As the second half of the 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. O’Neill to return:
Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill has been out since early May with a low back strain, but the 28 year old is expected to rejoin the team ahead of tonight’s game against the Marlins. O’Neill is on the 60-day IL, so a corresponding move will be necessary to make room for him on the 40-man roster. It’s been a difficult season for O’Neill, as he’s slashed just .228/.283/.337 with a 70 wRC+ in 99 plate appearances. In addition to his poor performance at the plate and time on the shelf due to injuries, O’Neill was benched early in the season by manager Oli Marmol for a perceived lack of hustle.
Despite all that, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicated yesterday that O’Neill will be the club’s starting left fielder upon his return. With Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker locked into center and right field respectively, that seemingly leaves Dylan Carlson as the odd man out. Still just 24 years old, Carlson was once a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport but has struggled to turn that promise into production at the big league level as he’s slashed just .236/.324/.376 (102 wRC+) in 686 plate appearances since the start of the 2022 campaign.
2. DeSclafani to return:
The Giants and Reds were rained out in the 8th inning of yesterday’s 2-2 game at Great American Ballpark. The game is set to be finished this evening before the second game of the series tonight. According to Mark Sheldon and Allie Kaylor of MLB.com, fans who have tickets to tonight’s game can come early to watch the end of last night’s game in addition to the regularly scheduled game, while fans who had tickets to last night’s game can present them at the ballpark’s box office for a $5 discount on tickets to today’s game. Last night’s game is set to resume at 4:40pm CT.
Once tonight’s regularly scheduled game begins at 6:10pm CT, Giants right-hander Anthony DeSclafani is expected to take the mound after being placed on the 15-day IL earlier this month with shoulder fatigue. DeSclafani was excellent across 11 starts during the first two months of the season, with a 3.48 ERA and 3.67 FIP in 67 1/3 innings of work. Since then, however, DeSclafani has struggled mightily, with a 6.92 ERA and a 5.28 FIP in six starts, half of which lasted just three innings. If DeSclafani’s time on the shelf has helped him rest up and return to form, he’ll be a major asset to a Giants club in the thick of the wild card race despite getting less innings from their starting pitchers than any team in baseball besides the A’s and Rockies.
3. Rays vs Rangers:
Two of the AL’s top teams are in the midst of a key series, as the Rays (60-37) and Rangers (56-39) partake in a three game set at Globe Life Field. The Rangers won the series opener 3-2 last night, a win that put them 3.5 games ahead of the second-place Astros for the AL West crown. By contrast, the Rays’ loss last night leaves the Orioles nipping at their heels, just one game behind Tampa in an extremely competitive AL East division. Tonight’s game is set to begin at 7:05pm CT.
Right-handed youngster Taj Bradley is set to take the mound for the Rays at 7:05pm CT tonight against veteran hurler and former Ray Nathan Eovaldi, who has emerged as the ace of Texas’ pitching staff following the loss of Jacob deGrom to Tommy John surgery earlier this season with a 2.38 ERA in 117 2/3 innings of work. On the other hand, Bradley has had an up-and-down rookie campaign. The youngster sports an ugly 5.43 ERA in 61 1/3 innings despite a much stronger 3.99 FIP thanks in part to brutal results in his last three starts, where he’s allowed 16 earned runs while managing just 12 1/3 innings.
Remember Carlson was too valuable to move for a pitcher in the off-season but can’t get on the field despite an infielder playing right field. The moves are just puzzling here
Puzzling is the perfect description.
SO many reasons to believe that the St. Louis Cardinal executives don’t assess talent well. Alcantara, Dejong, Arozarena, Oneill, Gallen, Ozuna and possibly Noot, are just a few of them.
Doli García…..
“Doli Garcia”…I still cannot believe they traded an All Star level OF in Garcia for “cash considerations”. Mo seems easy to outplay; you just ask about a player you DON’T like and he’ll say “untouchable” and then offer to trade you the player you DO like for peanuts.
