Category: Baseball

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A.J. Puk and Carlos Santana are rehabbing in Reno. Lourdes Gurriel Jr recently started his rehab assignment at Salt River Fields. The team signed Max Kepler to a deal. The clock is ticking on all these players, and in the next couple of weeks, decisions will need to be made, regarding what to do with them. There’s really three separate levels at which these choices have to be executed. Let’s look at each in turn, and see where the Diamondbacks stand.

The 40-man roster

Gurriel is, at least, already on here. Having been placed only on the 10-day injured list, that saves his spot on the 40-man roster. But Puk and Santana are both on the 60-day IL. While a positive at the time, in that they no longer counted towards the 40-man roster, in order for them to be re-activated, a spot will have to be cleared on that. Kepler, similarly, is not on Arizona’s 40-man roster, because he is still serving out the end of his 80-game suspension for a failed drug test. But when that happens, the team will also need to find a spot, if they want to keep him. All told, that’s three 40-man spots Arizona probably needs to find.

Let’s exclude the current 26-man roster from consideration here, calling their spots on the 40-man roster secure for the time being. That leaves fourteen men. Nine of them are pitchers, three are position players, and there are two on the 10-day IL: Gurriel and catcher James McCann. The latter is out with a strained quad, which led to an IL placement on May 19. Might he be moved to the 60-day IL? Quads are tricky things, especially for catchers. However, he reportedly started facing a pitching machine and doing catching drills last week. Unless there’s a set-back, 60-daying McCann – sidelining him for at least another five weeks – seems excessive. Especially with Aramis Garcia as the backup catcher.

The three position players are Jose Fernandez, Tim Tawa and Tyler Locklear. The first two were on the active roster until just a few days ago. If they were going to be DFAd, it would probably have have happened when they were taken off it (on June 5th and 1st respectively). I think it’s interesting that Locklear wasn’t activated when he came off the IL, especially given Arizona’s struggles at 1B, where their production is among the worst in the majors. But he has been merely okay in Reno: his .786 OPS in 25 games through Monday is basically team average. Still, the team traded for him for a reason, and it seems unlikely they’d cut bait as yet.

My instinct is, there’s going to be a bit of a National German Chocolate Cake Day Massacre (you know I’ll be celebrating that one tomorrow) among the minor-league pitching staff. Below, I’ve ranked the nine pitchers from most secure to most at risk, in terms of whose 40-man roster spot is in jeopardy. Generally, starters preferred over relievers, age and current level of performance also taken into account. All stats through Monday.

1. Brandon Pfaadt. Despite his fall from grace, definitely not going anywhere.
2. Mitch Bratt. Performing very well – a 2.68 ERA in 10 Reno starts is stellar. Currently on the MiLB IL with back inflammation
3. Yilber Díaz. Best K-rate of anyone currently in Reno – 38 Ks in 27.2 IP – but as ever, the walks (19) are an issue. Future closer potential.
4. Dylan Ray. A starter, and a 4.82 ERA is reasonable. He’s also young for AAA, but is on the 7-day IL for the second time this season.
5. Kohl Drake. A 7.80 ERA isn’t great. But he’s a starting pitcher and a left-hander, two big reasons to keep him around.
6. Andrew Hoffmann. Prone to the meltdown. Allowed 19 ER in twenty outings: 12 ER came in just two of those. Walks too many, but improved recently.
7. Philip Abner. Well, he’s left-handed and quite young. But that horrendous outing vs. Washington won’t have done his chances any good.
8. Kade Strowd. A rough game against the Nationals, and almost as many walks as strikeouts in Reno. Also turns 29 in September. so limited upside.
9. Juan Burgos. Came from Seattle with Locklear in the Suarez trade, but seems to have struggled since.

The 26-man roster

The next problem is going to be finding slots for everyone on the active roster. Let’s start with Puk, since he’s the only pitcher among the quartet, and there is a fairly easy solution there. As mentioned previously, the top of the D-backs bullpen has been excellent so far. The latest arrival was Drey Jameson, who took Pfaadt’s spot after the starter was optioned to Reno. His appearance in the Washington series didn’t exactly inspire confidence, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in an inning of work. Having only been recalled on the 6th, he seems the clear candidate to give up his spot for Puk.

On the position player side, LuJames Groover is the most obvious candidate for similar reasons, and will probably be going back down to Reno when Santana is available. It’s an infielder for an infielder, and with Santana being a switch-hitter, handedness isn’t particularly important. When Lourdes is ready, I’d not be surprised to see Adrian Del Castillo optioned out to Reno. I’ve a feeling the team may want to keep Gurriel off the field, given this is already his second IL stint of the year, and use him more as a DH. Del Castillo is a lefty though while Gurriel is a righty. If the team wants to remain balanced, and Gurriel is considered able to play the outfield, optioning Tommy Troy instead makes sense.

If that does happen, then making room for the final man would become relatively easy, with left-handed Del Castillo being replaced by left-handed Kepler, largely in the DH spot. So while the ordering may be uncertain, it looks as though Groover, Troy and Del Castillo will be the ones to give up their spots on the position player side, as and when necessary to make room for the returning players and new arrival.

The roles

I touched briefly on this above, mentioning whether Gurriel is going to keep playing the field, or become our primary DH. Given the problems with his legs, I would be inclined to keep him at DH where possible. While Gurriel has struggled at the plate this year (OPS+ just 66), he might have the best overall track record among the right-handed candidates there. The problem would be, DH starts vs. LHSP are going to be the minority. What do you do the rest of the time with a man who is earning $13 million this year, whether or not he plays?

That isn’t a particular problem with Kepler, who is likely earning little more than league minimum. If he doesn’t hit down in Reno – and there’s a non-zero chance of that – then the team can simply let him go, with no damage except to their reputation. Presuming that isn’t the case, and he joins the active roster, then he’ll likely get starts at DH against RHSP. Even with the low bar at 1B (the D-backs are dead last in OPS there, and it’s not close), it’s hard to see much time for Santana, except as a late-inning defensive replacement. I would not be surprised if he comes back, fails to hit and the D-backs release him before the trade deadline.

The most interesting situation will be Puk, and whether he’ll take over as closer from Paul Sewald. The latter has been almost perfect in save situation (15 of 16), but a FIP of 4.00 and a minuscule .137 BABIP suggests there may be a Paulpocalypse approaching. The latter is the third-lowest of the 360 pitchers with 20 IP this year. That might be good reason to transfer the closer’s mantle to A.J. as soon as possible, rather than continuing to roll the dice. But that’s what the poll below is for. How do you think the team should handle the closer’s situation when A.J. Puk returns? Make your selection below, and explain your decision in the comments.

