ullola has a 1.47 ERA in relief for Sugar Land.

• Cavan Biggio, 1B: 1-for-4, RBI
• Joey Loperfido, RF: 1-for-4, R, SB
• Shay Whitcomb, LF: 2-for-4, R
• Trenton Brooks, DH: 2-for-3 RBI, BB

• Josh Hendrickson, LHP: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
• Michael Knorr, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• Logan VanWey, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Alimber Santa, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• Miguel Ullola, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (WIN)

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (42-49) lost 7-6 (BOX SCORE)

The Hooks got on the board in the first inning scoring 3 runs on an Austin RBI single, an error and a Call solo home run. They got another run in the 4th inning on a Whitaker solo home run. Dombroski started for the Hooks and allowed 3 runs over 4.1 innings. Perez came on in relief in the 8th but struggled allowing 3 runs as the Sod Poodles took the lead. The Hooks got one back in the 8th inning on an Encarnacion RBI single. David allowed a run in the 9th and in the bottom of the 9th, the Hooks got a run on a Call RBI single but that was it as the Hooks fell 7-6.

Note: Call has a .974 OPS in Double-A.

• Yamal Encarnacion, 2B: 3-for-4, R, 2B, RBI
• Trevor Austin, 3B: 3-for-4, R, RBI, BB, SB
• Will Bush, C: 1-for-5, R, 2B
• Chase Call, LF: 2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB
• Cameron Sisneros, 1B: 1-for-4, R, BB, SB
• Tyler Whitaker, CF: 2-for-5, R, HR, RBI
• Max Holy, SS: 1-for-4, R, SB

• Trey Dombroski, LHP: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
• Alejandro Torres, RHP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• Jack Dashwood, LHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Railin Perez, RHP: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• Ramsey David, RHP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

A+: Asheville Tourists (32-57) POSTPONED

A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (45-44) won 7-0 (BOX SCORE)

The Woodpeckers got on the board in the first inning on an Alvarez solo home run. In the 2nd inning, the offense put up 2 runs on a Newman groundout and Wakefield RBI single. They scored 2 more runs in the 3rd inning on a wild pitch and Fielder RBI single. The offense continued to add on with an Alvarez RBI single in the 4th and Newman sac fly in the 6th. Fraide got the start and pitched well striking out 6 over 5 innings. The game was called in the 6th inning due to rain as Fayetteville won 7-0.

Note: Fraide has a 2.38 ERA this season in Fayetteville.

• Josh Wakefield, DH: 2-for-3, R, RBI
• Kevin Alvarez, CF: 2-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, SB
• Waner Luciano, 3B: 1-for-2, R, BB, SB
• Arturo Flores, C: 1-for-3, R
• Jadyn Fielder, 1B: 2-for-3, R, RBI, SB
• Brandon Nigh, 2B: 1-for-3, R, 3B

• Juan Fraide, RHP: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (WIN)

Today’s minor league starters:

SL: Brandon McPherson – 7:05 CT

CC: Cole Hertzler – 6:35 CT

AV: Anthony Cruz – 5:30 CT

FV: TBD – 5:35 CT

Without loads of individual brilliance, the player of the day pick was clear with a dominating outing in Single-A.

Player of the day

Will Gagnon was nearly untouchable for the Tower Buzzers, delivering his finest performance to this point, holding the Giants to just three hits on his way to winning the game with a season-high 10 punchouts.

Striking people out was never an issue for Gagnon this season, but limiting the opposition to no free passes came as a surprise, something he had not done since the middle of May.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Waiting until the eighth inning to score all three runs they would in this game certainly didn’t help; nevertheless, the burden of remaining winless this season still falls on the shoulders of Jackson Ferris himself, allowing five runs, four of them earned, in a 7-3 defeat for the Comets.

It is not your day when your leadoff hitter, in this case Alek Thomas, strikes out three times. All the Comets’ scoring came from the bat of Ryan Ward with a three-run shot in the eighth inning.

The River Cats quickly answered with two in the bottom of that frame to keep the last frame drama-free.

Double-A Tulsa

Scoring nine runs, the Drillers’ offense gave the pitching staff a far bigger margin for error than they needed in a 9-2 win, holding the Travelers to a mere three hits the whole game. If Ferris remains winless in Triple-A, Roque Gutierrez knows no other result than a win, earning his seventh with 5.1 scoreless frames, punching out five and walking two.

