As the 2023 season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Swanson getting x-rays:
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning of yesterday’s game against the Pirates, and Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports reports that Swanson’s wrist was swollen after the game, prompting the club to send him for x-rays yesterday. Results of the testing seem likely to be announced ahead of today’s series finale against the Pirates.
The Cubs have recently surged to just 3.5 games back after winning nine of their last 11 games. Swanson’s been a major part of that success, as he’s combined elite defense at shortstop with a solid .263/.351/.399 slash line, good for a wRC+ of 109. In the event that Swanson does miss time, Nico Hoerner figures to slide over from second base to shortstop with Christopher Morel, Nick Madrigal, and Miles Mastrobuoni among the club’s options to man the keystone.
2. Wade to undergo MRI:
Also undergoing testing is San Francisco’s LaMonte Wade Jr. The first baseman was scratched from yesterday’s lineup against the Padres thanks to side tightness, and Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area notes that he’s scheduled to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the issue. Like the Cubs, the Giants have been on a substantial hot streak, winning nine straight games in part thanks to Wade’s offensive contributions. It’s been a career year for the 29-year-old, who’s batted .280/.415/.463 (147 wRC+) in 272 plate appearances.
Should Wade miss time, the Giants could shift third baseman J.D. Davis over to first base, with Casey Schmitt or David Villar taking over at the hot corner. Still, the loss of Wade would be a major blow to the club’s infield depth, particularly with versatile infielder Wilmer Flores already on the injured list.
3. Red Sox infielder could make MLB debut:
MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported yesterday that infielder David Hamilton is set to join the Red Sox ahead of today’s game in Minnesota to provide insurance against infielder Pablo Reyes making a trip to the injured list. Reyes was scratched from yesterday’s lineup due to an abdominal issue. Per Cotillo, it’s unclear if Hamilton will be activated today, but in the event that he is, he’ll be poised to make his major league debut after slashing .255/.339/.486 in 237 plate appearances this season. A 40-man roster move would not be necessary to accommodate Hamilton, as he is already on the 40-man roster. The 25-year-old Hamilton joined the Red Sox organization as one of the two prospects they effectively purchased in the Dec. 2021 Hunter Renfroe/Jackie Bradley Jr. trade.
I am interested to see Hamilton. His scouting reports are :”meh” but anyone with 11 homers and 27 steals halfway through the season at AAA has to get a look.
Especially because he’s missed some time with injury and has those numbers
Sorry to hear about Swanson. Here’s hoping it’s no more than day-to-day.
We are all day to day.
More like moment to moment.
Olberman is that you???
I too am looking forward to seeing Hamilton, but not at the expense of Reyes. It seems like the Ks are too high for a 25 year old in AAA, but they might be just enough to make him a credible UIF.
Hamilton has earned a call up, but hopefully Reyes doesn’t miss much time as he has been the best SS for the Red Sox this year (combination of defense and offense).
The Red Sox have 5 effective outfielders (excluding Hernandez). They have Reyes, Arroyo, and Chang on the way. I hope they keep Reyes on the roster when Chang returns, and push Hernandez to the bench.
What’s wrong with Hernandez? I’d take him on my team. Then again, my team is the White Sox.
Hernandez is fine in CF defensively, but a BA of .229 and an OBP below .300…. The Red Sox have 3 better CF offensively (Duvall, Duran, and Refsnyder). Hernandez is the worst SS in the MLB defensively, so you are deciding between Arroyo and Hernandez for 2B (don’t forget Chang and Story will be back soon).
This is the third season in a row that the White Sox haven’t had a second baseman. We’ll take whatever you got.
For the money paid, are the Cubs really happy with a SS that isn’t even hitting 10% above average? I guess after the Lindor, Correa, and Baez contracts, its not bad in comparison, but why would you want to compare it to those stinkers.
I thought the Cubs reached on Swanson initially. But if he can maintain that level of production, Cubs made a smart move. Dude has been solid.
Guess you missed the whole “elite defense” part.
Also, OPS+ is a dumb stat, in 2021, Swanson hit 27 home runs, 33 doubles, a pair of triples while driving in 88, posting a .760 ops which wasn’t even good enough for “league average”. In 2022 he posted a .776 OPS+ which was 13 points above league average, 25 home runs 32 doubles and a triple.
