With so many questions surrounding Vitello’s ability to manage in the big leagues, legendary Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow said he wasn’t surprised by Posey’s comments.
“He deserves to come back,” Krukow said while appearing as a guest on “The Sports Leader.” “You put a guy in that situation, he deserves to learn, and now let’s see what he does with what he’s learned next year.”
Longtime San Francisco Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images
Krukow said he believes Vitello has some growing to do as a manager and will need to focus on improving his relationships with older players.
“There’s such a thing of just giving those guys too much respect,” Krukow said. “… I don’t care how many years you’ve been there, you have to earn the respect of your manager and your coaching staff.”
Vitello has had his hands full this season. The Giants have been decimated by injuries, and he’s been without top free agent Harrison Bader, who is currently suspended without pay after allegedly aggravating a foot injury in a scooter crash.
DENVER, CO - APRIL 20: Max Muncy #13 of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs from second to third in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 20, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers and Rockies continue their series on Tuesday night at Coors Field in Denver.
Eric Lauer is coming off his longest start as a Dodger, throwing 112 pitches in 6 1/3 innings last Wednesday in a win over the Kansas City Royals. The veteran left-hander has struggled in his career at Coors Field, 1-6 with a 10.43 ERA in eight starts and 29 1/3 innings. But last year with Toronto he allowed only one run in six innings for his only win in Denver.
Right-hander Ryan Feltner starts for the Rockies. He allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Dodgers at Coors Field on April 18 in a no-decision in a game Colorado won. Since the All-Star break, Feltner has allowed 22 runs in 23 2/3 innings over his last five starts, with nearly as many walks (12) as strikeouts (14).
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - AUGUST 11: Starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano #11 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on August 11, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Having notched 50 wins on Sunday against the Giants, the Colorado Rockies will now take on the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers in search of more with a three-game series at Coors Field starting tonight.
The roster will look a bit different as the Rockies made some moves earlier on Monday, notably designating starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen for assignment and recalling TJ Shook.
Colorado (50-74) will send its winningest pitcher to the mound to face L.A. (74-51). Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智, 12-5, 4.43) has the most wins in a Rockies uniform since Germán Márquez posted 12 in 2021. Like many, Sugano has struggled vs. the Dodgers this season. In two starts, he’s gone 0-2 with an 8.31 ERA, surrendering three homers with six strikeouts in 8.2 innings.
LHP Blake Snell (0-1, 5.00) will be on the mound for the Dodgers, making only his third start of the season. Snell made one start in May before going on the 60-day IL with loose bodies in his left elbow. In his first game back, Snell was outstanding, giving up one run on three hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk in six innings on Aug. 11 against Kansas City.
The Dodgers enter the season having played 10 games in the last 10 days, going 5-5 over the stretch. The Rockies have also gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, having won two series on the road against Arizona and San Francisco.
Los Angeles leads the season series against the Rockies 7-3, but Colorado took the series at Coors Field in April 2-1.
Originally, Colorado’s All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman was in the lineup, but he was a late scratch with ongoing shoulder inflammation. He’s still day-to-day as the Rockies are hoping he can avoid the IL. Goodman last played Aug. 12 in Arizona. Brett Sullivan, who hit two homers in three games in San Francisco, will be behind the plate.
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM KOA Rockies Radio Network; KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)
The Yankees' rotation was set to get back to full strength this week, but will now be without Max Fried, who was placed on the 15-day injured list for the second time with a left elbow bone bruise, the team announced on Monday.
Fried previously landed on the IL with the same ailment in mid-May, and the injury kept the lefty out of action for two months before he returned on July 22. He made five starts, covering 24.2 innings before returning to the IL. (The move is retroactive to Aug. 14.)
Since returning, Fried has pitched effectively, but not been totally as sharp at times. Of course, he still pitched to a 1.82 ERA while striking out 29 with eight walks.
Over 15 starts on the season, the lefty has pitched to a 2.81 ERA and 0.996 WHIP in 86.1 innings over 15 outings. He has 79 strikeouts to 27 walks.
After initially landing on the IL, Fried said he was overall happy that it didn't look to be "anything serious" and the "long-term outlook still looks good."