Producing five hits in nine at-bats with a runner in scoring position, the Drillers offense didn’t even need many extra-base hits for this offensive explosion. Mike Sirota capitalized on the benefits of hitting in front of Kendall George and Josue De Paula with a 2-for-4 performance, driving in a third of his team’s runs.

High-A Great Lakes

Outhitting your opponent 12 to 7 doesn’t matter much when you allow a seven-run rally—this is what happened as the Loons were beaten by a score of 9 to 6 by the Lugnuts. A couple of ninth-inning home runs from Charles Davalan and Logan Wagner kept the final score close even if the Loons were not really in it.

Relievers Nicolas Cruz and Justin Chambers were the responsible parties for this seven-run sixth inning that took the Loons out of the game. Starter Sean Patick had a reasonably productive outing, allowing just a pair of runs in five innings of work.

Single-A Ontario

Will Gagnon struck out 10 in six scoreless innings and did so averaging fewer than 12 pitches per frame. With that level of production from its starting pitcher, the Tower Buzzers had to follow through and win this game over the Giants by a final score of 6-2.

There was never anyone on to make these more than solo shots, but leaving the yard three times, the Tower Buzzers scored in five different half-innings. Third baseman Easton Shelton is now one homer away from 30 on the season, responsible for one of those three long balls. One Ontario hitter who didn’t have a good time was Ching-Hsien Ko, striking out four times.

Transactions

Right-handed pitcher Landon Knack was optioned to the Comets, also activating recently acquired reliever Seth Halvorsen. Right-hander Brady Smith was assigned to the Tower Buzzers, while Aidan Foeller was assigned to the Loons.

Tuesday’s scores

• Sacramento 7, Oklahoma City 3
• Arkansas 2, Tulsa 9
• Lansing 9, Great Lakes 6
• San Jose 2, Ontario 6

Wednesday’s schedule

• 12:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Christian Romero) at Sacramento (TBD)
• 1:00 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at San Jose (TBD)
• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Isaac Ayon) at Lansing (Samuel Dutton)
• 4:35 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Patrick Copen) at Arkansas (Ryan Hawks)

Morning, all!

The Rangers have agreed to deals with their top three draft picks and introduced them Tuesday.

Lefty reliever Marco Gonzales has joined the big league club, replacing Jose Corniell who is heading to the IL with a flexor tendon issue.

Kyle Higashioka is also headed to the IL with a flexor tendon issue and will be out for an unspecified amount of time.

And, if that wasn’t enough, Josh Jung exited last night’s game with a left calf injury.

Jung hopes to play in today’s finale against Chicago and says that he wanted to play through it last night.

It’s still unclear whether Corey Seager will be back from his tricky back before the August 3rd trade deadline.

Kumar Rocker and Brandon Nimmo were the heroes in last night’swin over the White Sox.

Rocker threw six innings of one hit ball on 10 days rest, and probably still has some left in the tank as he left the game after only 75 pitches.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

It is the time of year when baseball sites, including Gaslamp Ball, try to predict or look ahead at what could be in store for various teams around MLB. The San Diego Padres have had a confounding 100-plus games this season. At times, the starting pitching appeared to be carrying the team, while at other times it, albeit on fewer occasions, it seemed the offense was carrying the team. This inconsistent play has led the Padres to a game below .500 with a record of 50-51. That is not exactly the position the Friar Faithful hoped to find their favorite team at this point in the season, but it still has San Diego within striking distance of a Wild Card berth.

With that being said, the MLB Trade Deadline is just around the corner on Aug. 3 and the path for the Padres is anything but clear. One thing is for certain; president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller is not one to sit idly by at the deadline. He is always in conversations with various teams around the league about any number of players. Of course, he also listens to offers on his own player, but recent seasons have seen Preller focus on adding to his club.

The 2026 season and deadline may be one of the rare occasions where Preller is forced to sell. It is not something he seems to want to do no matter the situation, but it is something a prudent front office executive will have to do from time to time. Preller may have to part with pieces to build up his minor league system. It has been rumored he could look to move a major player like Mason Miller in hopes that he could attach an albatross contract like Xander Bogaerts in an effort to get some salary relief. However, he also has his top minor league prospect in Ethan Salas who could fetch a fair trade should the Padres convince Preller to go all-in at the deadline.

