As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Diaz to return:
Mets righty Edwin Diaz is set to be activated from the injured list today. The Mets will need to clear space on their active roster to accommodate Diaz, but Tim Healey of Newsday reported last night that they’ve already done so by optioning southpaw Danny Young to Triple-A. Diaz has been sidelined by an impingement in his right shoulder since the end of May, and his return figures to get plenty of attention due to the struggles he had been facing prior to that injury.
From April 29 until his last appearance prior to going on the IL, Diaz posted a 9.58 ERA and 6.25 FIP in 10 appearances and converted just one of five save chances, leading the Mets to temporarily remove their $102MM reliever from the closer role. Now that he’s returning to action, he’ll aim to get back to 2022 form, when he pitched to an otherworldly 1.31 ERA and 0.90 FIP with a 50.2% strikeout rate and 32 saves in 61 appearances.
2. Dodgers altering pitching plans:
The Dodgers are set to face off against the Rangers in a rubber match this evening, and they had previously been expecting to send right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound against Rangers right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3.05 ERA). However, Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts told reporters (including those at MLB.com) that the club has decided to push Yamamoto’s next start back until Saturday against the Royals. Fortunately, Roberts didn’t indicate that there was a physical issue with the impressive young right-hander. Rather, it seems Yamamoto’s absence from the mound this evening is simply a way to monitor his workload and build extra rest into his schedule as he transitions to a heavier workload in MLB. (NPB starters typically pitch once per week, and Yamamoto has never started more than 26 games during a regular season.)
In the meantime, MLB.com’s Juan Toribio was among those to relay that the club is set to turn to right-hander Michael Grove, who has pitched to a 4.72 ERA in 34 1/3 long relief innings this season, to start what seems likely to be a bullpen game for the Dodgers. Tonight’s game is set to take place in Dodger Stadium at 7:10pm local time.
3. Interleague Pitchers’ Duel:
Another rubber match is set to take place this evening at Fenway Park when the Red Sox take on the Phillies for the final game of their three-game set. It’s not a game that figures to have much immediate impact on the standings, as Philadelphia has carved out a ten-game lead over the Braves in the NL East while Boston sits 11.5 games back of the second-place Orioles in the AL East with a .500 record.
What the game lacks in playoff impact it makes up for with an exciting pitching matchup, however. The Phillies are set to trot out right-hander Aaron Nola, who sports a 2.77 ERA with a 23.1% strikeout rate in 13 starts since signing a $172MM deal to remain in Philadelphia back in November. Meanwhile, the Red Sox counter with righty Tanner Houck, who has been nothing short of dominant so far in what is quickly becoming a breakout season. Houck’s 1.91 ERA is the best among all qualified AL hurlers, and the 27-year-old hurler’s 25% strikeout rate and 2.22 FIP largely back up those fantastic results. The two electric arms are scheduled to face off starting at 7:10pm local time this evening.
Makes sense, but when the Cubs did this same thing for Shota, his next start after long rest was a disaster (7 runs).
Shota was due for a bad start, and it’s possible that was gonna happen regardless. His start was also pushed back by almost a full week, while Yoshi’s will be two days.
Ha. I literally came here to say the same. It makes sense, but hopefully for him the extra rest doesn’t throw him off.
The Dodgers just can call up Landon Knack from OKC, too bad he already pitch 5 innings yesterday in Sugarland.
I’d bet the Brewers are eyeing him up for the Adames trade…
Brewers are in contention. Why would they trade Adames?
They wouldn’t. Unless the Brewers have a massive collapse in the next 6 weeks they will be buyers at the deadline
Small market team, Adames is about to be a free agent, he’ll be too expensive for the Crew to sign. He’ll reject the QO, so all they’d get is a comp pick. Can’t operate that way and keep the farm talent flowing. Trade him for prospects and next man up. Was the same with Hader.
Division leading teams don’t usually trade their team leader in Home Runs and Runs Batted In for the “next man up”. The Brewers lineup becomes much weaker without Adames
Can’t wait for Diaz to return to close out all those Mets wins… LOL!
People who enjoy these type comments are miserable jerks
@MetsSchmets
So, you don’t like someone cheering on the return of a team’s closer?
That’s weird, pretending your comment meant something different. Very weird. You pull stuff like this in real life?
@MetsSchmets
Do you take things out of context in real life?
What was taken out of context?
You guys are missing the big picture, which is: Does Timmy Trumpet still play Narco when Diaz comes in to pitch?
@MetsSchmets
Suggesting my comment meant something different. I said I can’t wait for him to close out some Mets wins. What’s wrong with that?
Lol my girlfriend does this crap too. You were obviously sarcastic. Changing your intent afterwards is so bizarre.