Fried added that the ligament "looks good," and they are going to let the elbow "calm down," with manager Aaron Boone adding that the initial imaging results were "in some ways good news."
The injury came after Fried exited an outing in Baltimore due to elbow soreness after allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while throwing just 61 pitches (34 strikes) across 3.0 innings of work. He also wasn’t exactly sharp in his last time before that start against the Orioles, either, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks over six innings in a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
After announcing that Carlos Rodón would return from the IL and start Tuesday’s series opener against the Orioles in Baltimore, the Yankees placed fellow lefty Max Fried on the 15-day IL with a bone bruise in his left elbow.
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It’s the same injury that sidelined Fried for more than two months earlier this year, meaning the 32-year-old’s season is in jeopardy.
Fried last pitched Thursday, when he held Seattle to one run over five innings in a 1-0 loss.
He pitched very well in four of his five outings since his return from the IL, adding another top-tier arm to a rotation that had gotten Gerrit Cole back and seen the emergence of Cy Young candidate Cam Schlittler.
The hope had been that Rodón, who had been out since late June with left elbow inflammation, would come back and join a fearsome rotation that had kept the Yankees in comfortable playoff position despite the offense providing little since Aaron Judge went down with a fractured rib at the end of May.
With Rodón healthy again, the Yankees appeared set to move either another left-hander, Ryan Weathers, or Will Warren to the bullpen.
New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) during the third inning of a game against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. (Robert Sabo for NY Post) Robert Sabo for NY Post
Now, Rodón instead takes Fried’s spot.
Rodón underwent elbow surgery in the offseason and didn’t make his season debut until May. He was inconsistent in nine starts before hitting the IL again in early July with what was termed “heavy elbow inflammation.”
Rodón is expected to be on a limited pitch count Tuesday, with Warren potentially pushed back to Wednesday against the Orioles, followed by Cole.
The loss of Fried again puts more pressure on the rest of the rotation, which has already been asked to do more than its fair share, as the offense has put up some of the worst numbers in the majors in the wake of injuries to not only Judge, but Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton.
While Fried has been effective when healthy this season — including a career-low WHIP through 15 starts — he has posted his lowest strikeout ratio since 2020.
Fried has also thrown just 86 ⅓ innings this season, a year after posting a career-best 195 ⅓ innings, plus another 9 ⅓ in the playoffs.
Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon throws live batting practice at Yankee Stadium. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Prior to last season — which was interrupted by a blister on Fried’s throwing hand — he’d never thrown 185 ⅓ innings in a regular season.
That 2022 regular season was followed by just one postseason start.
Fried is in the second season of an eight-year, $218 million contract, the richest deal ever signed by a left-handed pitcher.
When he suffered the bone bruise earlier in the season, the Yankees said Fried’s ulnar collateral ligament was undamaged.
He still didn’t return for over 10 weeks. A similar timeline would keep Fried out at least until the start of the World Series.
Craig Stammen, first-year manager of the San Diego Padres, is not sitting on the hottest seat in baseball.
But that also doesn’t rule out the possibility Stammen could lose his job, reports Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports. Nightengale, noting Stammen signed a three-year deal in November, wrote, “Yet, if the Padres miss the playoffs, someone needs to be the fall guy, and Stammen is A.J. Preller’s seventh manager in 12 years since becoming GM and president of baseball operations.’’
The Padres have never won the World Series, and it’s unlikely this team will end the drought.
This season, San Diego ranks 21st in runs with 535, 19th in on-base percentage (.314) and 23rd in batting average (.238). The Padres’ pitching has fared better, with San Diego ranking 13th in ERA (.408) and 18th in WHIP (1.31).
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 15: Byron Buxton #25 of the Minnesota Twins runs home during the MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park on July 15, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This is a very generically solid lineup for Martin Perez to deal with. No one below .310 xwOBA-wise until the seventh spot.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 02: Maikel Garcia #11 of the Kansas City Royals high fives Vinnie Pasquantino #9 of the Kansas City Royals after beating the Seattle Mariners in the tenth inning 3-2 at T-Mobile Park on May 02, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The vagabond Athletics will make their annual journey to Kansas City for the home series this week. They stand at 49-75. Heading into July, FanGraphs playoff odds had them about equal to the Astros for making the playoffs. They have had some truly unfortunate injury issues, with Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers both on the injured list right now.