The big advantage of having a blazing two-plus months and MLB’s best record? You can afford to ease off the gas here and there. The disadvantage? Your fans have to watch a team that sometimes eases off the gas. While I have no idea how long Ronald Acuña Jr. will actually be out as a result of his latest run-in with injury, it’s possible that it’s less than ten days and this is a precautionary, if warranted, Injured List placement:

This is Acuña’s second IL placement for a left hamstring issue this year. He previously missed about two weeks in May with a similar ailment. He had a .333 wOBA (111 wRC+) and a massive .380 xwOBA before his first IL stint, and then returned and posted a much more fortunate .390 wOBA (150 wRC+) with more or less the same inputs (.376 xwOBA). What will he do for his third act? Stay tuned, but it won’t start until at least ten days from now. On the season, he has 0.9 fWAR in 235 PAs, which is a pretty good rate for a player in general, but is well below what we’re used to from him — dragged down by his own defensive issues, and the lingering ball-in-play issues from April.

Taking Acuña’s spot on the active roster is Rowdy Tellez, a veteran of eight MLB seasons that signed a minor league deal with the Braves a week before Opening Day. Tellez has a career 98 wRC+ and 0.1 fWAR, which makes sense given that a league-average bat isn’t very useful if you aren’t providing any defensive value. He’s put up a 123 wRC+ in 207 PAs in Gwinnett. My main thought is: if Dominic Smith can be blessed with the bounty of the 2025 Braves and become a fan-favorite masher, why not Tellez? The answer? Well, he and Smith can’t both be in the lineup at the same time…

Part of the roster math here sees Jhancarlos Lara get DFAed. I have no real knowledge about Lara, but people used to talk about him as being exciting back in 2023, when he was striking out a million dudes as a starter in A-ball. Since then, he’s really fallen apart with ballooning walk rates and dwindling strikeout rates; even moving to a swingman and then a relief role didn’t salvage much. Lara was pitching out of the Double-A bullpen earlier this year and putting up ghastly numbers like an FIP and xFIP both in the 7.00s.

The real question, though: are you ready for more Eli White?

Apologies for going a few days without roundups for the San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball affiliates. Thankfully, Tuesday was a full day, with all seven teams in action, so there’s still lots to talk about!

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

News

High-A Eugene LHP Luis De La Torre (No. 14 CPL) was named Pitcher of the Week in the Northwest League after a 12-strikeout performance last week. Congrats!

AAA Sacramento (38-24)

Sacramento River Cats beat the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros) 5-4
Box score

What’s the pitching equivalent of “one to measure, two to rake?” Whatever it is, it’s a philosophy that LHP Matt Wilkinson apparently abides by. Wilkinson, acquired earlier this year in the Patrick Bailey trade, was promoted to AAA after just 9 games in AA. And in his AAA debut, he was unable to make it out of the 2nd inning.

But things went much, much better with his second take. The burly southpaw was sensational on Tuesday, striking out 9 Space Cowboys in 5 innings, while throwing 53 of 81 pitches for strikes. Tugboat gave up just 4 baserunners on the day: a pair of singles, a walk, and a hit batter.

Unfortunately — but kind of humorously — all 4 of those allowed baserunners were in succession. After Wilkinson retired the first 2 batters he faced, he gave up back-to-back singles, hit a batter, and then issued a 4-pitch, run-scoring walk. But after that? He retired 13 consecutive batters to finish his day, which included striking out the side in both the 2nd and 4th innings. And with that, Tugboat is off and motoring in AAA!

Things went less well for the pair of pitchers on the 40-man roster who threw. Recently-optioned RHP Wilkin Ramos threw just 12 of 26 pitches for strikes while failing to get through an inning, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs, while recording 2 outs. RHP Ryan Walker got the save, but gave up 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run, with no strikeouts. Walker has been pitching quite well with Sacramento, where he has a 1.93 ERA, a 3.80 FIP, and just 3 walks in 9.1 innings … given how awful San Francisco’s bullpen is, I’m in favor of bringing him back … just not for the 9th inning.

A very boring day on offense. Designated hitter Will Brennan had the only multi-hit game, as he went 2-4 with a strikeout, but I think most Giants fans have seen enough to want Brennan to stay put as depth in AAA. He could be a roster casualty given that center fielder Jared Oliva (who went 1-5 with 2 strikeouts) will be coming off the 60-Day IL soon, and the Giants won’t need as much as outfield depth when Heliot Ramos and Harrison Bader get healthy. And as I write this, the news comes in that Brennan has been designated for assignment.

Catcher Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL) continues to look oh so comfortable at the level, and went 1-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. In their recent ranking of the top prospects in the organization last week, Fangraphs noted that “there are people within the organization who think he’s the player most likely to emerge from the pile of upper-level catchers as the club’s starter.” The lefty is up to a 1.166 OPS and a 196 wRC+ through 21 games with the River Cats, and has done a tremendous job limiting strikeouts this year (he had a 27.4% strikeout rate across 4 levels last year, and just a 19.8% rate in AAA this season). I think we’ll see him make an MLB debut at some point this year, especially since Daniel Susac (No. 20 CPL) has been struggling on offense lately, Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) got optioned/demoted, and Eric Haase could be dealt at the deadline.

AA Richmond (37-20)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 1-0
Box score

The Squirrels may have lost, but it was still perhaps the best game on the farm this year from a pitching standpoint. Richmond was truly and utterly sensational from the start of the game to the finish.

It began with the starter, LHP Cesar Perdomo. A week after having one of the best pitching performances of the year on the farm, Perdomo one-upped himself with what I feel quite confident calling the best pitching performance of the year for a Giants prospect. The 24-year old from Venezuela took down 7 shutout innings while throwing just 85 pitches, 65 of which went for strikes. In those 7 innings, Perdomo allowed just 1 batter to reach base, when he gave up a 3rd-inning single.

And the cherry on top? Of the 22 batters he faced, Perdomo struck out 13 of them!

June has been sheer dominance for Perdomo, who in his last start pitched 6 shutout innings with 4 baserunners and 9 strikeouts. Perdomo’s numbers this year are phenomenal: he has a 3.35 ERA, a 2.45 FIP, and 68 strikeouts against just 18 walks in 53.2 innings. He’s also made huge strides: after striking out 8.3 batters per 9 innings in High-A a year ago, he’s all the way up to 11.4 in AA this season. Of the 39 Eastern League pitchers with at least 40 innings thrown this year, Perdomo is 3rd in strikeouts per 9, and 2nd in FIP (behind former teammate Joe Whitman in both cases). Just an incredible year.

The bullpen was awesome, too, if a little chaotic. LHP Jack Choate (No. 37 CPL) had the lone hiccup, but even it was kind of funny and impressive: he gave up the winning run in the 8th inning, despite not allowing a hit or a walk, and striking out 2 … but he hit a pair of batters and committed an error. RHP Ben Peterson, recently promoted to AA, struck out a pair in the 9th inning, while allowing a hit. He has a stunning 23 strikeouts in just 13 innings since getting promoted.

