Tommy La Stella won’t play again this season as he continues to recover from neck spasms that sent him to the 10-day injured list since September 12. Multiple injuries have limited La Stella to 136 games over his first two seasons with the Giants, and though the team owes La Stella $11.5MM in 2023 (the final year of his three-year contract), The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser opines that La Stella might be a candidate to be designated for assignment. One would imagine the Giants would explore trades before going the DFA route, yet in either case, the club would very likely end up eating just about all of La Stella’s remaining salary, unless they can swap him for another undesirable contract.
The changing rules limiting defensive shifts will be a factor in San Francisco’s decision-making, as La Stella will now have to show more range in order to play second or third base, and La Stella’s mobility has been rather limited since undergoing Achilles surgery. Since a more athletic roster is a stated offseason goal of president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, Slusser wonders if La Stella could be the odd man out if he is unable to play anywhere beyond first base or DH.
More from the National League…
- The Phillies are on the cusp of clinching a wild card, and interim manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki) that the injured Edmundo Sosa and Brad Hand could be options to return for the playoffs should the Phils qualify. A right hamstring strain has kept Sosa on the 10-day IL since September 16, while Hand was retroactively placed on the 15-day IL on September 22 due to tendinitis in his throwing elbow. The versatile Sosa hit a scorching .315/.345/.593 in 59 plate appearances after being acquired by the Cardinals on July 30, while Hand has struggled over his last few outings but still has a 2.80 ERA over 45 innings for the season.
- Justin Steele has been shut down for the remainder of the season, Cubs manager David Ross told The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro and other reporters. Steele hasn’t pitched since August 26 due to a lower back strain, and while Steele has been throwing bullpens, that work has been more about getting Steele fully healthy rather than prepping him for a final appearance in 2022. In his first full MLB season, Steele has a 3.18 ERA over 119 innings, with an above-average strikeout rate even though walks (9.8 BB%) were an issue. The left-hander has nonetheless put himself in good stead for a rotation spot in 2023.
- The Nationals also won’t start Josiah Gray again this year, as manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden) that Gray already talked his way into some extra work beyond his initial limit of 130 innings. Gray finishes with 148 2/3 innings in his first big league campaign, though it was far from smooth sailing for the right-hander. Gray has allowed a Major League-leading 38 home runs and an NL-leading 66 walks, en route to a 5.02 ERA over 28 starts.
The Nationals new owners first baseball decision should be to prioritize people that can do something to revamp how they handle pitchers and catchers. Not that they should interfere in the Baseball Ops side, but that they should consider this when the Baseball Ops heads are decided on.
Even in good years they were forever trading for bullpen help late in the season as they couldn’t develop any bullpen pitchers of their own. They ruin starters except for Schurzer – got one decent year out of Corbin but gave him a 6 year contract. He’s been lost since. Josiah Gray is regressing. Keibert Ruiz came in as an excellent young handler of pitchers, now he’s lost (and not hitting as he had with the Dodgers). And the Nationals fire pitching coaches as regularly as Theo Epstein did in his career.
Seem to be as backwards as the Royals have been working with pitchers.
The Orioles did more with Austin Voth in half a year (this year) than the Nationals did in 4-1/2 years of forever fidgeting with him.
Basically he said they gave him some analytics of his performances to look at which included recommendations on changing percentages of the pitches he throws and their sequencing. Then the pitching coach looked at old film, saw that for a bit he was throwing a sweeping curve ball along with the one he throws that breaks down. He showed the coach his grip that he used on the sweeping curve, the coach showed a modified grip, Voth tried it and used it.
He’s had a nice half-year with the O’s. Should be a starter again going into 2023.
Sometimes a new nasty pitch is all you need to fix yourself up. Look at Andrew Heaney. All of a sudden the Dodgers teach him how to throw a nasty 2seamer/cutter/slider and he is a new man.
