Yankees Place Giancarlo Stanton On Injured List
April 28th: The Yanks officially put Stanton on the IL today, with infielder Max Schuemann recalled as the corresponding move. It appears the Yanks will play one more game with 14 position players and 12 pitchers. They plan to recall Elmer Rodríguez to start Wednesday’s game, so it may just be a one-day stint on the roster for Schuemann.
April 27th: The Yankees are placing Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list with a “low-grade” strain of his right calf, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (relayed by Erik Boland of Newsday). They can backdate the placement to April 25.
New York recalled Jasson Domínguez to serve as the designated hitter in tonight’s 4-2 win over the Rangers. They played with 14 position players and only 12 pitchers after optioning struggling starter Luis Gil on Sunday. That means they’ll probably recall a reliever tomorrow as the corresponding move for the Stanton IL placement.
Stanton tweaked his calf on Friday while running the bases. The Yankees gave it a few days before making the IL move. Between that and Boone specifying that it’s of a low-grade variety, it doesn’t seem the club anticipates an extended absence. Stanton will need at least another week before he’s able to return to action.
It’s the first injury of the 2026 season for Stanton. He has required at least one IL trip in every year since 2018 and hasn’t reached 500 plate appearances in a season in five years. The Yankees surely anticipated at least one injury absence from the five-time All-Star.
Stanton is out to a league average start at the plate. He’s hitting .256/.302/.422 with a trio of home runs through 96 plate appearances. The power numbers are down in the early going, but Stanton still ranks at the top of the league in bat speed and exit velocity. Even if repeating last season’s .273/.350/.594 slash would be a tough ask, he should remain an impact power threat when he’s able to take the field.
This should open the DH spot for Domínguez, at least against right-handed pitching. He got the nod tonight against Jack Leiter and went 1-4 in his season debut. The Yankees face two more right-handers, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, to close that three-game series. The switch-hitting Domínguez has been much better from the left side in his career and would be the sensible choice to start those games.
The complicating factor is that the Yankees are expected to welcome Anthony Volpe back from the injured list this week. That’ll push José Caballero to a utility role and someone off the big league bench — presuming they don’t want to stick with a 12-man pitching staff. Ben Rice hasn’t caught all season and is destroying the ball as the primary first baseman. They may not want to mess with that arrangement by optioning J.C. Escarra and making Rice the backup catcher.
They could option Domínguez back to Triple-A, but he’s probably not benefiting much from destroying mediocre minor league pitching. He was squeezed off the season-opening roster simply because the Yankees couldn’t find a path to getting him everyday playing time, which is now open at DH as long as Stanton is on the shelf.
That could instead point to them designating a veteran role player for assignment once Volpe returns. Randal Grichuk broke camp in a short side platoon outfield role and is hitting .194 without a home run over 33 plate appearances. Paul Goldschmidt has had a slow start as well but figures to have a longer leash in his second season in the Bronx on a $4MM contract.
Phillies Fire Rob Thomson, Name Don Mattingly Interim Manager
There’s a major shakeup in Philadelphia. The Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday morning. Don Mattingly is the interim skipper, with the team’s press release saying he’ll hold that position for the remainder of the 2026 season. Philadelphia promoted third base coach Dusty Wathan to replace Mattingly as bench coach while calling up Triple-A manager Anthony Contreras as third base coach.
Philadelphia is the second struggling big-market team to make an early managerial change. The Red Sox dismissed Alex Cora and much of their coaching staff over the weekend. The Phillies didn’t overhaul the staff to the same extent, but it’s a major change nonetheless. They’ll hope it’ll light a fire under an underperforming team that is out to a 9-19 start, tying them with the Mets at the bottom of the National League.
It’s easy to connect the dots given the timing of the firings. Phils president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was leading the Red Sox’s front office when Boston first hired Cora in 2017. The Sox won the World Series a year later. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Phillies offered the job to Cora, who declined while citing a desire to spend more time with family. Cora’s deal with Boston paid him upwards of $7MM per season through 2027, so he’s well positioned financially to take some time away if that’s indeed his preference.
The Phillies decided a change was needed even if Cora weren’t interested. Mattingly seems set to handle through the job through the end of the season. Of course, he has an even stronger tie with the Philly front office. His son Preston is Philadelphia’s general manager, the #2 in baseball operations underneath Dombrowski.
The firing ends Thomson’s three-plus year run leading the club, one that was highly successful overall. He was initially hired on an interim basis when the Phils dismissed Joe Girardi in June 2022. Thomson took over a team that was seven games below .500 and 12 back in the NL East. They went 65-46 the rest of the way to snag the NL’s final playoff spot, then tore through the Senior Circuit playoff field to win the pennant. Even after they dropped a six-game World Series at the hands of the Astros, it was an easy call for the Phillies to commit to Thomson as the full-time skipper.
It’d be too simplistic to attribute the ’22 turnaround solely to the managerial change. The Phils dismissed Girardi because they had a talented roster that wasn’t performing to expectations. Some kind of improvement was probably inevitable either way. The Phillies’ regular season results continued to improve during Thomson’s three full seasons at the helm. They respectively won 90, 95, and 96 games between 2023-25. Philadelphia has won the NL East in each of the last two seasons and comfortably made the playoffs all three years.
Despite the regular season trend, their postseason performances have gone in the wrong direction. Philadelphia lost a seven-game NLCS to the Diamondbacks in 2023. They’ve been bounced in the Division Series (by the Mets and Dodgers, respectively) in each of the past two years. Philly’s front office has pointed to the unpredictability of short series in remaining committed to Thomson as manager. They signed him to an extension running through 2027 last December.