It’s not like the Royals are much better at 51-74, but tonight Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia are returning to the squad and will start.
Hopefully those guys are healthy and rested and can show us what they can do the rest of the season.
The Royals will put Michael Wacha on the hill. Once again, I seem to get him a lot for my Monday games. He’s had a run of pretty good starts over the past few weeks, and with two of the Athletics stars out, no reason to believe that won’t continue.
Mason Barnett starts for the Athletics. The Athletics got him from the Royals in the Lucas Erceg trade in 2024. This year, he’s been stretched into a starter only in the past few weeks and has generally been shelled.
Given the context, it’s *really hard* for the Royals to have a better situation for a win tonight. Of course that probably means I’ll get to witness another bullpen blowup.
According to Monarrez, interim assistant GM Shawn Horcoff had the framework of the deal ready on the very day Steve Yzerman's removal as general manager was announced. NHL Rumor Report since indicated Detroit's offer was in the range of one year at $5 million.
Instead, fresh off a 33-goal breakout season, Mantha signed with the New Jersey Devils on a two-year, $9.5 million contract carrying a $4.75 million annual cap hit. The move raised some eyebrows given the season Mantha was coming off. Playing on a prove-it deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the winger set new career highs with 33 goals and 31 assists for 64 points in 81 games.
Mantha, originally selected 20th overall by Detroit in the 2013 NHL Draft, spent six seasons with the organization, totaling 95 goals and 99 assists for 194 points in 302 games and stringing together four straight seasons of at least 36 points before the Red Wings moved on. Detroit sent him to the Washington Capitals in April 2021 in a trade that returned a 2021 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, and forwards Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik.
From there, Mantha's career took him from Washington to Vegas to Calgary before he landed in Pittsburgh last summer on a modest, incentive-laden contract. He cashed in on that bet in a big way, delivering the best offensive season of his career and helping fuel a resurgent Penguins team down the stretch.
Had the reunion gone through, Mantha could have slotted into Detroit's middle six, served as a contingency plan if Patrick Kane doesn't return, or simply added scoring depth to a top nine that could use it.
Whether the front-office turmoil played any role in how things unfolded is unclear, but the timing stands out. Detroit announced Yzerman's transition out of the GM role the same morning Mantha's signing with New Jersey became official.
Whatever the reason behind it, for the price the Devils ultimately paid to land a forward coming off a career year and carrying a proven 40-point floor, it's a missed opportunity that could sting for the Red Wings as the season unfolds.
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 22: Los Angeles Lakers' Governor Jeanie Buss during the Los Angeles Lakers unveiling former head coach Pat Riley statue at Crypto.com Arena on February 22, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luiza Moraes/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Jeanie Buss is not going quietly into that good night.
While Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Monday that the Buss family would be selling its remaining 17.8% stake in the Lakers, it doesn’t appear that was a unanimous decision.
“No sale of the JAB Trust’s 17.8% ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss. Pursuant to the JAB Trust and the attached Court Order, the co-trustees are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner,” Streisand says in the letter.
“Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court,” he says.
Sam Amick of The Athletic also received a letter from Streisand with the same argument made.
In a letter obtained by @TheAthletic, the attorney for Lakers governor Jeanie Buss says the trust vote to sell is void, arguing legal standing that requires her to be controlling owner on a lifetime basis. Her lawyer is demanding that representatives of the trust make it clear…
I won’t pretend to be a lawyer or know the ins and outs of the legalities of this situation. It’s not a surprise Jeanie isn’t going down without a fight, even if it’s also going to make this particularly messy.
Her stance appears to be built around the fact that she’s a co-trustee of the family trust and wants to remain the governor of the franchise. As an outsider looking in, it looks like sour grapes and her fighting to the very end, but, again, we don’t know much as outsiders.
What isn’t up for debate is how apropo this is for Jeanie and the family. For over a decade, the family has been constant drama. This is a fitting way for it all to come to an end…if this is the end.