This is why I’m surprised the split fingered fastball is so rare these days. It has helped several pitchers turn their career around. Supposedly it increases the risk of injury, but the guys who made it famous in the late 80’s never really got hurt. If I were a pitcher at the end of my rope, I would risk it to give myself another shot a success. People have done riskier things.
Don, as right as you are, all I can say is that the splitter is a hard pitch to throw and control. Large hands help. It is incredibly hard to control though. Thats about the ONLY reason I think it’s not thrown more. It is one nasty pitch to hit. Almost impossible seeming.
As far as the injury risk, yes it is definitely real. You have to jerk your wrist (and hence arm) in a very awkward, unnatural motion to break off a good splitter. Super awkward to throw. The guys that can do it well and on a sustained basis are incredibly rare.
To me, they are even harder to throw than a good knuckle.
I believe that. But Dave Stewart for example was in his 30’s when he began throwing it and he never really got hurt. Chuck Finley was mostly healthy for a very long career before Tawny kicked his @ss. Now they were both large men with large hands, so I see the correlation with hand size. But it made Andy Benes a successful pitcher when he was on his way out. So I look at a guy like Michael Wacha and think, why not?
Yeah I hear ya man. On the same page. It’s not that “a lot” of guys get hurt throwing it, it’s just hard and awkward like I mentioned. If you can throw it efficiently then you are OK. But first you gotta find someone with the wisdom to be able to teach you the pitch haha. I would confer with The Rocket and Ohtani.
For sure. I enjoy the discussion Trumbo. Always good hearing from you.
Ditto Friend!
The split finger definitely helped those guys, but you also need to take into account how it would complement the pitcher’s existing repertoire. I think a guy that throws a FB up in the zone would benefit from throwing a split, but not sure a sinker-baller would. And also, would it really be more effective than a change-up.
I think guys have moved away from the split, and adopted the change, because the change is an easier pitch to throw. It’s also less likely to be a pitch in the dirt, so maybe fewer PBs/WPs.. I could be wrong about that, but it does seem like the change is favored by a lot of pitchers these days..
I agree with you mostly,but will add, a good change is still hard to control. Some even hold a change with a semi splitter grip. Still a very hard pitch to master. Better off learning a filthy cutter with a 2 seam grip.
The thing about the change, at least according the Mike Krukow, is you don’t need to locate it like other pitches. Just throw in the middle of the strike zone, and even if the hitter has it timed, there’s usually enough movement that it’s hard to barrel. Again, I think there’s a reason for the change being so in vogue these days.
Tawny RIP
Yeah. I worry about the futures of some of their pitchers.
Philly is going to need Sosa in the playoffs.
Indeed. If they get there.
They are in sir…….magic # is now 1. Gene Mauch be damned….
Only 1? Heck, how could you mess that up? Haha
I wouldn’t be overly confident as a phillies fan right now. Sure the brewers could lose a game against the d’backs but it isn’t a given that the phillies will win 1 game against the al top seed astros. I will be proud to see the nl east get 3 teams in but I would never say it is a given with games left on the table.
I have to say THANK YOU MARLINS. Two losses by MIL that the Phillies badly needed for some cushion going into this Houston series.
Neither the Phillies nor the Brewers deserve the playoffs, but I will say the Phillies have a higher ceiling. If they can play like they played in June, July and August, they can surprise some people in the playoffs, but honestly, September was such a nightmare that I expect a first round exit.
C’mon VPH…..SD lost tonight as well……Magic # is 1….
Phils won 3/4 from DC…..Houston will be shorting the sp’s and resting some guys…..Doesn’t matter how they get in…Am just happy “this year” they get in after the failings of the past few….
Let’s enjoy the clinch for a couple days….
As a GenX’er….Schmidt needed Rose….Does Harper need a Rose or can he mature into one….?
It’s tough to pin point what this team needs. Defense is an obvious flaw, but really the offense is what failed them most in September. Injuries decimated the bullpen. SP depth. It’s a lot of issues, but like you I’m happy with a playoff appearance. Break the curse. Build upon that next year. Like what happened in 07 and 08.