The Padres Reacts Survey poll question this week on Gaslamp Ball focuses on those two players. Miller is arguably the best player on the San Diego roster and is already rumored to be the crown jewel of the trade season and Salas could be a unicorn as a switch-hitting catcher who is better on defense with his offensive skills steadily improving. It is not hard to imagine Miller or Salas being moved in a trade and they could be moved for very different reasons. Who has the most value? Miller or Salas. Which player, if traded, would be more difficult to lose? There is nothing set in terms of how Preller will approach the deadline but these questions may become very real very fast depending on the remaining games before the deadline.

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

Good morning friends and happy Wednesday!

The Mariners failed to get their offense going last night against Chase Burns and the Reds, dropping the middle match 4-2.

How have you felt watching Eugenio Suárez find success during this series? I can’t help but be happy for him, even if I think letting him walk was the right decision for Seattle.

In Mariners news…

• Unsurprisingly, Miles Mastrobuoni cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.
• Make sure to mark your caLLendars for the fifth annual Tim Cantu MemoriaLL SoftbaLL game on September 20!
• Kate Preusser talked to Cole Young about the changes he made with Edgar Martinez to fuel his mid-summer hot stretch.
• Zach Mason broke down the first few outings for left-hander Gabe Speier since he returned from the injured list, which has seen increased velocity but decreased results.
• The Mariners were reportedly among the teams recently scouting Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos and utilityman Casey Schmitt.

Around the league…

• The MLBPA presented a proposal to the league concerning MLB Draft rules, with changes including opening up draft eligibility for college sophomores and a bonus pool increase for teams that make the playoffs the prior year.
• The Angels are reportedly keeping an open line with teams regarding top controllable players including shortstop Zach Neto and starting pitchers Reid Detmers and José Soriano.
• The Angels fired a pro scout who calls himself “The Baseball Spy” after he was caught filming Rockies coaches with his phone while in the stands. Brittany Ghiroli and Sam Blum at The Athletic have the report. ($)
• Longtime ESPN baseball announcer Karl Ravech was laid off from the company just hours after calling his last game for them.
• The Rangers have called up former Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales.
• They’re not the only division rival newly employing an old friend…

• The Tigers placed right-hander Jack Flaherty on the injured list with flexor inflammation.
• White Sox catcher Kyle Teel is expected to miss 6-12 weeks with a high ankle sprain.
• Yankees ace left-hander Max Fried will be activated from the injured list today to make his start against the Pirates. Fried has been on the shelf since mid-May with a bone bruise in his throwing elbow.
• Rob Mains at Baseball Prospectus uncovered whether fast center fielders are reliably better at defense than their slower counterparts. ($)
• Ben Clemens at Fangraphs released No. 31-40 in his annual trade value series with a pair of Mariners making the cut.

Columbus Clippers 13, St. Paul Saints 2

Clippers improve to 51-45

Nearly everyone got involved in this offensive eruption.

Angel Genao led the way, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two walks.

Cooper Ingle also reached base safely four times, going 2-for-4 with two walks, as did Kody Huff, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks.

George Valera went 1-for-3 with a double and two walks and Milan Tolentino went 2-f0r-4 with a home run and a walk. Juan Brito blasted a three-run home run and Bo Naylor went 2-for-6. Alfonsin Rosario doubled and Ralphy Velazquez walked twice and was hit by a pitch.

Starting pitcher Trenton Denholm was rock solid, allowing one run on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk in 5.1 innings to earn the win.

Steven Perez and Daniel Espino were both superb out of the bullpen. Perez tossed 1.2 scoreless innings and Espino had a perfect eighth inning with a strikeout. Tanner Burns pitched around a solo home run to close out the win in his return from the injured list.

Akron RubberDucks 7, Altoona Curve 8

RubberDucks fall to 42-48

Tim Herrin’s rehab outing did not go smoothly. The southpaw was used as the opener Tuesday and he was lit up for three runs on two walks and a hit while only getting one out.

Offensively, Angel Martinez continues to perform well in his rehab assignment. This time, he blasted a home run and a double in four plate appearances.

Nolan Schubart went 2-for-4 with a walk while Jacob Cozart went 2-for-5 with a home run.

Jose Devers and Christian Knapczyl added doubles.

Matt Jachec impressed out of the bullpen with 2.0 scoreless innings. Cam Walty also had a scoreless apppearance.

Lake County Captains 4, Dayton Dragons 5

Captains fall to 50-37

Lake County looked like it had this one in the bag after jumping out to a 6-0 lead, but Michael Kennedy thought otherwise.