Aug 15, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Hao-Yu Lee (50) hits a single in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Detroit Tigers (60-64) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (61-55)
Time/Place: 7:05 p.m., PNC Park SB Nation Site:Bucs Dugout Media: ESPN, Tigers Radio Network Pitching Matchup: LHP Framber Valdez (7-8, 4.26 ERA) vs. RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (6-5, 3.79 ERA)
In a letter obtained by the California Post addressed to the lawyers representing her five other siblings in the Buss family trust (Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse) – Jeanie Buss’ lawyer, Adam Streisand, stated Jeanie didn’t agree to sell the team and that any vote of the Buss family selling would be “Void ab initio”.
Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss sits in the stands prior to an NBA basketball game between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics. APJeanie and Jim Buss in front of the Lakers’ championship trophies. Getty Images
She also filed paperwork to stop the sale with the Superior Court of Los Angeles Central District.
“No sale of the JAB Trust’s 17.8% ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,” Streisand said in the letter.
“Pursuant to the JAB Trust and the attached Court Order, the co-trustees are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner. Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.
The letter added: “On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed “vote” to sell the 17.8% stake.
Jeanie Buss attends the ‘Running Point’ Emmy FYC Event in Los Angeles. John Salangsang/Shutterstock
ESPN first reported Monday that the Buss siblings voted to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% ownership of the Lakers to Iger and Kushner.
Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss attend Kobe Bryant’s jersey retirement ceremony. Getty Images
The Buss family said said in a statement: “We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction. We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
The Buss family trust, which includes six of Jerry Buss’ children — Johnny (69), Jim (66), Jeanie (64), Janie (62), Joey (41) and Jesse (37) — needed a majority vote (four out of six) to allow the trustees to sell the family’s shares.
Selling the Lakers would result in Jeanie no longer being the team’s Governor, since she would no longer have the qualifying 15% ownership stake in the franchise required told hold that position. She has been team’s Governor since 2013 after Jerry’s death.
When Walter purchased the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family, the league announced that Buss would remain the team’s Governor for a period of at least five years (through 2030).
But on Monday, Jeanie’s attorney sent a letter to lawyers for the other siblings demanding that they retract the announcement of the proposed sale, insisting that rules of the family trust and a 2017 court ruling make clear that she will remain a controlling owner of the team for life.
The letter also called the announcement of a planned sale of the family’s stake in the Lakers, “just the latest instance of a years-long pattern whereby Joey and Jesse Buss leak false, defamatory and pernicious `information’…for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. [Jerry] Buss’ chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father’s wishes.”
Kushner and Iger are purchasing about 65% of the Lakers in their deal with Walter. The Buss family’s share of the Lakers would give Kushner and Iger about 83% of the franchise.
That sale needs to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors, which is scheduled to meet Sept. 15-16 in New York.
Kushner also must sell his minority ownership stake in the Heat before he can officially become the Lakers’ co-majority owner.
KANSAS CITY, MO - AUGUST 06: Alex Jackson #70 of the Minnesota Twins celebrates at home plate after scoring in the eighth inning during the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday, August 6, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Sydney Schneider/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
First Pitch (CT):6:40 PM TV: Twins.TV Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App Know Yo’ Foe:Battery Power
Fresh off a sweep where the lineup went mostly dormant outside of the 1st inning yesterday, the Twins have finally summoned reinforcements to get the bats rolling: Alex Jackson.
Now, you may be thinking, is this the same Alex Jackson that has been needlessly taking a bench spot as a third catcher since Ryan Jeffers’ return a month ago? The same one who is taking away what could be a useful role player who could do something like hit against righties? Or pinch run or be a late defensive sub? Yes. That one. After being off the 40-man roster for 72 hours, GM Jeremy Zoll got cold feet and brought him back after Austin Martin went on the IL this morning.
While it would be fun to see Walker Jenkins or Emmanuel Rodriguez (or to a lesser extent, Matt Wallner) up with the Twins, I do get the lineup logistics with holding off there. To get one of those lefty bats into the lineup, one of Trevor Larnach, Byron Buxton, Luke Keaschall, Kody Clemens, Josh Bell, or Royce Lewis would likely need to be removed from the lineup, which just isn’t going to happen right now as those are all their best hitters (we can quibble about Clemens who has been pretty terrible for two months, but he’s done enough to keep his spot at this point).
