With just 17 days until the regular season comes to a close, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1: Altuve day-to-day:
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was pulled from yesterday’s game due to what the club described as right side tightness. Manager Joe Espada told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that he wasn’t worried about the issue at the moment and that Altuve was day-to-day, but it’s nonetheless a worrisome development for the Astros as they look to lock down the AL West and return to the postseason for a ninth consecutive season.
Altuve, 34, hasn’t hit at quite the elite level that he did the past two seasons but has nevertheless enjoyed an excellent campaign with a .304/.359/.452 slash line, 19 homers, and 20 steals in 622 trips to the plate. If the veteran were to hit one more home run before the year comes to a close, it would be his first 20/20 campaign since his MVP-winning 2017 season. Those aspirations may be put on hold for the time being if the injury proves to be more serious than the club initially believed, however.
2. Rocker to make MLB debut:
One of the league’s most interesting top prospects is set to make his big league debut, as the Rangers have scheduled right-hander Kumar Rocker to start today’s game against the Mariners in Seattle. The 24-year-old was a top ten pick in back-to-back draft classes in 2021-22 when the Mets selected him tenth overall before declining to sign him due to injury concerns in his physical. That led Rocker to take the unusual path of pitching in the independent Frontier League ahead of the 2022 draft, where the Rangers surprising selected the righty third overall despite many believing his stock had dipped.
Rocker ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery but has been brilliant since returning to action. In seven starts between the Double- and Triple-A levels this year, the right-hander boasts a 0.91 ERA with a 34.9% strikeout rate in 29 2/3 innings of work. He’ll now get the opportunity to show off his stuff at the big league level tonight, when he faces Bryce Miller (3.18 ERA) at 6:40pm local time.
3. Series Preview: Red Sox @ Yankees
The Red Sox did what they needed to do in order to keep their remote playoff odds alive against one division rival this week when they took two games in their three-game set against the Orioles. They’ll now travel to the Bronx for a four-game set against their archrival Yankees in another critical series. For Boston, a strong performance in this series is imperative to stay alive in the race for the third AL Wild Card spot, where they trail the Twins by four games. Meanwhile, the series provides the Yankees not only an opportunity to bury their oldest rival but also to hold onto their lead over the Orioles for the AL East title and the bye through the Wild Card Series that likely comes with it.
The series kicks off this evening at 7:15pm local time with a match-up between righty Cooper Criswell (4.11 ERA) and lefty Nestor Cortes (3.97 ERA). Righties Tanner Houck (3.24 ERA) and Clarke Schmidt (2.34 ERA in 12 starts) are scheduled to face off tomorrow. Saturday will see youngster Brayan Bello (4.70 ERA) take on Gerrit Cole (3.36 ERA in 14 starts). The series wraps on Sunday with right-hander Kutter Crawford (4.09 ERA) facing southpaw Carlos Rodon (4.21 ERA).
Looks like no one wants to win the AL EAST. Zero sense of urgency from the Yankees. It will come down to the last week. It’s going to be interesting, may the best team win. If the Yankees don’t win the AL EAST. FIRE CASHMAN AND BOONE!!!!! Hire Mattingly as manager and Jeter as GM. The time is now with Soto it’s now or never. World Series, or it’s another wasted season. Let’s go, Yankees!!!!!
Jeter is one of my favorite players of all time but he’s shown no reason for me to believe he’s a competent front office guy.
I like Donnie Baseball a lot as well but he’s never distinguished himself as a manager. And he’s had ample opportunity.
Fire Boone and Cashman for sure but those ain’t the replacements.
Joe – Agree with you on Jeter, he was a disaster with Miami.
Don though was a decent manager. Three division titles with the Dodgers, and had very little to work with in Miami. He sucked at challenges though, how do you get only 2 overturned out of 16?
Just guessing, but the way things have gone we might see the most competitive matchups in #1 and #3?
Hope Houck is fully recovered if he makes that Friday start. No sense to push him if he is still weak.
tff – With Houck it all depends on whether it’s an injury that can get worse, or just a dead arm. If pitching Friday won’t lead to a worsening injury, I say go for it.
It’s a little concerning if it’s fatigue ….. a 28-year-old with only 169 innings this season, compared to a guy like Lugo who is 34 and has already pitched 193 innings.