In all, Richmond pitchers had 17 strikeouts on the day, while allowing just 2 hits and 0 walks. They deserved better than to lose the game!

Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t help them. The Squirrels had just 6 hits, and 0 extra-base hits. Center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) led the way by going 2-4, as he continues to round into form. Davidson hit quite a rough patch there for a while, but has opened up June with a 7-game hitting streak, during which time he’s gone 12-30 with 5 home runs, 1 double, and just 4 strikeouts. That’s brought his OPS back to .814 and his wRC+ to 110.

High-A Eugene (40-18)

Eugene Emeralds beat Spokane (Rockies) 6-5
Box score

Eugene was the lone member of the Giants Class-A teams that didn’t shine on the pitching front, but they still won, which made them first-half champions in the Northwest League. Still, there were some exciting things there. LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 11 CPL) is still trying to find a groove this year, after missing the start of the season with an injury. He wasn’t great in this game, as he allowed 4 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs in just 4.2 innings, but he did strike out 6 batters. With a 4.80 ERA and a 5.05 FIP, it’s looking very unlikely that Bresnahan makes it 3 straight seasons with Pitcher of the Year honors in his league, but the 11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings are a reminder as to why the Giants are so high on the southpaw, who turns 21 later this month. There’s a lot to like there, even if right now he’s issuing too many walks and giving up too many dingers.

RHP Ubert Mejias pitched quite well in relief, striking out 4 batters in 3 innings, while throwing 31 of 42 pitches for strikes. Impressive! Mejias did allow 4 hits though (all singles), which tagged him for a run. It was nice to see Mejias settle in, as he got absolutely rocked in his High-A season debut (this was his 2nd appearance at the level this year, after 1 appearance in 2025). As a result of that, his numbers look hilarious with Eugene this year: in 5 innings, he’s allowed 10 hits, 3 homers, and 6 earned runs … but has 8 strikeouts and 0 walks.

The offense was more solid than exceptional, but Eugene’s quartet of highly-ranked prospects, who fittingly fill the top spots in the order, all had good days. Right fielder Trevor Cohen (No. 15 CPL) went 1-4 with a strikeout, but drew a walk and bopped his 20th double of the season. Last year’s 3rd-round pick has an .808 OPS and a 124 wRC+ in his debut full season. Shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL) also went 1-4 with a double, while also getting hit by a pitch and not striking out. Level has adjusted well to High-A so far, as he’s hit safely in all 7 games with the Emeralds, going 11-31 with 4 doubles and just 5 strikeouts (he hasn’t drawn a walk yet, but he’s been hit 3 times). Notably, Level played shortstop with High-A for the first time on Tuesday, as he had only played second base in his opening series with the team. It seems as though the Giants will switch he and Gavin Kilen (No. 7 CPL) on a series by series basis, rather than a game-by-game one.

Speaking of which, Kilen played second for the first time this year, and went 1-3 with a double and a walk. The reigning 1st-round pick is now up to a .774 OPS and a 111 wRC+, with just a 13.3% strikeout rate. Rounding things out was center fielder Dakota Jordan (No. 5 CPL), who had a mixed bag of a day … the powerful righty hit 1-4 and struck out 3 times, but also blasted a 2-run home run, showing off his sensational power. The 2024 4th-rounder has a .790 OPS and a 113 wRC+ on the year, but also has a 30.6% strikeout rate.

Low-A San Jose (33-25)

San Jose Giants beat the Stockton Ports (A’s) 7-1
Box score

And now we return to our regularly scheduled pitching dominance. And this one began with someone who I would argue is the top pitching prospect in the organization: RHP Keyner Martinez (No. 10 CPL).

It’s been an up-and-down season for Martinez, following his breakout in 2025. But Tuesday was firmly in the “up” category, as the 21-year old Venezuelan breezed through 5 innings, giving up just 2 singles, a walk, and an unearned run, while striking out 8 batters. After a tough May, Martinez has started June on a dominant foot, as his 1st start of the month featured 9 strikeouts in just 4 innings, with an unearned run.

There’s no denying the magic in Martinez’s arm. He’s now up to 67 strikeouts in 41.1 innings, resulting in a 14.6 K/9 mark that ranks 3rd out of the 419 Minor League pitchers with at least 40 innings thrown this year.

It hasn’t been a flawless year for Martinez, who is allowing 5.0 walks per 9 innings, has seen his ground ball rate drop by more than 10 percentage points (to 38.6%), and has both an ERA and an FIP that begin with a 4 (4.57 and 4.05, respectively). But my goodness is he exciting.

The bullpen was great, too. More than great, actually; perfect! RHP Mauricio Estrella tossed 3 perfect innings while striking out 4 batters, while RHP Trey Seeley K’d all 3 batters that he faced. Estrella’s overall numbers have been more good than great, as he has a 3.74 ERA and a 3.62 FIP, but the recently-turned 22 year old has phenomenal walk and strikeout numbers: 42 and 7, respectively, in 33.2 innings.

As for Seeley, it was his debut at Low-A, and what a debut it was! The 23-year old was a 14th-round pick in last year’s draft, and pitched 7 times in the Complex League with middling results this year, before moving to San Jose. Perhaps he just needed to face better competition!

The pitching stole the show, but the hitting was good, too. Catcher Junior Barajas had a really nice game, hitting 2-5 with a solo home run and a strikeout.

A left-handed hitter taken in the 11th round last year, Barajas earned high praises entering the year, and started the season red hot, but he’d really cooled off lately, posting just a .573 OPS in May after a .940 OPS in April. Most notably, he bashed 4 home runs in his first 8 professional games … then went 31 straight games without a dinger. Until Tuesday! The cold stretch tanked his numbers to a .741 OPS and an 83 wRC+, but there’s still so much potential in his bat, to go along with some awesome defense and leadership behind the dish.

Two other hitters had great games: third baseman Dario Reynoso continued his stellar season by hitting 2-3 with 2 stolen bases, while also striking out once, while designated hitter Jeremiah Jenkins went 1-2 with a double, 2 walks, and a strikeout. Reynoso, a right-handed hitter from the Dominican Republic who recently turned 21, has a sensational 1.003 OPS and a 148 wRC+, with 9 stolen bases in 11 attempts, though he’s still striking out at a 30.5% clip. Jenkins, a lefty from Maine who was taken in the 14th-round of the 2024 draft and just turned 23, has an .828 OPS and a 113 wRC+, but is striking out 33.1% of the time.