Ops+ is not a dumb stat. You are just an idiot who doesn’t want to take the time to understand how baseball works
Saber stats should be used to enhance your eyes and ears, not to control them.
Islight—it is not a dumb stat–but to drascoo’s point it’s not the right stat to form an opinion on Swanson. If he’s only 10% league average on offense, he has to be about 150% above league average on defense. And since he leads ALL of baseball in defensive runs saved—150% is probably too low.
Watching every day makes even a Cub fan forget about Javy’s defense.
Dansby is every bit as good as everyone….and I was watching last night and he didn’t have to make a throw after getting hit on his throwing wrist.
And after basically seeing Codi Heuer’s arm fall off last night, Dansby’s injury is minor.
Just waiting for the career ending update on Heuer sometime today.
It absolutely is a dumb stat because it doesn’t take enough into consideration, such as position, spot and role in a line up and the biggest part GAMES AND AT BATS! How can someone argue player is A is 10% above league average with 600 at bats and player B is 40% above league average in 100? You cannot plain and simple. “League average” has to be considered on a season average, not at bat average.
Also, I’d love to see if you had the sack to call me an idiot in person.
OPS+ is a stat for the mentally challenged & the mathematically inept, in what rational universe do you sum two averages that aren’t even scaled the same and have it mean something important???
In 2021, everyone was hitting homers. MLB doctored the balls.
That was 2019.
You’re right. My bad.
The season is 44% done and Swanson has a 2.8 WAR. That is a 6 WAR pace. I would think they are ecstatic about his performance so far.
What we continue to be disappointed about on this board is your lack of understanding that hitting is only 1/2 of the game.
@baseballislife – Orlando Arcia has virtually the same stats as Swanson minus strikeouts. Dansby K’d 72 times whereas Arcia has only K’d 38 times.
Their defense is almost exact.
That’s why they call them career years.
And for accuracy, Statcast has Swanson at 10 OAA and Arcia at 5. DRS Swanson 10, Arcia 4.
And for accuracy, Dansby has about 120 more plate appearances because Arcia was hit by a pitch and suffered a wrist fracture.
Good point … Which then would allow his stats to settle in at historical numbers of a utility guy.
I’m not even sure what this discussion is about. Dansby is an excellent defender with roughly average offensive numbers. Arcia is a good defender having a career year. With equivalent PA’s, he’d probably have about the same WAR. He’s costing the Braves about $12M less than Dansby is costing. I love Dansby, but cost/benefit for 2023 up to this point is in the Braves favor.
AA is one of the best. Arcia is a lot cheaper than Swanson
A career WAR if 5.3, Arcia has never done anything to warrant more money. Which is why Atlanta got him for a couple bags of balls.
Hope Wade is all right. He’s always on base these days. But this team adapts, a key to success when the IL carousel spins at hyper speed.
I know he wasn’t featured in today’s article, but with Luis Arraez batting like .400, I was wondering when was the last time a batter had a BA of .400 or greater this late into June with enough playing time to qualify for the batting title? It has to be at least since Ted Williams, right? I Know Tony Gwynn fliterted with .400 right before the strike, but was he even at .400 at the end of June?
George Brett as well
Also check George Brett. He had a good run one year.
Don’t forget Rod Carew too…..he batted .388 in 1977.
Rod Carew was over for a couple weeks, June and July of ‘77.
I’d like to know exactly how he is doing it. Is he intentionally finding gaps, or is it that he’s just not hitting it directly at defenders? Does he see the ball better than 95% of the rest of the major leaguers? I imagine his speed plays a role here, but it is something special and I haven’t been able to watch him much. There has to be something here that other players can learn to do. I just think it’s fantastic and should be celebrated!
Arraez has never been considered a speedster. He’s actually had bad knees until a couple offseason ago he said Nelson Cruz gave him a workout that’s helped a lot
@krispes I was going to ask the same thing. He doesn’t hit the ball hard, nor is he fast. He also doesn’t hit very many home runs, or draws a lot of walks. He’s doing great, don’t get me wrong, but he’s a guy from 100 years ago. I’d definitely say there’s an element of luck, though he’s not just all luck either. He’s simply “hitting it where they ain’t”.
Chipper flirted with .400 late in his career
In 1990, Lenny Dykstra had a .401 on June 11th. It was still up to .370 at the end of the month.