Well, it is the most innings he’s ever thrown in the majors so fatigue seems very likely. Concerning, absolutely, but I suspect he’ll bounce back next year.
Fever, the flip side with Houck is that while it’s *only* 170 innings on the year, hos previous high was all the way down around 100 in 2023, and, less than that in 2022.
Ramping up 70 IP in one season isn’t that bad all things considered. Now, had he thrown 140 or 150 last year it’d be no excuse. But, to some degree, allowances on historic workload have to be made
GASox – I hear ya! The reason I mentioned Lugo is because he’s got a similar background as Houck.
Lugo has only 22 more IP from 2021-2023 than Houck …. and Lugo has never pitched more than 146 innings in his career.
Houck went from 60 innings in 2022 to 169 now.
Lugo went from 65 innings in 2022 to 193 now.
People normally look at the jump from the prior year and/or the previous high. I’m not sure why you are ignoring 2023?
Lugo is up from 146 innings to 193 innings, Houck up from 106 innings to 170 innings.
Lugo’s ERA is up 1.34 runs from the first half, Houck’s is up 2.24 runs.
Seems pretty logical to me, both have seen their innings jump and both have seen their performance fall off. Houck more so than Lugo in both cases.
May also be worth noting that Houck throws 1.5 mph harder. All else equal, throwing harder will wear you out faster. Veteran pitchers (those who don’t burn out) learn that you don’t go max effort on every pitch.
tff – In general, the colder drier weather in March thru May favors pitchers because the ball doesn’t carry as well, we also saw that in Portland Maine for the Sox top prospects. Also the cold weather stiffens the defense, thus contributing to more earned runs allowed.
Specific to Sox pitchers, Bailey’s new first-pitch-offspeed-strike approach is no longer new and opponents have adjusted to it.
I haven’t followed Lugo closely enough to know if his second half decline is more than just weather related, but sure a SP throwing in 95 degree heat with high humidity (and a crappy uniform) is probably not gonna have as much energy.
Totally agree with you on the max velo.
Tbh if anyone deserves to be fired it’s Boone. His incompetence as manager is making me forget his 2003 ALCS walk off HR at this point. In terms of Mattingly I get the feeling he still holds some resentment towards ownership when he didn’t get the job over Girardi and ended up following Torre to LA where he eventually took over.
Cashman has been atrocious over the last 10 years in terms of his transactions/contracts but he’s basically an honorary Steinbrenner at this point. It’s almost a waste of energy to want him fired since it’s his job until he doesn’t want to do it anymore.
@mlbnyyfan
With my tinfoil hat on, I’m pretty sure the commissioner asked that the Yankees & O’s stumble their way to the playoffs in order to make for some drama at the end of the season.
Old – Think about what you just wrote.
There is NO real incentive to fight for a division title when both teams are guaranteed a playoff spot. The postseason expansion and new tiebreaker rules have taken the fun out of September games.
@Fever Pitch Guy
I don’t think; I just post!
“I don’t think I just point”…Another stream-of-consciousness poster?..Just another man after my own heart. Carry on.
Plenty to play for. First Round Bye.
I have seen teams with the first round bye,get knocked out because their bats went silent.I agree that it does rest up your team.If the team you play is hot then you being on the sidelines instead of playing can be a detriment.
So your saying its better to be playing in the first round, rather than resting? Specific examples aside, I’d prefer my team is well rested.
Also, pitching staffs are almost always in better shape for the resting team. Sometimes the first round team has to exhaust its staff to win series. Where as, the bye team is always fully rested.
What would constitute a “sense of urgency” in September? They’ve finally brought JD into the fold. The rest is working back injured personnel. Or are you still whining about the trade deadline that ended 6 weeks ago?
Jeter as GM is even more overrated than Jeter as HOFer.
Mattingly and jeter failed the marlins I doubt they would get another opportunity
But I would love seeing Donnie baseball in pinstripes again one day…
@ Lester
I get it that Jeter hasn’t shown much as a front office guy. But he has 5 rings, over 3400 hits and 74 WAR all while doing it for one team that happened to play in the one of the media capitals of the world. Jeter didn’t have it easy as ball player. Everyone was always waiting for the classiness to crack and it never did. He played with dignity and respect. I’m a Mets fan and it was a joy to watch Jeter everyday. That’s when you’d really appreciate what type of player he was.