Giants will not DFA La Stella until a doctor announces time of death. He’s owed too much money for an off season DFA.
Besides, the contract is probably insured and if La Stella can’t perform due to injury than SF gets reimbursed.
That was a terrible contract in the first place for the Giants. He had a 2 year deal with another team then the Giants said we will go 3 and even more money. You should never out bid another team for a average player or it comes back to bite you.
I have a bit of insomnia that comes and goes…..watching true crime shows helps me fall asleep….They all have those soothing narrator voices…..
Will look/listen for you in the future….
Dave:
I respectfully disagree. The Giants released Aaron Rowand when they still owed him $13.6M The Cubs ate $22M of Heyward’s deal. If Zaidi is serious about getting younger and more athletic, I don’t think $11.5M is that big an obstacle. Of course, it depends on if they have someone more effective to replace La Stella with. But if they do, I think La Stella is gone.
Farhan made a Splash with the LaStella Signing. Can’t wait to see who he’s going to get This OffSeason !
Speaking of the Phillies, if the Phils manage to take the 2nd WC, they are so due to beat the Mets. Upset incoming!
My prediction is that the braves will repeat as world series champions
I’d be surprised if the Braves repeated. It’s so difficult. So much has to go right. And it’s been 21 years since the last repeat WS winner.
Really what matters the most is if you can get hot at the right time going into the playoffs. The Braves are 21-8 since August 31st. Going into Sunday, they were tied with the Astros for the second most W’s and also tied with the Stros for the fewest L’s.
Actually since June 1st the Braves are 76-32. That’s a 114 win pace. That’s insane. Not sure many teams are constructed to do that. But the Braves organization is run like an effing machine… Scout. Draft. Develop. Sign and keep. They are the gold standard on how to produce winning teams.
But they didn’t win 114 games. A lot of teams can get hot for a couple months, but their record is for a full season. Not that 99 with 3 to play isn’t tremendous. But I also remember the 2001 Mariners who actually won 116 games, and then lost the ALCS 4 games to 1. The Braves are very good, absolutely no doubt, but for me I’ll always take the field.
They could very well win 102 games. That’s not exactly chppped liver. Considering they were horrible the first 2 months of the season, that is a remarkable finish by any standard. And that is still with a not 100% Acuna. Chemistry is the name of the game. And no amount of money can buy it.
Mlb1225,
“Hot at the right time entering the playoffs.”
BINGO my friend!
More importantly regarding Steele, he pitched at a cubs young level in the second half posting a 0.98 era with over 11ks per 9 and a k/bb ratio of 3.62.
And the Cubs are 49-39 since July 16 too.
Braves were 44 games over .500 in that span. The Cubs were 13. What is your point exactly?
The point is that the Cubs were expected to be minor league garbage this year and the winning showed the youngsters can play competitive, entertaining baseball. The Braves are reigning World Series champions and were supposed to be contenders.
Trade La Stella straight up for MadBum.
So your advice is to trade a guy making 11.5 million with something like a 7 million luxury tax hit for a guy who’s owed 37 million over two years and a 18.5 million tax hit? I’m sure the diamond backs would do that trade in a heart beat.
No way the Giants would want to do that. The Giants can release La Stella and eat $11.5M. Bumgarner is owed $37M for the next 2 years, and he can’t be expected to do much more than what he’s done for the D’backs for the last 3 seasons; an ERA+ of 84.
Trade Tommy La Stella, Anthony DeSclafani, & Jarlin Garcia for Madison Bumgarner & Reyes Moronta. La Stella & DeSclafani are still owed $35.5M, and MadBum is still owed $37M. Garcia is due for a bigger salary in arbitration than Moronta, so the $1.5M difference in the bigger salaries (TLS, Disco, & MadBum) will mostly be offset with the arbitration numbers of Garcia & Monronta. MadBum is now an innings eater and hopefully, he can rebound somewhat pitching in SF again. Disco is only good against marginal hitting teams, just take a look at his numbers in 2021 against the Dodgers.