Harrison Bodendorf was tremendous in his High-A debut, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts, one walk and two hits allowed.

Kennedy was fine finishing the fifth inning, but then he gave up a run in the sixth, another in the seventh, three more in the eighth before allowing the tying run to score in the ninth. Conner Zsak then allowed the walk-off winner.

Offensively, Juneiker Caceres had his best game since being promoted to High-A, going 3-for-5 with a triple.

Tommy Hawke walked three times and stole a pair of bases. Jonah Advincula singled, walked twice and stole two bases as well and Welbyn Francisca went 2-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base while catcher Ty Howard singled and walked twice.

The lone position player left behind at High-A from last year’s draft class, first round pick Jace LaViolette showed there was a reason he didn’t get promoted to Akron by going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.

Hill City’s game was postponed due to weather.

If your offense is struggling, you know what they say, “Trade for another catcher.”

You can view our larger trade deadline piece here as we discuss a wider pool of options the Guardians may consider. To make my position clear, I expect the Guardians to make smaller moves, like trading Bo Naylor and getting a castoff/undervalued reliever. But, in the interest of exploring potential larger moves, we are doing a series looking at some of those bigger names. So far, we have discussed Spencer Steer and Luis Arraez. Today, we look at Sacramento Athletics’ star hitter, Shea Langeliers.

I am about to bury the lede about Langeliers, so let’s talk about his hitting. He has a 111 wRC+ for his career, 123 wRC+ this season with a .359 xwOBA, with a 129 wRC+ for his career vs LHP and 105 wRC+ vs. RHP. He offers a lot of slugging as part of his offensive profile, with his slugging percentage over .500 for the last two seasons. Langeliers has been reported to have turned down a contract extension with the A’s and is only under team control through 2028 while about to turn 29 years old by the end of the season.

Why would the Guardians acquire a catcher, you may ask? Langeliers is not a good defensive catcher by the metrics with -30 Defensive Runs Saved and -32 Fielding Runs Value for his career. He appears to be having his best defensive season, currently, and will almost certainly resist being asked to move positions. If a team wants to acquire Langeliers as a starting catcher, I suspect they will beat any offer Cleveland makes. I think Cleveland would try to move Langeliers into a part-time catcher role, working on teaching him first base and having him DH. One potential selling point for Langeliers might be the way to prolong his career and increase his offensive output may be to play catcher less often and add first base defense to his toolbox. Langeliers isn’t a good pitch framer but this skill is not as important with ABS challenges instituted (and full ABS likely not far behind).

Admittedly, just like with most right-handed hitters, Langeliers’ home run output would be affected by the 19-foot wall at Progressive Field. His career 110 homers would be more like 93 with Cleveland as his home part according to Baseball Savant, but that still amounts to around 27 home runs in a season of full-time at-bats here. There simply aren’t many right-handed hitters out there who wouldn’t see some homers turned into doubles with Cleveland as their home park.

I can’t say I see Cleveland expending more resources on acquiring a catcher with defensive questions, given that they just traded for Patrick Bailey. However, on the outside chance that Langeliers indicates willingness to move positions, I am offering this potential trade for your consideration. To get Langeliers, I believe it would require one of the Guardians’ top prospects in Angel Genao, Ralphy Velazquez, Juneiker Caceres or Braylon Doughty. I am not here to tell you that Cleveland SHOULD part with one of those or to choose which one, but I am willing to say that Langeliers is one of those rare right-handed sluggers for whom I would consider such a move, especially as I do think his hitting will improve if he is not wearing his body down with catching. In my mind, this opportunity is a chance to get in on a “Willson Contreras”-type hitter early, if Langeliers is open to moving positions/playing DH more full-time. I would like the Guardians to consider their DH role less as a way to get players off their feet (give them more days off, instead) and use that lineup spot to find an actual slugger. So few sluggers are available but I do believe Langeliers will be available… for a healthy return of prospects for the young and constantly rebuilding/retooling A’s.

A post-Langeliers trade lineup might look like:
1. Kwan CF
2. Jose 3B
3. DeLauter RF
4. Langeliers DH
5. Manzardo 1B
6. Rocchio SS
7. Martinez LF
8. Hedges C
9. Bazzana 2B

Let me know what you think about this slightly unorthodox trade target for the Guardians in the comments below!