This isn’t even a dig at Jackson, it’s just a fact. In the best case scenario for any ballgame, Twins fans aren’t even aware Jackson is on the team. In the past 3 weeks, Jackson has started 0 games, had 1 plate appearance, and played just four innings in the field. It’s a complete punting of a roster spot from a team whose offense is in the bottom 10 in nearly every offensive category of substance since the All-Star Break.
Maybe this group of players aren’t ready or never will contribute, but it would be a better use of a roster spot than Jackson collecting dust at the end of the bench.
Aaron Sabato: 1.114 OPS vs LHP this season
Ben Ross: right-handed utility player with a 1.011 OPS vs lefties in 2026. Think Ryan Kreidler part two (not great, still more useful than Jackson)
Kala’i Rosario: he’s struggled vs lefties this year, but he put up a .900+ OPS against them each season from 2023-2025.
Gabriel Gonzalez: honestly not a great season from the young righty, but there’s potential and he can play LF vs LHP
Kyler Fedko: out for the season with an ACL tear, but probably still faster than Jackson.
And that’s all before we get to the slew of right-handed bats released by bad teams over the past few weeks: Starling Marte, Gabriel Arias, Jorge Soler, Marcel Ozuna, and Joey Wiemer have demonstrated some ability to hit left handed pitching in the recent past and would be worth a flier.
Instead, we get to be one of three teams currently carrying three catchers. The others are the St. Louis Cardinals, who are only here on a technicality since All-Star Ivan Herrera is still technically a catcher despite 80% of his playing time coming at DH. And the last team is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a team you haven’t wanted to be mentioned with for over a decade.
No time like the present to get things going against a lefty! Twins legend Martin Perez is on the bump for Atlanta, and the book on him is largely the same as it was in 2019 when he was in Minnesota: he walks too many, doesn’t strike enough out, but gets enough weak ground balls to keep his overall numbers palatable.
It feels all doom-and-gloom, but the Twins are somehow still only a 1.5 games out of a playoff spot and have a very easy schedule after this week. From next Monday on, Minnesota has only three series against teams currently with a winning record. One against the Yankees and two against the White Sox (who are still the White Sox despite currently leading this terrible division). Weather the storm and get out of this week at .500 and everything’s looking pretty good from there. Let’s start things out right.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 16: Bo Bichette #19 of the New York Mets and Carson Benge #3 celebrate after the Mets defeated the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on Sunday, August 16, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Phebe Grosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
In the past two weeks, the Mets have swept two series and only lost one series. They were shut out in two of their three losses in the past 12 games, but other than that, the offense has ironically produced considerably better since losing Juan Soto. Francisco Lindor has been raking, Bo Bichette earned what I think is his first fireball of the year, Luis Torrens has gone on a power surge, and several guys who had been performing poorly are trending upwards.
Player
Last week
This week
Francisco Alvarez, C
Gabriel Arias, INF
—
Brett Baty, UTIL
Carson Benge, OF
Bo Bichette, 3B
A.J. Ewing, OF
Francisco Lindor, SS
Cristian Pache, OF
—
Jorge Polanco, DH
Luis Robert Jr., OF
Marcus Semien, 2B
Luis Torrens, C
Eric Wagaman, 1B/DH
Jared Young, 1B/DH
Let’s start with our raging hot hitters. Despite having half the number of plate appearances as the everyday players, Luis Torrens leads the team with ten runs batted in over the past 12 games (of which he played in 7 of them). Of his eight hits, half of them were home runs—good for a scorching 332 wRC+, which is by far the best mark on the team. Torrens has also walked four times and scored six runs. Francisco Alvarez, by contrast, has not done nearly as well, but has an at least respectable 91 wRC+ in his last 41 plate appearances. Of his 7 hits, three went for extra bases—two doubles and a home run. He also continues to walk at a much higher rate than at any point in his career, drawing five free passes over the past two weeks. Unfortunately he leads the team in strikeouts as well with 18.