Arizona Complex League (12-15)

ACL Giants lost to the ACL Athletics 12-2 (7 innings)
Box score

Well, this was just a bad game, and there’s no reason to dwell on it. The ACL Giants sent 5 pitchers to the mound, and all 5 struggled, en route to 15 hits and 12 runs in just 6 innings of action. RHPs Brayan Narvaez and Matt Dunaway, the latter of which is on a rehab assignment from High-A, struggled the most, as each gave up 3 runs in just an inning of work, without a strikeout.

The offense wasn’t all that much better. Designated hitter Yulian Barreto had a funny game in which he didn’t register an official at-bat, as he had a sacrifice fly and was hit by a pitch twice. Second baseman Jose Ramos had the best day, as he went 2-4, while shortstop Luis Hernández (No. 6 CPL) went 1-3, but was caught stealing and committed an error.

Moving on…

Dominican Summer League Black (4-3)

DSL Giants beat the DSL Red Sox Blue 15-5 (7 innings)
Box score

Well, this is a much better game. The pitching wasn’t great, with the best performance coming from RHP Frank Quiroz. A 19-year old from the Dominican Republic who was a late addition to this year’s international signing class, Quiroz got rocked in his first 2 games of the season. But this one went much better, as he tossed a no-hit inning with 2 strikeouts, though he also walked 2.

The offense, on the other hand, was awesome, with 14 hits in 7 innings, half of which went for extra bases. Left fielder Franco Willias went 2-4 with a 3-run home run, a walk, a stolen base and a strikeout, while third baseman Boris Sarduy hit 1-3 with a 2-run blast and a walk. Both players are having exceptional seasons: Willias, a 21-year old, has a 1.029 OPS and a 119 wRC+, though it’s his third pass through the DSL (he performed well in the first two attempts); Sarduy, a 19-year old, has a 1.111 OPS and a 176 wRC+. It’s very early, but after really struggling with strikeouts in his first two years, Sarduy is K’ing much less frequently this season.

Designated hitter Keiberg Camacaro hit 2-4 with a double, a walk, and 2 stolen bases, while catcher Diego Alambarrio went 2-3 with a pair of doubles and a walk. Camacaro, who is only 19 but is in his fourth season in the DSL, is easily having his best year, with an .899 OPS, a 125 wRC+, 6 stolen bases in 8 attempts, and, like Sarduy, a dramatically reduced strikeout rate. Alambarrio, who just turned 18, has a .950 OPS and a 127 wRC+; he was great in his debut last year, but only played 9 games.

Dominican Summer League Orange (5-2)

DSL Giants Orange beat the DSL Mariners 8-7
Box score

Another rough pitching performance, though RHP Gerson Rivero stood out in earning the save, as he struck out 2 batters in a scoreless inning, with a hit allowed. Rivero, who recently turned 18, was part of last year’s signing class but this was his professional debut. Quite an introduction!

The stars were on offense, though, and there were a trio of them. Third baseman Albert Jimenez had the biggest day, as he went 2-4 with a 3-run home run, a sacrifice fly, and 5 runs batter in. Jimenez, a 19-year old righty, entered the season with 7 career home runs in 81 DSL games over two seasons. This year? He already has 5 home runs in just 7 games, giving him a 1.580 OPS and a 218 wRC+.

Shortstop Yeison Oviedo hit 3-5 with 2 doubles and 2 strikeouts, while right fielder Yoxander Benitez went 3-4 with a walk. Oviedo, an 18-year old in his second season, has a 1.071 OPS and a 163 wRC+ after struggling in his debut last year; Benitez, a 19-year old in his third season, has a 1.029 OPS and a 160 wRC+ as he looks to prove himself following two below-average years.

Home run tracker

8 — Dakota Jordan — [High-A]
5 — Junior Barajas — [Low-A]
5 — Albert Jimenez — [DSL]
1 — Franco Willias — [DSL]
1 — Boris Sarduy — [DSL]

Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: 5:05 p.m. PT at Sugar Lang (SP: John Michael Bertrand)
Richmond: 4:05 p.m. PT vs. Harrisburg (SP: Greg Farone)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Spokane (SP: Niko Mazza)
San Jose: 7:05 p.m. PT at Stockton (SP: Jordan Gottesman)

The WNBA and Major League Baseball are in full swing as summer nears and both have a hint of Ole Miss flavor to them.

The Chicago White Sox called up Jacob Gonzalez on May 31st, not to play short stop or even second base, but to be their starting first baseman after the injury to star rookie Munetaka Murakami. That call would have likely gone to Tim Elko, who made his debut last season, but he is currently injured and Gonzo has been on a tear in the minors, forcing his way to the bigs.

Gonzalez was batting .317 with 19 home runs in the minors and since his debut, he’s hitting .333 with a home run. He got his first career hit in his first career game and hit his first home run on June 6th.

(Side note for those interested, Madison Central product Braden Montgomery made his MLB Debut on June 9th. He had two hits, the second being a walk off home run in the tenth inning against the MLB-best Atlanta Braves).

Nick Fortes is with the Tampa Bay Rays this season and is currently batting .260 with a home run and 14 RBI. His average is an improvement from his time in Miami last season.

I was pumped this off-season when I saw the Braves had claimed Ryan Rolison from the Rockies. Then they let him go. Now, he is dealing for the Chicago Cubs with a 2.35 ERA across 23 innings pitched and a 5-1 record.

Over in the WNBA, Cotie McMahon is playing roughly 17 minutes a night for the Washington Mystics, contributing six points and two rebounds per game.

Also for the Mystics, Shakira Austin is doing her thing averaging just over 15 points and eight rebounds per game.

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

Kris Bubic has been a hot topic of conversation lately. Bob Nightengale reported that the Athletics were interested in the Royals’ pitcher. It’s difficult to know what a reasonable asking price for Bubic might be, but one marker might be the Guardians trade of an injured Shane Bieber last year. They managed to get back Khal Stephen, who was the Blue Jays’ fifth-best prospect at the time of the trade. Stephen is now considered the Guardian’s sixth-best prospect and has a 3.44 ERA, though only an 11.1% K-BB% in AA as a 23-year-old.

That would probably be the best possible outcome for the Royals, though Bubic figures to need to be healthy if KC makes a trade; he doesn’t have the history of excellence that Bieber has.

The Royals, of course, might not ultimately even be sellers. They’ve won 5 of their last 6 and 6 of their last 8 to put themselves only 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot in a messy, messy American League. But if they are sellers, Bubic doesn’t figure to be the only starting pitcher on the staff to get some attention. Per an article on Bleacher Report, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha are likely getting some attention, too.

The Trade: Kansas City Royals send RHP Seth Lugo and RHP Michael Wacha to the Chicago Cubs for IF Jefferson Rojas, OF Kevin Alcántara and RHP Jaxon Wiggins

If the Royals could get better prospects for Lugo and Wacha, perhaps they’d be better off extending Bubic. His injury history should drive the price down some. Perhaps even to the point where if he continues to be unable to hold up in the rotation, the team would be able to move him to the bullpen without feeling like they were overpaying. They’d certainly have the money on hand to keep Bubic if they dumped Lugo’s and Wacha’s salaries.