Dude, when you make statements insinuating that Jeter isn’t a hall of famer, you make us Cubs fans look stupid. Jeter was overrated defensively, but to imply that he’s not a HoFer is just ridiculous.
As a Red Sox fan there was no player I did not want to see up with game on the line more than # 2!! Even Joey D( cause he would have been 75’ish by then)
This is sarcasm. It has to be sarcasm.
If you can’t enjoy baseball when your team is playing well you will probably never enjoy baseball.
They’ll never hire Mattingly and/or Jeter because eventually they would be let go and Hal would never want to deal with the PR nightmare of firing the two most popular Yankees of the last 40 years. Plus, as you know, it’s Cashman’s job until he doesn’t want it anymore.
Really? I would think Bernie Williams would be in the top two.
Red Sox still have a punchers chance to make the playoffs. They will probably need at least to split this NYY series, take 2 of 3 against TB and then sweep Minnesota.
It’# unlikely, but far from impossible.
I hope Fitts gets another start
@Joemo
They have a good chance to take a split at least. BOS leads the series 5-4 and have played the Yankees very competitively the past few seasons, despite not fielding the best team.
I would go to a 6 man rotation with both Criswell & Fitts. Houck, Crawford, Bello and Pivetta all do better with an extra day of rest.
I want to know which two teams would draw a bigger playoff ratings for a series than Boston and the Yanks.I know boston hasn’t had the best year but those playoff series games are must watch.
The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has been long dead. Yankees-Astros would be the biggest draw.
If you’re a Red Sox or Yankee fan. Even with the pitch clock, they make for a looooong game.
Altuve last season with the thumb issue then had 2 stints with oblique issues. Guess not case here with oblique. Thought swung to awkward there. But cannot lose him. But at 34 he is sliding in his skills. Hitting good still over 300. But just have not seen a lot last 2 seasons and as mentioned age and him being out a good bit last season. I think Altuve signed to 2030 or maybe a couple years before that. Hopefully he can still give us good stuff this next season or two. Yes he is on decline but if can still help team
Alvarez, Altuve, Bregman, and Tucker should’ve ALL been rested yesterday coming off that 12 inning game. Now there’s an early afternoon game today and flight to LA for series tomorrow and not another off day for 2 weeks.
1. Thoughts and prayers.
2. I saw Rocker and it reminded me of John Rocker. What a guy! Those were some fun games between the Mets & Braves back then. Too bad MLB banished him.
3. Speaking of the late 90s and early 2000s, I miss the heated rivalry between the Sox and Yanks. It’s just not the same nowadays.
No it really isn’t the same anymore.There were a lot of characters on those teams. Manny,Pedro,Damon. Sheffield,Giambi,Posada. And those Mets-Braves games in 99-00 were some of my all time favorite games.
Old – Nothing will beat 2003-2004 when the Sox and Yanks played each other 52 times …. and back then all the games actually MEANT something, not like today.
John Rocker wasn’t banished; he just was too terrible at his job to be employable
I hope he gets better, but Jose Altuve is a dirty cheater.
I address this comment specifically to people who are tired of hearing it.
Fuzz – At first I thought you wrote Altuve is a buzzer beater. LOL
If Altuve wears his buzzer on his right side, that might stimulate it and work out the tightness.
How hard does rocker throw? With a name and build like that…
Tyler O’Neill hit an absolute bomb out of Fenway to walk it off last night, hopefully that becomes momentum moving forward.
I keep thinking as a Cardinals fan trading him probably kept them out of the playoffs this year. But unfortunately for the Red Sox they made an even worse trade getting rid of Sale. Hopefully ONeill signs long term in Boston he seems to be a good fit there.
Unfortunately he won’t because i don’t see them trying to re-sign him. They’ll likely open the season with a Duran/Rafaela/Abreu/Refsnyder (if he doesn’t retire) unit until Roman Anthony is ready, which may come early in the season if he doesn’t break camp with the Sox.