What round was Nootbaar drafted in?
Since 2015 the Cardinals have drafted more WAR than any other team except the Astros.
Oh cardinals fans. How I loathe your team and this damn city. Your team is run beautifully up top, one year the on field results haven’t been there. The rest of us are used to that happening 3 out of 5 years. The mlb roster is loaded, the farm is deep and top heavy very good. Fans would riot if noot or Donovan were traded but they should be because that’s what teams would want for a front line starter or a young could be front line starter. I do think they’re a little gun shy after some random kids turned into studs elsewhere, they just need to get back on the horse and deal real talent (they have tons) for an actual playoff starter or 2. I mean what if things played out differently this year and they got in? They’d have far and away the worst playoff starting staff and would go no where. Enough with the 4 and 5 starters
I agree Knoll. But don’t generalize all fans that way.
MLB fan…Garcia was also DFA by the Rangers but he came back to them and then blossomed…so that wasn’t exactly poor evaluation…he just blossomed late…Now Randy A to the Rays for Libertore was pathetic
Liberatore…23…less than a hundred innings pitched in the MLB…most of those innings on a bad team.
Pump the brakes, hoss.
Charlie he’s the same guy that if we trade Liberatore he will blame Mozeliak for letting a stud pitcher go when he pitched well for someone else.
Cardinal fans don’t have any patience. Unless it’s Jordan Walker then defense be darned he must play and can do no wrong.
Lol ok I’ll wait for a guy without one plus pitch…fastball no good, curve ball no good, but yea…libertore is not going to amount to much…do you guys work for the cardinals player evaluation team…is so I see the problem
Jordan Walker will be playing 1b in two years.
Arozarena was traded after embarrassing Shildt, and then Shildt was fired so go figure. Sometimes having too many of something leads you in stupid directions.
Again with the Nootbar stuff King of Cards?…Personally I’ve never said Noot is not a decent player, be he’s a weird guy to draw a line in the sand as “untouchable”. He profiles overall as serviceable and useful, but he reminds me of dozens of other similar players I’ve seen in the past and I’d trade them all without hesitation, to get high end players such as Juan Soto or Sean Murphy.
When the heck did I say Nootbaar was untouchable?
I said there are 15 guys I would trade before him. That he’s a solid player and has many years of team control left. He’s not the kid of guy that we need to trade.
Soto was traded for an ENOURMOUS package of prospects. And he makes a lot of money too. Yes I absolutely wish we had traded for Murphy but we didn’t. Can’t change that now.
I don’t know who these fans are that say Nootbaar is some amazing generational talent. I have never ran into them on Cardstalk or Facebook. Little Stevie here was saying that but he said a lot of crazy stuff.
You’re quite naive to believe Carlson was the reason the Cardinals didn’t trade for Soto. He was the given excuse.
“Carlson was too valuable to move for a pitcher.”
Soto is not a pitcher.
Gregory Soto would like to remind you that he exists. @Gbs42
Carlson is a solid defender in an organization that has prided itself on defense for decades. Historically, the Cardinals focus on groundball and contact pitching. Unfortunately, their pitchers are going too deep into counts this year, turning possible groundball outs into hard hit balls. Carlson’s defense becomes disposable when your pitching staff can’t manage to make their pitches.
BringBackShildt
I think they are sacrificing Carlson in a hopeless attempt to rebuild O’Neill’s trade value.
Carlson is the best centerfielder on the team. Edman has the glove but he has a 2nd baseman’s arm. That experiment has shown me throwing doesn’t count in defensive stats. Nootbaar is quite negative in center.
The defense sucks because the brain trust has too many people out of position and keeps moving people around the field.
Cards Fan 57 : Wish I could give your comments ten more thumbs up.
Same here. Shildt getting canned for no “real” reason at all should have been a huge warning sign. I was too much of a blind fan to see that but we are a completely misguided if not sinking ship.