Bo Bichette is our other fireball recipient, posting a 197 wRC+ in 53 plate appearances. He leads the team in hits with 18, of course buoyed by his 5-for-5 performance in Pittsburgh in the Mets’ 11-1 victory over the Pirates. Bichette also scored seven runs, drove in nine runs, and walked six times. Since his five-hit day on August 9, Bichette has only gone hitless in one game.
Francisco Lindor has been almost as good and I considered giving him a fireball as well. Lindor’s 11 hits are second only to Bichette for the team lead and he leads the team in runs scored with 11 and walks with seven. He has gone deep three times and driven in seven runs. In Juan Soto’s absence, Lindor has been the engine of the Mets’ offense in the month of August, including collecting the walk-off knock in the Mets’ come from behind victory on Saturday.
Like Lindor, Jared Young marks his second straight meter in the green with a 174 wRC+ in 45 plate appearances, still playing nearly every day. His ten RBIs in the past two weeks match Torrens for the team lead and his eight runs scored are second only to Lindor for the team lead. Of his 15 hits, six went for extra bases, including a home run and two triples.
Carson Benge has rocketed into the green with a blistering 189 wRC+ in 48 plate appearances. He got fireball consideration as well, especially considering how well he continues to play in the field, generating highlight reel worthy catches and outfield assists. Benge is getting it done on both sides of the ball, driving in eight runs and scoring eight runs in the past 12 games. He matches Young’s hit total with 15 and five of those went for extra bases, including a triple and three home runs.
Unfortunately A.J. Ewing’s struggles since the break continue; he put up a 61 wRC+ in 54 plate appearances over the past 12 games. Of Ewing’s 8 hits (good for just a .174 batting average), half went for extra bases, but he hasn’t hit a home run since July 8. Ewing scored six runs and drove in six runs, but he has not driven in any runs in two weeks and he has struck out 14 times over that span.
Jorge Polanco has continued to struggle as well, but it says something about how bad he was before that a 62 wRC+ is an improvement. He amassed five hits in 26 plate appearances, two of which went for extra bases, including a home run on August 5 that helped lift the Mets to an extra-inning win over the Guardians. That represented his only run scored and one of his two RBIs in this two-week span. We’re still a far cry from Polanco being anything resembling a productive hitter, but there have at least been signs of life.
Similarly, though the performances of Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. haven’t been anything to write home about, they are at least trending in the right direction. Robert joins Lindor, Bichette, Benge, and Young among the Mets that have notched double-digit hit totals in the past 12 games. Two of his eight hits went for extra bases—both home runs, one of which came on the same day as Bichette’s five-hit game. Though Bichette stole the spotlight that day, Robert drove in four in that game and he had just one other RBI in all of the other games in the past two weeks combined. Robert posted a 105 wRC+ in these 12 games. Semien, meanwhile, also went deep twice and amassed seven hits in total. He scored five runs, drove in six runs, and walked five times—good for an 84 wRC+.
Brett Baty also went from “bad” to “just kind of mediocre” in this early part of August, putting up an 82 wRC+ in 29 plate appearances, being reduced to a part-time role due in part to Jared Young’s consistent production. Baty went back-to-back with Polanco in that win over the Guardians on August 5 and five days later, he hit the first grand slam of his career in Atlanta, helping power an 8-5 victory over the Braves. That grand slam represented four of his five total RBIs over this 12-game span. He also walked three times and scored four runs. But he had just 4 total hits in those 29 plate appearances.
There are a couple of new faces on the meter this time around. Cristian Pache was called up to the Mets when an outfield spot became available after the Mets traded Tyrone Taylor at the deadline. Pache has gone hitless in his first six plate appearances, but has scored a run. Right after the Mets played the Guardians, Cleveland designated Gabriel Arias for assignment and the Mets picked him up. Eric Wagaman, who went 1-for-2 with a run scored, was optioned to Triple-A when the Mets added Arias to the roster. Arias went 0-for-5 during his brief Mets tenure and it turns out he may be a one-and-done for the meter series and a future Mets Sporcle answer because earlier today, the Mets designated him for assignment just nine days after acquiring him.