But what would you do?

Chris Sale’s former team road tour continues and concludes this series as he’s set to take the mound at Rate Field against the Chicago White Sox. It goes without saying, and he probably already thinks this way as an ace, but going six innings / giving some length tonight would be ideal after last night’s extra-innings heartbreaker. We’ve been so wowed by the aggressive bullpen management to date, but the downsides of it appeared yesterday after the team was hamstrung by Grant Holmes’ early exit and the desire for more rest for the high-leverage relievers. In theory, the arms Walt Weiss wanted to stay away from yesterday are rested, so all should be in play tonight except for Dylan Dodd and Raisel Iglesias. ICYMI, Carlos Carrasco (DFA) and Tyler Kinley (IL , right elbow inflammation) are out, JR Ritchie and James Karinchak are in.

Sale (8-4, 2.23 ERA) was the losing pitcher last week on Thursday, where the Braves failed to complete a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in their single loss of the homestand. But the 7-2 score is deceptive – Sale was charged with three earned runs in his 5.2 innings of work. Sale exited, the bullpen threw up zeroes in the sixth, seventh, and eighth, and the bats got us within one before Things Happened. It was a weird one. Sale was throwing as hard as ever, extra-rested as he was, but he gave up ten hits for the first time since 2021. There’s nothing more frustrating than death by a thousand soft singles. Something to keep an eye on: this is Sale’s first outing pitching on regular rest since the Braves have started building in those extra days starting in April. His record against his original team is 2-2 with a 2.92 ERA.

Only two White Sox have faced Chris Sale before: Randal Grichuk is 6-for-27 in his career against Sale with two homers and a .781 OPS. Drew Romo has 3 at-bats with a strikeout. But as we saw last night, this White Sox lineup is unfortunately very fun and very legit. 

As of this posting (~2:30 pm ET), the White Sox have yet to confirm their starting pitcher. Likely taking the ball for Chicago will be the righty Davis Martin (8-2, 2.61 ERA), who’s outperforming an xERA of 3.65. He throws a six-pitch mix, relying on a four-seamer 26.4% of the time, followed by the sinker and changeup in almost equal measure with a slider, cutter, and curveball in there as well. Only three Braves have seen Martin with very limited data. Mike Yastrzemski is 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, Jorge Mateo 1-for-1 with a homer, and Ha-Seong Kim is 0-for-2. We will likely see a lineup shakeup anyway to accommodate for the day-to-day status of Ronald Acuña Jr. (left hamstring tightness). But in whatever configuration, let’s hope this is the version of the Braves that gives Chris Sale run support. The Braves were meant to feast off of Fedde last night, which didn’t come to pass – I’m inviting anyone else not named Matt Olson to launch multiple homers out of Rate Field, please and thank you.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Wednesday, June 10, 7:40 p.m. ET

Location: Rate Field, Chicago, IL

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

What to make of a starting pitcher with more wins than earned runs allowed in June? A day following seeing Eric Lauer masterfully navigate a lineup incredibly susceptible to left-handed pitching, Shohei Ohtani makes his 11th start of what’s currently a season defined by his otherworldly pitching accomplishments, with six wins and five earned runs allowed in 61 innings.

While the Pirates lineup carries stark splits, featuring a 112 wRC+ against right-handers that goes down to 88 against southpaws, Ohtani’s dominance knows no limits, going through opposing lineups like a hot knife through butter. After shockingly—in large part thanks to the offense’s shortcomings—losing back-to-back games between the end of April and the beginning of May, Ohtani puts to the test a streak of four wins, allowing all of one run in this period.

Despite this winning streak, one could argue for the similarities between Ohtani and Paul Skenes as starters let down by their offenses when you consider the respective qualities of these teams. Following last night’s Dodgers win, the Pirates are now 6-8 when Skenes takes the mound, absurd numbers for a team that has improved to hover around .500 in what’s an insanely competitive NL Central. For Ohtani, those four straight wins have carried the Dodgers into a solid but unspectacular 6-4 record in Ohtani starts. There is nothing wrong with a .600 record, far from it, but to contemplate that the reigning champs have had this many losses in Ohtani starts when he’s been untouchable is still a bit of a surprise.

Tuesday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Pirates
• Ballpark: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
• Start time: 6:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

I don’t have to tell you that the Cubs have been just awful over their last 28 games, going 7-21 after a 27-12 start.

That leaves them just one game over .500 entering tonight’s contest against the Rockies at Coors Field.

Let’s look at some of the numbers from that great 39-game start, and then the same numbers from the 28-game collapse (and really, it can’t be called anything other than a “collapse” right now.

Over the first 39 games the Cubs batted .258/.354/.429. They scored 215 runs (5.51 per game) and had 62 doubles and 51 home runs (1.31 homers per game). They drew 185 walks (4.74 per game) and struck out 308 times (7.92 per game).

In the last 28 games, the Cubs batted .213/.304 /.334. They scored 98 runs (3.5 per game) and had 39 doubles and 25 home runs (0.89 homers per game). They drew 111 walks (3.96 per game) and struck out 254 times (9.07 per game).

So as you can see, the Cubs got significantly worse in every offensive category over the last 28 games. They’re still walking at a decent rate, but even that is down from earlier in the year.

But it’s not just the bats that have gone silent. The pitching staff has just gotten pounded.

Over the first 39 games, Cubs pitchers had a 3.75 ERA and 1.189 WHIP, with a 4.15 FIP. They allowed 47 home runs (1.21 per game), issued 123 walks (3.15 per game) and struck out 323 (8.28 per game).

In the last 28 games, Cubs pitchers posted a 5.17 ERA and 1.325 WHIP, with a 5.23 FIP. They allowed 51 home runs (1.82 per game), issued 80 walks (2.86 per game) and struck out 208 (7.43 per game).

The home run number is ghastly. It’s gone up by more than .60 per game, and the 98 homers the Cubs have allowed this season are the most of any team (four more than the Nationals).

So it’s basically everything. Over the 28 game slump the Cubs have been outscored 148-91. That’s an average of 5.29 runs allowed and 3.25 runs scoreed per game — so they’ve been outscored by an average of two runs per game for an entire month, basically. They’ve been shut out four times and scored one or two runs nine other times, winning just one of those nine (2-o over the Braves May 14, largely thanks to great pitching by Ben Brown).

What is the answer to this?

Well, if I knew that, I’d certainly tell Jed Hoyer and Craig Counsell.