Cardsfan57 the problem is Walker. Nobody in St Louis wants to admit it but the problem is Walker. His presence since opening day caused all the other defensive problems in the outfield. It isn’t just that Walker is an awful defender it’s all the other guys who have moved around to get him into the lineup.
Cardsfan21;
The Shildt firing to me was the same as the White Sox trade for Kimbrel a few years ago…..
It was the crowing move in which those teams front offices were desperate to “get over the top” and had been making big moves
for a few years that weren’t working.
It’s not going to get any better from here for some time.
If you’re confused, think how the players feel.
If your boss doesn’t like you, that is a real reason. Happens all the time. Shildt was a bad manager. That’s why he is not managing else where since. Unfortunately, Marmol is much worse. Mo should fire himself if that’s what it takes to get rid of Marmol. The org needs fresh faces and to stop inbreeding (hiring only from within).
What was Schildts record as manager?
And he inherited a team that wasn’t all that good keep that in mind.
Walker is problem #1. Solid bat, should be DH only until he learns to play outfield.
The pitchers failing or being unwilling to pitch to Contreras is problem #2. He is fine but not Molina. The fact that Oli/Mo tried to bench him for a week was just a pathetic idea. They competed against him for 6 seasons and did not know who he was? The pitching is the biggest problem.
Agreed Playhard
Defense makes pitching look worse than it is. And the defense in 2023 has sucked.
While we are on the subject of Carlson. I’m tired of hearing about his problems with right handed pitching. He’s hit better against right handed pitching that Edman this year. He’s hitting better than Edman overall. Why is Edman playing center over Carlson? Edman really doesn’t have an outfield arm. Carlson does have an outfield arm.
Nothing this management team says tracks with the facts.
Thinking Walker is a problem is wild to me. He’s a kid and potential star, drafted by a team that has at least two other Nolans in his natural position, one of which is among the greatest ever. They put him in the outfield and said “figure it out”, which shockingly, he was not able to do at the highest possible level of baseball.
Give the kid a break, he’s playing outfield in the major leagues, and was thrown into it.
Great point Cardsfan57. I will say that Edman had an OPS of 800 before playing center but that’s just more reason he doesn’t belong there.
@fan57 Due to injuries, Carlson has missed about a month, O’Neill has missed about two months and Nootbaar has missed a month…so thankfully Edman has been available for the outfield.
Edman is very versatile, but MULTIPLE times we’ve seen him placed in a new defensive slot, and then his hitting suffers and his defense suffers. And when he plays A LOT of innings, his performance suffers.
He’s a human being and he’s on a bad team.
Edman was forced into this spot and the Birds are lucky to have him be available to fill in.
Take a breath. Yeesh.
I’m not complaining about Edman. I like Edman I’m just saying that Carlson should be in centerfield when he’s available.
Marmol and Mo do something Whitey Herzog always said should be avoided at all costs. Put a player in a position to fail. Marmol and Mo have been doing it constantly. O’Neill taking over leftfield? His AAA performance says he isn’t ready. I’m not sure why he isn’t ready but he’s not. He didn’t even play in the field in Memphis. He was DH. That tells me he’s not 100% yet they are going to put him in as the starting left fielder.
Why does he deserve a break?
Gorman was faced with the same problem. He became a DH until his defense improved which it definitely has.
Why is Walker different?
A terrible manager once said this isn’t a developmental league.
Walker playing the field has led to numerous problems all season. I can list them 1 by 1 if needed.
“Marmol and Mo do something Whitey Herzog always said should be avoided at all costs. Put a player in a position to fail. Marmol and Mo have been doing it constantly. ”
CardsFan57;
Amen,
A part of running an MLB Baseball Organization is to get the players in position to succeed, and to maintain flexibility. Flexibility doesn’t mean that 2 guys play out of position because you traded for one guy, then 2 other guys play out of position because the first 2 bumped guys are playing their positions….and on and on.