Maybe the dollar numbers add up, but the production numbers don’t. No way do the Giants want Bum and Moronta back. AZ would jump at that trade proposal.
Despite struggles against the Dodgers, which happens to a lot of pitchers, DeSclafani has still been a much better pitcher, when healthy, than Bum. In his 3 seasons in AZ Bum has an 84 ERA+, and a total of 0.2 bWAR. DeSclafani has a 117 ERA+, and a bWAR of 3.4 for his 2 seasons in SF.
And Bum isn’t exactly a innings eater anymore. DeSclafani threw more innings in 2021, than Bum did in any of his 3 seasons in AZ. After 3 seasons of not being good, and averaging only 115 IP, I don’t think the Giants should gamble on hoping Bum rebounds somehow.
If I was DeSclafani, I think I would have very little respect for Giant fans. Which would be a perfectly reasonable position to take.
LaStella stinks. -0.7war… Who in he’ll would want that?
Had high hopes when we signed him, now I see him as another Aaron Rowand (decent credentials coming to SF only to be a total and complete flop). DFA sounds good to me, rather see our young prospects take his slot.
La Stella was a major disappointment. unlikely we’ll see him back on the field at Oracle…
If the Giants want to get younger and more athletic, per Zaidi, then they have to let some guys go; guys like La Stella, and Longoria. Longoria has been good when healthy, but the problem is he hasn’t been consistently healthy for the last 2 seasons. La Stella hasn’t been good or healthy.
I think Belt has maybe been the must underrated guy in baseball, but even he should not be retained. Crawford is signed for another year, and he’s been reasonably productive, if only mostly defensively. I think he’s the only one of those 4 that should be on next season’s roster.
If they’re going to do what they hope, then they just can’t make exceptions, hoping that La Stella, Longo, or Belt are going to be healthy enough. The Giants just have had too many guys that could be productive, if they were healthy enough, but weren’t. I think it’s time for the team to move on, and the way they’ve been auditioning guys lately, I’m thinking (and hoping) they will.
How about thinking big, and going for Judge?
Look for the Cubs to offer Pujols a one year contract to DH next year so he can pass Ruth and join fellow Cub Jim Edmund as Cub ambassadors
I feel cheated. Patrick Corbin had 18 losses and three starts to go. He made a few pitches in his third to last start and came out with an alleged back injury. He missed his next start. He lost his 19th but I smell something dirty here. I say the back injury was faked so he wouldn’t lose 20. Maybe next year.
Whether or not Josiah is a MLB caliber pitcher is still a GRAY area.
Unless somebody else really wants LaStella in exchange for their own bad contract
OR
the Giants break up some of their LH bat logjam
OR
they have a rookie position player they would rather have on the roster
Might as well
Just keep LaStella around as a ridiculously expensive 2B, 3B, 1B, DH option for 1 last year
La Stella and Disco to TOR for Ryu.
Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies on clinching a Wild Card and returning to the playoffs after a 10+ year drought!
Where are all the Dombrowski haters/ (Red Sox whiners) today?!
Remember, many Wild Card teams have won the World Series. The post season begins a New Season. Throw those regular season records right out the window.
The Giants won 107 games last year and did not make the World Series. It comes down to whichever team gets hot in October. The Cardinals have won a world Series with an 85 win team also. Through the 2020 postseason, five NL wild card teams have gone on to win the World Series (Florida in 1997 (DOMBROWSKI) and 2003 DOMBROWSKI built the core of the 2nd Marlins Championship club with his trades and drafts. The team won WS Title #2 after Dombrowski left for Detroit. , St. Louis in 2011, San Francisco in 2014 and Washington in 2019). Four teams won the NL pennant but lost the World Series (New York in 2000, San Francisco in 2002, Houston in 2005, and Colorado in 2007).