It’s mystifying how an entire team can slump this badly, both offensively and the pitching staff. Some of the pitching issues are injury-related, but not all of them. What’s happened to Shōta Imanaga, for example, is almost inexplicable. How does a guy pitch lights-out for nine starts (2.32 ERA, just five home runs in 54 innings), then just get absolutely hammered by opposing hitters (four starts, 10.80 ERA, 12 home runs in 21.1 innings)?

I have to believe these guys are all better than they’ve shown over the last 28 games. Usually, when a team’s hitters or pitchers go into slumps, they have other guys on the team to carry them. The only Cubs hitters who have hit reasonably well over the last month are Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch. The only pitchers who have been solid for that time are Ben Brown and Jacob Webb.

It will turn around. It has to. Right? Right?

You’d be excused if you avoided watching the Detroit Tigers in the month of May, as injuries and underperformance led to a 6-22 record for the month. If that was you, you might’ve missed Dillon Dingler’s early-season breakout. However, Dingler’s rampage through early June makes one thing clear: Detroit has a top catcher on their roster right now, likely the favorite to start the All Star Game for the American League.

Coming off a strong 2025 season, Dingler seemed like a solid starting catcher to begin with. He paired Gold Glove defense with a .752 OPS, basically league average. Considering the league-average catcher’s OPS was just .696, Dillon repeating 2025 would have made him an under the radar top-5 to 7 catcher in the league.

Instead, Dingler has improved across the board. The 27-year-old backstop has always taken an aggressive approach at the plate, looking to do damage and hit his way on base, which led to a 4.9% walk rate last year. That worked because he hit the ball hard anyways, but it’s a major limitation to his ceiling; there just aren’t many great hitters with walk rates around 5% anymore. Those that do need either outlier raw power or contact skills to stand out; Dingler had neither, so a bit more patience was probably his best path forward. So far, so good; he’s spiked his walk rate up to 8.9%, basically league average, to create a far more stable offensive approach.

However, if all Dingler did was walk more, he wouldn’t be a prime contender to start the All Star Game as the American League’s catcher; that’s only the first step. He also slashed his strikeout rate from 23.5% to a better-than-average 19.4%, and more importantly, has 16 home runs on June 10th compared to the 13 home runs he mashed in all of 2025.

This is what controlling the zone really looks like. Take your walks, lay off pitches you can’t handle, and punish the baseball if a pitcher throws you something he shouldn’t have. Despite some rough BABIP luck, Dingler’s hiked his OPS all the way up to .857 this year, 3rd among all catchers.

In terms of pitch type success, the big change for Dingler this season is that rather than chasing breaking balls, he’s forcing pitchers in need of an answer against him, because you don’t want to pump fastballs with abandon to Dillon Dingler, to try and spot their breaking stuff for strikes. That’s now a particularly dangerous game, as Dingler holds a .508 weighted onbase average (wOBA) against breaking balls this year. Last year his mark against breaking stuff was a .263 wOBA. The weakness pitchers could most exploit in 2024-2025 is now a strength. There’s even a minor argument that Dingler has outperformed his results. His overall wOBA on the season stands at a whopping .371 mark, but his expected wOBA based on contact and batted ball data is .407.

How’s he doing this, then? On the plate discipline side, it’s pretty simple. Dingler’s seeing fewer pitches in the strike zone, he’s swinging at about the same rates as always, and he’s whiffing a little less than he did last year. That means taking more pitches out of the zone and fewer swinging strikes, hence the improved walk and strikeout rates. Most likely, pitchers saw he was pretty aggressive last year, and haven’t adjusted back to his slightly more patient approach. Of course, what he’s doing when they put something in the zone could also be scaring them back out of it.

To put it simply, Dingler is crushing pitches in the zone with two basic tenets: making a lot of contact and hitting balls really hard in the air. In both respects he has improved from 2025, and combined, those are pretty big changes on the stat sheet. Seriously. He’s 15th in biggest gainers in contact rate and 19th in biggest gainers in barrel rate. Pulling that off at the same time is the simplest way to level up as a hitter. Why wouldn’t you want to make more contact while also making better contact?

For most hitters, they have to pick one or the other. The guys who do both are the names you know from teams you don’t follow. Dingler’s special, however, because he’s doing this as a Gold Glove caliber catcher. And yeah, he’s still one of the best defensive backstops in the game.

As of today, Dingler is tied for 5th in all of baseball in Fielding Run Value at 8, BasaballSavant’s best attempt at a catch-all fielding statistic. This incorporates Outs Above Average, Arm Value, and Catcher Throwing, Blocking and Framing, from all positions. It’s worth mentioning that FRV is a counting stat, and Dingler only plays about 70% of all Detroit’s innings, because he’s a catcher. Only Adley Rutschmaan, another excellent catcher, has 8 or more FRV in fewer innings than Dingler. And despite nearly 100 fewer innings than most other top defenders, he’s 5th, ahead of names like Fernando Tatis Jr and Andres Gimenez.

As icing on the cake, Dingler is also arguably the best catcher at challenging pitches, which is a totally awesome perk that isn’t (yet) included in FRV. Seriously, we went over this about a month ago, and he was top-5 then. Now, Dingler leads the league in ‘net overturns more than expected’ based on the opportunities he gets to challenge. He’s also 3rd in overturn rate among catchers with at least 40 challenges, at 70%. Add it to the long list of things Dingler is excellent at.

Basically, if you wanted to build a good position player in a lab, it would be what Dingler’s doing early in 2026. Start with an excellent up-the-middle defender, then make him coincidentally one of the best at handling the new ABS system for a smidgen of extra value. Then, double that player’s previous walk rates and home run rates, and for good measure, reduce his strikeout rate, all at the same time, so he’s now making more contact that’s also better. Put all that together, and you get Dillon Dingler, tied for 3rd in all of baseball in fWAR with Corbin Carrol. The guys he’s behind? Bobby Witt Jr. and Yordan Alvarez. You’ve heard of them, I’m sure.

Will he keep it up? Maybe. So many of his process stats have leveled up, it feels like most of the gains are legitimate so far. Maybe he breaks down in the second half as his catcher’s workload stacks up on him. Or maybe he just… keeps going. The defense is stable – he’s been among the best defensive catchers in baseball for almost 2 years now – and walks don’t typically dry up all of a sudden. Catchers are notoriously slow to develop at the dish, so peaking at age 27 really isn’t that big of a surprise. At this pace, the All-Star Game should be just the next step in an outstanding season full of accolades.

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

We have a Rangers Reacts question for you today, and it is about new Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, who took over from Bruce Bochy this offseason.

What we want to know is, what grade would you give on the job Schumaker has done so far this season?

Cast your vote below…

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

After weeks of folks begging for a prospect promotion, it finally happened yesterday — the Rockies called up Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP), who not only made his MLB debut, but made a statement when he smacked a triple for his first MLB hit.