It’s also to assure that the coaches are maximizing the players abilities; the manager is using the players properly when running games; the players clearly understand their roles and have the ability to carry them out; and the FO leaves some flexibility in both expendable cash and players as the roster changes during the year.
The Cardinals FO has backed itself into a corner. Professional sports front offices that do that inevitably look for scapegoats…and never in the mirror.
playhard,
I’m confused because you say Walker is problem #1 but pitching is the biggest problem. It can’t be both.
Also, Walker isn’t the problem if the team puts him in the OF instead of at DH, the team’s decision-makers are the problem.
And no catcher could be expected to be the next Yadi. The Cardinals decided to live with his defense to get his bat. After taking a couple months to settle in, he’s been raking the last several weeks.
Yes if you want to argue semantics the people who decide to play Walker in the outfield are the problem as much as Walker himself.
The point is Walker doesn’t belong out there. He doesn’t belong out there tonight. Nootbaar in center Walker in right Burleson in left that’s tonight’s outfielder configuration. And that’s a mistake.
That’s just a rumor there is no evidence it’s actually true at all.
“O’Neill was benched early in the season by manager Oli Marmol for a perceived lack of hustle”
One of the best managers I’ve ever worked for said to me, “I don’t expect anyone to do anything I cant” could Oliver Marmol have scored on that play? Then I believe it’s inexcusable to throw a player under the bus who needs to be tested on a 2-3 day playing schedule with a day rotated for rest? Who cares what the player says? O’Neil if healthy at 130 games per year would do more damage than O’Neil being hurt because he didn’t run the damn bases fast enough? But don’t ask me… I flunked out of math because I was expected to show 4 hours of work on long division in algebra I’ve never used once again in my life for anything because society doesn’t provide opportunities for criminals? Sad… 180 IQ might have built a perpetual motion machine and been assassinated by the illuminati like Kobe Bryant for wanting to BREATHE….
There’s layers to this people gotta understand.
First of all ONeill never should have been sent. I think he knew that and that’s why he wasn’t running full speed around 3b. It was the 3b coaches fault not ONeills
To call out a guy for not hustling when he’s literally in better shape than 99.9% of the people on the planet is incredibly ignorant.
ONeill has been off the DL for 2 days now. Is he in the lineup? Nope. Walker is in right. Nootbaar in center. And Burleson is in left. 2 out of 3 of those guys are negative win players. And I think Nootbaar might be as well when he’s in center.
This is ridiculous.
His ERA is 2.83, not 2.38. You have the #same switched.
O’Neil is being showcased to be traded. Simple as that. Carlson MAY get traded, but O’Neil will be gone, even though his trade value is not high.
There’s a surplus of non-pitchers and the O’Neil era is nearly over. Bet the farm on it.
Nobody is gonna trade for an overmuscled corner OF nearing 30 who is hurt all the time and is hitting like he is.
He’ll be traded for a change or scenery type player or a player about to be DFA.
I have zero problems with Oneill effort level, but there is the distinct possibility, that professional style body-building and baseball do not mix. Tyler is obviously in great shape, but is always hurt for some unknown reason.
Gee…he kind of reminds me of Stanton of the Yankees…..built like a brick you know what, but constantly gets hurt running out ground balls of which he hits a lot interspersed with massive launch angle and distance HR’s……..
Happened to cespedes all that hardcore lifting puts insane pressure on your joints
O’Neills swagger to performance ratio is out of whack. Common issue in the world of the Adonis.
You are an angry little Cubs fan seamaholic. You are one of the guys I remember from 15 years ago back when I used to comment here.
Oneill is “Dead man walking”, despite what Ole MO is trying to sell.
Yep, fan, it’s hard to give O’Neil the benefit of the doubt when he won’t stop with the bodybuilding. I was REALLY hoping he’d show up to spring training more nimble and less bulky since this year was his shot to show he could stay on the field, but that didn’t happen.
Him continuing to defy the prevailing thinking of how a BASEBALL-trained body is built is frustrating.