@MetsSchmets
I guess I won’t be happy when he gets a save. Are you a psychologist?
Dude, stop. You were being sarcastic and you’re trolling. The Geneva Convention of Trolling says you have to fess up when called out.
@rct
How was I trolling?
Old York
Can’t wait for you to come back here and post more brilliant comments …. LOL!
@MetsSchmets
I appreciate that you’re of fan of my posting style.
Totally. I have very little concrete evidence that you’re objectively a troll of overestimated intelligence. Very little at all…LOL!
A) you post garbage on every Mets article.
B) you added the “LOL”.
Just stop. It’s not clever or funny or interesting. You’re just wasting everyone’s time, including yours, if it has any value.
In the next 10 years I bet no one will be able to hit 200 innings in a season
Maybe if they go back to the four man rotation. Even then, it’s 5 innings per start. I think teams are going to start developing two inning relievers.
How’s your team looking this year? “Well, we have 32 pitchers, but 8 of them can play other positions.”
Players’ union would squash any attempts to go with the four-man.
@lowenstein. Owners will probably be against it, too. If you spread the innings across multiple players it drags down the earning power of those players when it comes to arb. Taking 50-60 innings off a starter and distributing it among 4-5 “relievers” doesn’t give those taking those innings much to point to for production, but it does impact potentially millions for the starter.
Players’ union would squash any attempts to go with the four-man.
===========================
I’m not sure they can. This is a team-by-team decision, same as a 6-man rotation.
NFL size rosters. Separate Offensive and Defensive units, players who can do both play both ways. Twenty plus pitchers. It’s the future.
Taxi squads. Already have a blueprint with the Cvid rules. Too easy.
@sad tormented neglected mariners fan
I’ve listened to some discussion about the possibility of teams moving completely away from SPs and focusing on bullpen only. No need to have 1 of your players unable to pitch for 5+ days and you can now have 5 other relief pitchers on your roster to use in a game. Given that SP are mostly going 5 innings now, it isn’t really that surprising that we could see something like this happen.
Someday there will be an Olympic event for pushing a baby stroller across the street without staring at your cell phone. Honestly, we’ve become pathetic. So maybe just eliminate base running from the game because it’s too hard and causes injuries. I’m glad I won’t be around in a hundred years to see what baseball has devolved into. Ugh.
I’m sure baseball wouldn’t even have a tribute for you, whyhayzee. Sorry to let you know in advance. They will honor players and managers and pioneers of the game, not whiners.
hayzee – MLB has been exploring the Designated Runner for a while now. It would allow for players to be run for without them having to leave the game.
Too late for Travis Hafner. Got injured too much playing 1B so they made him full time DH. Then he was constantly injured running the bases. I used to joke that when he hit he needed a Segue to jump onto to get to first. Probably would have even got hurt riding one of those.
If the Phillies are going to trot out Nola, does that mean the Sox are going to cantor out Houck?
Neigh.
No, but they might hoick out Eddie Cantor.
I don’t’t understand the Dodgers. They added two super players in Ohtani, who plays everyday, and a P who pitches once a week. I would say Mookie is playing out of position but he’s such a good athlete he can play anywhere. There’s Freeman, Muncy at the corners, but it seems as if there are still holes in the lineup like 2b and the OF and, of course, all the injuries to the P staff. (Dodgers fans, don’t pile on. I don’t see all of their games, but I do get to see all of the White Sox games. Jealous?) The thing that astounds me is that the Dodgers still have an iron grip on first place in the NLW despite some very good teams in their division. How are they doing that once again?
Depth. Friedman has been stacking it. Same applies for Cashman.
The Dodgers’ depth isn’t as good as it’s been in the past few years. Very top heavy, so there’s alotta holes to fill. Friedman’s gotta get better hitters in the bottom third of the lineup who are competent at playing the left side of the field. He also needs to stockpile pitching in order to deal with inevitable durability issues with the staff. Not the greatest job at roster construction, but this past off-season it seems ownership cared more about ticket sales and merch than putting together a well-rounded team….
Their top five in the lineup is as good as any in baseball. The real hole on the infield is at 3B where it’s being plugged currently by Biggio (when Muncy will be back nobody knows). An outfield of T. Hernandez, Pages, and Heyward isn’t a strength necessarily, but it also isn’t really a hole. Depth however is definitely lacking. A lot of the starting pitching injuries were known before the season began, which is why they signed Yamamoto, Glasnow and Paxton. Pretty soon they will have a surplus of starting pitching.
Sucks for Danny Young. He’s been great but unfortunately he’s one of the few RPs on the Mets with options. He’ll be back at some point. Maybe when they eventually trade some arms like Diekman or Ottavino (if the latter has any trade value).