I too would love to see Boston re-sign O’Neill but they will have to do some roster manipulation first. O’Neill’s RHH bat is desperately needed for a Red Sox team that already has too many LHH everyday players (Devers, Casas, Duran, Abreu & Yoshida). Boston also has (3) impactful minor leaguers who should make the MLB roster sometime next year in Teel, Mayer & Anthony. The problem is, all 3 of these prospects hit LEFT-HANDED as well. With O’Neill out of the picture, Boston would only have 4 capable RHH batters in Wong, Story, Rafaela & Refsnider. Hopefully, either Kristian Campbell can make the jump to MLB next year or Vaugh Grissom finds enough of his offense again to play 2B. That would give them 5 RHH who would play regularly (300+ ABs). Purposely excluding Utility IFs.
If two of the youngsters in Anthony, Teel and Mayer make the MLB club out of spring training next year, there will be nights where Boston will be starting 7 LHH in their lineup unless they make some key changes over the winter. I think Boston will actively look for a trade partner for Yoshida (eat 50% of the contract for a better return). They will also need to trade at least one more LHH batter (Abreu?) and possibly consider trading someone like Mayer or Casas too so long as the juice is worth the squeeze (pitching). Anthony is untouchable and Duran has played his way into the untouchable category as well.
If Boston is able to trade 2-3 of their LHH batters for pitching or other talent, they will have the necessary room to re-sign O’Neill and balance their lineup. Breslow has a very busy winter ahead of him!
Without some major trades, this is an entirely possible starting lineup for the Red Sox next season:
Duran (CF) – LHH
Roman Anthony (LF) – LHH
Devers (3B) – LHH
Casas (1B) – LHH
Yoshida (DH) – LHH
Mayer (SS) – LHH
Abreu (RF) – LHH
Teel (C) – LHH
Hamilton (2B) – LHH
I would sell high on Duran this off season.
I think they could receive a truck load back now that he’s established himself as an all-star. The Red Sox have a ton of prospects ready to play Major League Outfield and Duran is expendable in my opinion as the Sox consider a road towards youth.
I believe Hamilton is gone too. Sell high on him. He’s established himself as a major leaguer, let’s get something back for him now. Again we have a truckload of guys who play short and second.
O’Neill would fit well in the Detroit lineup.
No chance O’Neill signs again in Boston. Zero.
They have too many young guys waiting in the wings so why pay for a guy who gets nicked up and misses time? They bought low on him and he surpassed all expectations which is great for the Sox and great for him.
Kudos to the effort he put in this year it’s great to see.
Red Sox need righty bats. Without him the team is too left handed. With ONeill and a couple other lefty outfielders you basically need 4 guys for 3 spots. Trade Yoshida for Jordan Montgomery with some money going to the Diamondbacks.
Give him a QO, and then not care if he accepts it or not.
Good players help you win games. He’s a good player. You lose him the team doesn’t get better.
Unless they replace him and more. Harper left the Nationals, so they won the WS.
Rsox – Never say never, but just for perspective Rafaela hit a bomb last Friday and where did that lead them?
Hope you’re right, the Yanks aren’t playing very well either …. but it’s baseball, fortunes can change on a dime. That’s why I’ve always felt betting on baseball games is for suckers.
I’ll bet you a lollipop on tonight’s game.
hayzee – I see what you did, good one!
Now don’t get me wrong but the rivalry in late 90’s and early 2000’s was great ( especially 04) but even that pales in comparison to the mid to late 70’s!!! Fisk/ Pinella/ Lee/ Nettles… NOW they really hated each other!!!
Olm – The 60’s was even more intense!! youtube.com/watch?v=_K2USAKaSJc
So basically the Yankees were always a bunch of babies. I love the look on Gentleman Jim’s face. Did you somehow think he wasn’t going to hit you? Holy cow as Phil would say.
The rivalry hit its apex in 2004 but it’s almost bland today when compared to the decades before.
I’ll put the over/under at 13 strikeouts for Rocker tonight.
Debuting against the Mariners, this tracks
Waiting for Judge and Stanton to have batting practice against Kutter.
Just think where Boston would be if:
They hadn’t collapsed after the All-Star break
and
They weren’t 0-9 against Arizona, the Dodgers and the Mets.
Let – True, but all the others can say similar. Gotta consider SOS. Twins and Orioles racked by injuries. This is the healthiest Sox have been all season. Their rotation has been among the healthiest in MLB.
Kumar Rocker. Any relation to civil rights social justice pioneer John Rocker?