It’s a shame. I believe the guy loves baseball and works hard…but step away from the weight rack and onto the yoga mat, bruh!
He’ll have plenty of time to look in the mirror when his bulky, injured hamstrings run him right out of the game.
Perhaps trying to play him in center was a mistake considering his injury history.
And who likes bodybuilders anyway? Talk about a waste of your life. There’s no skill or ability involved. You just lift weights all day.
It’s hard to say with a straight face that someone is wasting their life while you sit on your butt and post comments on a site called trade rumors.
Maybe, despite his defensive abilities, someone will use him as a DH?
He’s a tremendous fielder, but none of that matters if he can’t stay on the field.
He still has an arb year, so he should get another chance to prove he’s smarter than he’s been for the last several years.
Maybe his muscle head stubbornness is a short guy thing since, despite what his baseball card says, he’s no taller than 5’9″.
Maybe he belongs in left field and never should have been playing center considering his injury history
Maybe you are jealous because he would knock you out cold in a fight.
Like I said Cardinal fans in one breath complain about all the outfielders who went on to have success after they left. And in the other breath they want to run ONeill out of town.
How do you think this ends?
You may or may not have noticed, I haven’t complained much about the moves Mo/Schildt have made, because I generally support them at the time they’re made.
Granted, I’m not on the inside and I’m not a baseball professional, but I’m an avid fan and I pay attention.
At the time the moves people typically complain about we’re made, the only one I was dead set against was firing Schildt.
For example, the people I spoke with/listened to about Arozarena, at the time of the deal, knew it would hurt, but supported it, in general. Obviously, we were all wrong.
But most people won’t admit it and love to point fingers.
But that’s hockey.
Plenty of time to look in the mirror
Muscle head stubbornness
You mad bro?
Like I said be careful what you wish for. If and when ONeill goes on to have success with another team don’t go blaming Mo.
All the cardinal players they label as untouchable always wind up in the clearance rack.
Dunning has just been the man this year. Not sure the Rangers would be in the place they are without him stepping up, especially with Perez struggling.
100%. 5 or 6 man or swing man expectations, pitching like a 2. Still don’t want to see him in a short playoff series so we’d need one more starter, but as a 4 in a longer series, what a blessing he could be. Teen needs to be a once through the order at most in the playoffs provided we make it
But, Chapman has been the real man this month. Did you watch him blow through those 3 consecutive hitters with strikeouts? 102-103 on a 2 seamer is quite something. I wanted that guy ever since he came to the US. He’s back to his old self! 6 innings, 2 hits, no walks (!), and 10 Ks
Dunning has been quite elite as one of 2 guys acquired for Lance Lynn.
Last losing season 2007. Fix the pitching and this year could be a one off. But the time to make moves is before everyone else does.
It absolutely boggles my mind the Giants have been as good as they have been with that rotation. Webb and Cobb have been two of the better pitchers in the NL but after that it’s like AAA caliber stuff
I doubt there is a smarter group of coaches in baseball for maintaining a pitching staff than Bailey, Bannister, Albernaz, and Kapler. The rotation is getting healthier and I’m thinking they’re a legit division threat
The bulk inning starter/reliever system has been impressive. They over taxed the bullpen last year, recognised it, and come up with a way. They are a cerebral group of men for sure. Lucky to have them.
If I had told you at the start of spring training that deGrom would be out all season and the Rangers would be still be in first place at the All Star break you would have said I was crazy.
If deGrom was the front-runner for AL Cy Young most of the regulars here would still have called you crazy. So much hate for the Rangers the last couple of years after the big signings. Apparently they knew what they were doing all after all.
Nah. I would have called you crazy if you would have said deGrom would even make it to the all star break.
They won’t trade O’Neil. They would be selling low. If he stays healthy fine. If he doesn’t stay healthy then they can sell low in the off-season. Nothing to lose but maybe everything too gain. Just my opinion.