With the triple, he became the second Rockie ever to record a triple as their first MLB hit (Ryan Ritter was the first just one season before. However, he also drew a walk in his next plate appearance, becoming the first Rockie to record a triple and and walk in their first MLB game.

So now that the gates have opened, more promotions may be on the horizon — either in the near term or later in the season. President of baseball operations Paul DePodesta has said players need to show they are ready, and an opening on the roster must present itself before a prospects is promoted.

With that in mind, which prospect do you think will be next?

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

There’s no question that the Giants lost something when they traded away Patrick Bailey now one month ago, but the franchise seems comfortable with their new direction, even if it’s a little unclear in a bad way just how much has been lost. They embarked on it for two reasons: an offensive uptick and more leadership at the position. Have either of these tasks been accomplished since the trade went down 30 days ago yesterday?

Before the trade, Bailey hit .146/.213/.183 (.396 OPS) in 30 games and 86 PA. The Giants’ lineup had a team wRC+ of 81 through the first 38 games of the season while the pitching staff had a 3.63 ERA in his 238.1 innings catching (3.93 overall — 12th).

Now, I’m including the team’s total offensive production here because in looking at it by positional split I came away pretty surprised. Patrick Bailey was completely awful — one of the worst professional hitters on planet Earth — but with Daniel Susac’s .478/.500/.652 line in 24 plate appearances and .300/.300/.500 in 10 PA from Eric Haase, the Giants’ catching position was not the worst in baseball through May 8th. At 83 wRC+ (.244/.297/.345), it ranked 16th, ahead of the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Rangers, Mariners , Guardians, Diamondbacks, Nationals, Blue Jays, and Phillies. So, the notion that the Giants had to get more offense out of the position was sort of… wrong? Remarkably, it was about as bad as the rest of the lineup. But Patrick Bailey’s .146 made him an obvious target.

[He has also hit .220/.276/.324 since the start of last season.]

Since the trade, the Giants’ lineup has a 126 wRC+ in 30 games, the best lineup in baseball. Ditching Bailey has raised the catching position all the way down to 17th in MLB with an 81 wRC+ (.206/.283/.346). The team’s ERA has been the third-worst at 5.16 though the stolen base success rate has dropped a bit, from 76.3% with Bailey to 73.5% without.

Compare to what’s happening over with Cleveland. Prior to the trade, their team ERA of 4.01 was 14th in MLB. Since then, it’s risen to 7th with a 3.45 result. What’s interesting about that is that Bailey’s catcher ERA in the 16 games he’s caught in is just 4.02 in 130 innings. Their catching position has dropped on the hitting side from a 65 wRC+ (23rd) to 55 (25th) “thanks” to Bailey’s abysmal .167/.196/.333 in 17 games (51 PA). I wouldn’t say it has been a slam dunk move, but it has certainly helped Cleveland more than it’s hurt them.

The results were pretty strongly in favor of the Guardians since the early going, prompting many people on social media to immediately respond with “Bailey isn’t starting in Cleveland so this is misleading!” but that’s sort of besides the point because it’s not as though the Giants couldn’t have done the same thing. Their options were to bench him entirely (which is the first thing they did), demote him, trade him, or diminish his playing time. That last option would’ve probably been the most difficult to do given all the success that he’s had and a trade might have been the only way to get him to “accept” the role, but it is pretty clear that the Giants found his value to be more theoretical than tangible, hence trading him for a draft pick and a pitching prospect, both “assets” of theoretical value.

Some consideration must be given to how the relationship between the team and the player could’ve frayed so much. It’s not as though the catching position has been a traditionally important part of a lineup and as a general scapegoat for the likes of Devers, Chapman, and Adames woefully underperforming (and let’s throw Jung Hoo Lee in there for good measure) it’s more of a bad look for the team than the player, but let’s put ourselves on the organization’s side here.

Like all of Buster Posey’s big moves (Adames, the Devers trade, dumping Bob Melvin and replacing him with a college coach), the trade was defensible in the moment. The relationship between player and team had hit a wall and there was a move to be made that netted them a meaningful draft pick and a pitching prospect who could boost a thin part of their farm system. And like all of these big moves, it sort of needs 2-3 years to really play out before we can say whether or not it was “good.”

In the podcast discussion between Roger Munter and Kerry Crowley that I linked to before, Crowley suggested that Buster Posey might have his idea of what a team’s starting catcher should be like in terms of personality. Someone a little more outgoing and leader-like. Roger was quick to point out that a Rule 5 pick and minor leaguer (at the time, Jesus Rodriguez was the de facto backup catcher) might not slip right into that role. Everything that we’ve seen suggests that the Giants just wanted different energy in that position and figured that the slumps of a Rule 5 pick, a prospect, or a journeyman backup couldn’t be worse than the full-time work Patrick Bailey offered with the bat. In terms of the defense? Maybe they thought that the ABS Challenge System would be a way to shore up whatever defensive deficiencies there might be in going from Bailey to Susac and backup.

The other part of this, of course, is that Patrick Bailey wasn’t one of Buster Posey’s successes. Farhan Zaidi gets credit for that. And that made it even easier to move him once he became a problem — which, to be clear, the front office and coaching staff affirmed that he had become a problem. But now the Giants have to live with the consequences of such a big move and a month out, it’s unclear if it’s one that’s worked out.

The Giants were 15-23 (.395) when Patrick Bailey was on the team. They’re 12-18 (.400) without him. Seems like a wash. Sure, the lineup got better, but the pitching staff seems to have gotten worse. But maybe this season was always destined for failure. So, let’s be real fair and revisit this in 2 years to see how that draft pick and Matt Wilkinson worked out for them.

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Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets a favorable matchup tonight against Philadelphia Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo, and his underlying metrics suggest a breakout performance at the plate may be imminent.

Read on for my Blue Jays vs. Phillies predictions and MLB picks for Wednesday, June 10.

Phillies vs Blue Jays predictions

Phillies vs Blue Jays best bet: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 0.5 singles (-135)

Jesus Luzardo owns a 4.35 ERA while ranking in the 59th percentile in opponent expected batting average this season. He also hasn't done a great job limiting quality contact, ranking in just the 58th percentile in barrel suppression.

That spells trouble against Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who matches up well against Luzardo's arsenal (four-seamer, changeup, sweeper). He owns a .340 batting average against those pitches along with a 24.4% line-drive rate this season.

He's also displayed an excellent approach at the plate this season, ranking in the 91st percentile in expected batting average.

More so, Vladdy's hard-hit rate against Luzardo's pitch mix has jumped to 57% in June, up from his 45.8% season average. Given his naturally low launch-angle profile, that increase in hard contact should translate into more line drives and sharply-hit balls finding the outfield grass. I'd bet this up to -150.

COVERS INTEL: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s singles make up for 79% of his 67 total hits this season.