Lol. “Last losing season 2007.”
Big deal.
5-17 in their last 22 postseason games and ONE playoff win since the 2019 division-round series. Bigger deal.
Those winning seasons you’re so proud of don’t mean anything.
So Carlson is out even though he’s playing better at the major league level than O’Neill played at AAA. Carlson is praying for a trade. He’s responded well every time he gets consistent playing time. Carlson has to feel like he’s been jerked around quite enough.
I find it ludicrous that Carlson is considered a disappointment because at age 24, he’s only been an average major league player. So you’re saying he’s only better than half the players out there?
Both ONeill and Carlson have been jerked around in 2023. All so Jordan “negative WAR” Walker can play.
FYI to the author: SF-STL wasn’t “rained out” on Monday, the game was suspended in the 8th inning with the score tied. That’s why they’ll finish it tonight before the scheduled ballgame.
FYI to Chucky: It’s SF-CINCY
Nothing beats a good semantics argument.
Read the rulebook. Since the pandemic began, a ballgame can be rained out only if it hasn’t started.
Re the game that got suspended, I stand corrected.
Mr.Deeds to you
Anyone else find it extremely cheap and inadequate to offer fans from last night’s unfinished game FIVE dollars off a new ticket? I get that there isn’t space to allow everyone to attend today’s game, but I’d be pretty peeved if they called a tie game 3/4 of the way through then told me I am ‘entitled’ to a fiver in future. Maybe something like a half priced ticket in future?
Poor treatment of fans!
That is actually a good deal because you can see the rest of the suspended game and the scheduled game for a $5 discount.
It used to be if a game went eight innings and was rained out in a tie, the rain check was invalid. The game would go into the book as a tie with players’ records counting. The game would be made up from the beginning.
Fewer innings, less durable.
Nick – A 5.43 ERA is subpar, not ugly. a 9.63 ERA is ugly.
Anything over 5 to me is ugly.
Hi Wilmer!
Hi Agnes!
Hi Agnes and Wilmer. Let’s go JD. Get them both home !
I’ll take a sac fly!! I forgot who the trailing runner is. A single should score them both though.
That Elly dude is impressive. His toolset reminds me of O’Neil Cruz, I’m glad he’s slumping now though.
Get them home anyway possible!
A 3 run blast, aka an Earl Weaver special would be nice too! Win two on twosday!
Elly has quite the arm and he’s huge! 6’5”!
Cardinal fans like to whine and complain about all the outfielders who were traded and went on to have success on other teams.
But then you read the comments about ONeill in this thread and others. They are trying to run him out of town so Jordan “negative WAR” Walker can play everyday.
So who’s fault is it?
Disappointing that any multi-part post involving the Cardinals descends into all this bitterness (past and present), but I guess that’s to be expected with one of the three most underperforming teams in baseball.
Anyway, not that this thread mentions it, but MLBTR stories on the Rays keep mentioning their need for more pitching when ITS LACK OF HITTING THAT IS THE ROOT OF THEIR DECLINE. In point of fact, they have been overachieving for most of the year at the plate and are finally hitting where everyone expected them to (after having done nothing to improve the offense in the off-season). The only real UNEXPECTED bring spots has been Raley and JOSH Lowe.. Brandon Lowe continues to disappoint big time. Siri, sadly, achieved some HR success early on and now swings at ANYTHING……and has the Ks to prove it. Margot, while having some early injury issues, still isn’t hitting like he is capable. Yandy is great. Wander is great. Randy Arroz is very good. Itzak and Harold are hitting as expected. Walls had a good start, but that’s history (but he is so savvy in the field, he needs to play everyday!). The rest are the .210- .240 hitters everyone expected. GET AN;OTHER POWER BAT!
DeSclafani 2IP; gives up two 2-Run HR. Little break on the IL didn’t help.
It’s not “less innings,” it’s “fewer innings.” Who did Mr. Deeds have to pay to get onto this writing staff?