Phillies vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

Kazuma Okamoto matches up very well with Luzardo’s three-pitch mix, owning a .417 average and a 16% barrel rate against them when facing southpaws. I’ll add Over 0.5 hits for Okamoto to my SGP. 

Jays starter Max Scherzer has faced J.T. Realmuto 64 times in his career and owns a 31.2% strikeout rate against him. The Phillies catcher also owns just a .184 average against the four-seamer with a 19.6% K-rate, which is Scherzer's top pitch.

Phillies vs Blue Jays SGP

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 0.5 singles
• Kazuma Okamoto Over 0.5 hits
• J.T. Realmuto Over 0.5 strikeouts

Phillies vs Blue Jays home run pick: Kazuma Okamoto (+380)

Luzardo gave up three homers in his last outing, but went four straight starts prior without allowing one, so we’ll just make this a half-unit wager.

However, Okamoto’s hitting profile matches up extremely well against the Philadelphia Phillies starter, making him the best bet to go yard tonight for the Jays. 

Okamoto barrels the baseball well against left-handed pitchers, resulting in a .417 average against Luzardo’s three most-used pitches with an .833 slug and a 57.9% hard-hit rate.

Phillies vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: Philadelphia -130 | Toronto +110
• Run line: Philadelphia -1.5 (+120) | Toronto +1.5 (-140)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-115) | Under 8.5 (-105)

Phillies vs Blue Jays trend

The Blue Jays have gone Over the total in eight of their last 11 games for +4.8 units and a 41% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Phillies vs. Blue Jays.

How to watch Phillies vs Blue Jays and game info

Phillies vs Blue Jays latest injuries

Phillies vs Blue Jays weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

PITTSBURGH –– With plastic cups full of sparkling wine raised in the air around him, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts led a toast to Freddie Freeman in the visiting clubhouse at PNC Park on Tuesday night.

First, Roberts congratulated the team’s star first baseman on reaching 2,500 career hits –– the latest distinguished milestone in Freeman’s future Hall of Fame career.

Then, as Freeman later recounted with a laugh during his postgame address with reporters, Roberts turned to the 36-year-old veteran and took a peek down the road.

“You’d better get 500 more,” Roberts joked.

“That’s a challenge, a tall order,” the skipper later added. “But I’m not gonna bet against him.”

Entering this season, that had been Freeman’s plan following a rejuvenating and fully healthy winter: Play three more years. Retire at the age of 40. And, injury- and performance-permitting, join MLB’s exclusive 3,000 career hits club at some point along the way.

He knew it wasn’t a certainty. As he joked this spring, “Father Time is going to catch up.”

What he didn’t expect, however, was for his latest foray into fatherhood to so quickly change his perspective first.

“I would love to get to 3,000 hits. I would love to. I’m not going to deny that,” Freeman said Tuesday night. “But do I know if I’m going to get there? I don’t know.”

Indeed, while 3,000 hits remains a goal for Freeman –– who would be just the 34th player all-time to accomplish the feat –– the journey still required to get there has raised newly conflicting feelings for the nine-time All-Star and former National League MVP.

In April, Freeman and his wife Chelsea welcomed their fourth child and first daughter London Rosemary Joy into the world. In a family of all sons previously, having a baby girl in the house was like stepping into a whole new world for Freeman himself, too.

“We just stare at her all day,” he said upon returning from the paternity list two days after London’s birth. “It’s been special the last couple days. We got to take her home last night. So we had one night with her. And I already miss her.”

Over his 17-year career, of course, Freeman has long become accustomed to the trade-offs of being both a dad and a big-league ballplayer; to all the little moments that get missed, and all the FaceTime calls that only compensate for so much, amid long seasons spent largely at the ballpark or on the road.

Still, this year, the toll of it all has impacted Freeman more than he expected.

“It’s just hard when you’re seeing her growing up on the phone,” he told The California Post later Tuesday night, in a quiet moment of reflection from his locker after the plastic cups had been put away and the bottles of celebratory champagne re-corked. “She’s already moved up to bigger diapers, and I didn’t really get to see it. So that’s the hard part … It weighs on my heart.”

Freeman first noted such emotional complexities in an interview with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal last month.

Unlike with his three sons, who have become fixtures around Dodger Stadium during the slugger’s five-year tenure with the club, he pointed out then how his daughter won’t be old enough to remember his playing days, even if he hangs on until his 40th birthday.

“I’m missing things for something she’ll never know,” he said. “She’s not going to know I missed these things either.”

With each passing week and each new road trip, he reiterated on Tuesday night, that feeling has gnawed at him even more.

“If you would have asked me three days ago, I’d have said, ‘Oh, I’ve got three more years,’ because I had just been home and taking the kids to school,” he said. “But if you ask me [at the end of this trip] against the White Sox on Sunday, after five days on the road, I’d be like, ‘Next year is good.’”

That doesn’t mean the pull of 3,000 hits has gone away.

On Tuesday, when he eclipsed the 2,500 mark with an RBI single in the Dodgers’ 10-run seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he relished the reception he got from teammates and coaches in the clubhouse, and let his mind wander to what another 500 knocks would mean.

“The next one,” he said, “is the big one.”

The closer he gets, though, the more difficult the pursuit will become.

“When you get up there [in career hits], everyone is talking about it,” he said. “And I get it. I get how special it is, I do. But if that’s the only reason I’m still trying to play and leaving my family every other week, to go get a round number, is that really gonna change how people view it?”

Some of this might wind up being out of Freeman’s control.

There’s the threat of a lockout next season, which would likely dash his 3,000-hit dreams if much (or, in a worst-case scenario, all) of the 2027 schedule is wiped out by a work stoppage.

“I’m not gonna be 41 [and still] playing,” he quipped.

There’s also his uncertain long-term contract situation, with the Orange County native –– who has repeatedly stated his desire to retire with his hometown Dodgers –– set to become a free agent at the end of 2027.

“I’m not gonna go play with another team just to chase a round number,” he said.

That’s why, for now, Freeman is simply grateful to still be playing at a high level, to still be competing for World Series titles with a dynasty Dodgers club, and to still be experiencing other milestone moments like Tuesday’s.

“There’s always another goal to get to,” he said. “But to step back and realize how long you have to play, the consistency over that –– to play at a high level over many, many years –– to get there, it does mean a lot.”

As for where it leaves his pursuit of 3,000 hits?

“I’ve been blessed to play a long time, so if it didn’t happen, I would be OK with it,” he said. “I never played for individual numbers to begin with. So if I’m all of a sudden chasing individual numbers, then I’ve lost what baseball means to me. And baseball has meant everything to me. I’ve already accomplished a lot. So if I’m doing it for individual things, then I think I’ve lost what I set out to do this for.”

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Really hoping to salvage this one