Things changed quickly. The Phillies couldn’t have started this year much more poorly. They’ve only won two series, and those came against the Nationals and Rockies. They’ve lost each of their past six series, including a 10-game losing streak that dropped them from .500 to 8-18 last week.
The issues have been up and down the roster. Cristopher Sánchez has been their only effective starting pitcher. The offense has scored 102 runs, above only the Giants and Mets. They’re 29th in batting average and on-base percentage while ranking 17th in home runs. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh have been their only above-average hitters. They’ve gotten particularly poor starts from Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott, while offseason signee Adolis García hasn’t provided much in right field.
Philadelphia’s recent success has been built on excellent starting pitching and a potent lineup. They’ve had a difficult time building strong bullpens and are one of the league’s weakest defensive teams. The rotation should benefit from Zack Wheeler’s return from thoracic outlet surgery and more consistency from Jesús Luzardo, but they’re lacking depth beyond their top five arms. The Phillies let Ranger Suárez walk in free agency, relying on Andrew Painter to step into the rotation. Painter’s performance has been up and down, while Aaron Nola continues to be much too susceptible to home runs. They pulled the plug on Taijuan Walker last week, releasing the struggling righty once Wheeler returned.
The front office certainly deserves some of the blame for the underwhelming start. That said, it’s not as if Thomson’s managerial tenure was uniformly positive. He came under some fire for his in-game tactics in the playoffs and had a rift with Nick Castellanos, who publicly criticized the skipper’s communication skills. Veteran reliever Matt Strahm reportedly also voiced some displeasure internally with how Thomson handled his bullpen last season. The front office sided with Thomson in both instances, releasing Castellanos and trading Strahm to Kansas City.
It now falls on Mattingly to lead a turnaround, one the Phillies hope will resemble their 2022 season. They’ve already dropped 10.5 games behind the red hot Braves in the division race. Getting to 90 wins would require them to play at a 60.4% clip (a 98-win pace) for the rest of the season. It’s doable but leaves them without much margin for error, and another few weeks of play this poor would dig a hole from which they’d have almost no chance to recover.
The 65-year-old Mattingly is in his first season in Philadelphia. He spent the previous three seasons working as John Schneider’s bench coach in Toronto. The Jays came up just shy of winning a World Series last year and hoped to bring back their entire coaching staff. Mattingly declined, preferring the Philly opportunity. It seems fair to assume he didn’t expect to be the interim manager within a month of joining one of the NL’s perennial contenders, but that’s the situation in which he finds himself.
Mattingly has 12 seasons of managerial experience. He led the Dodgers from 2011-15 and skippered the Marlins between 2016-22. He predictably had much more success in Los Angeles, leading the team to three division titles. Mattingly made the postseason just once in seven seasons in Miami, a 31-29 showing during the shortened 2020 schedule. He holds an 889-950 record as a major league manager.
Wathan assumes his highest-profile role on the Philly staff. The 52-year-old has been in the organization for nearly two decades. He worked his way up as a minor league manager and has been the third base coach since the 2018 season. Wathan has held that position under Gabe Kapler, Girardi, and Thomson. Contreras now takes that role for his first MLB coaching opportunity. He has managed Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the last four-plus seasons.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic was first on Thomson’s dismissal and Mattingly being named interim manager. Respective images courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images.
Yankees To Recall Elmer Rodríguez For MLB Debut
The Yankees will recall highly-regarded pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez this week, as first reported by Yankees Farm. Manager Aaron Boone tells Talkin’ Yanks that the 22-year-old righty will start Wednesday’s game against the Rangers.
Rodríguez will oppose Nathan Eovaldi in his MLB debut. The Yankees have already tabbed Cam Schlittler to go against Jacob deGrom in tonight’s fantastic pitching duel. They’d listed Will Warren as their probable starter on Wednesday. He’ll evidently be pushed back beyond Thursday’s off day and make his next outing this weekend against the Orioles.
The Yankees haven’t announced their weekend rotation plans. It seems likely they’ll go with Warren, Ryan Weathers and Max Fried in that order. Warren and Weathers will be working on two extra days of rest, while Fried will be on five days rest after starting last night.
New York has an opening on the pitching staff after optioning Luis Gil on Sunday. They called up Jasson Domínguez in conjunction with the Gil demotion, but they can return to a 13-pitcher setup by calling up a fresh arm when Giancarlo Stanton goes on the injured list today. They could recall Rodríguez today or go with a ninth reliever for tonight’s game and make another move tomorrow.
Rodríguez is arguably the organization’s top pitching prospect. The Yankees acquired him from the Red Sox in a December 2024 swap for catcher Carlos Narváez. That has turned into a much bigger trade than expected for both teams. Narváez quickly jumped Connor Wong as Boston’s primary catcher and finished sixth in AL Rookie of the Year voting last season. Rodríguez was a mid-tier developmental pitching prospect who had yet to reach Double-A. He’s now among the top minor league arms in the game.
The Puerto Rico native combined for a 2.58 earned run average across 150 minor league innings last season. He fanned 29% of opponents while cutting his walks a couple points to a manageable 9.4% clip. The Yankees had an easy call to add him to the 40-man roster to avoid losing him in the Rule 5 draft. Rodríguez has made four strong turns through the Triple-A rotation, allowing a 1.27 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate across 21 1/3 frames.
Rodríguez sits around 94-95 mph with his four-seam fastball and sinker. He mixes a changeup, slider and curveball while occasionally throwing a cutter. Scouting reports praise the heavy sinker as a plus ground-ball offering. Rodríguez got grounders at a huge 55% clip in the minors last year and is in that range again through his first month of this season.
Although it’s not the most overpowering arsenal, Rodríguez has the repertoire depth and control to profile as a potential mid-rotation arm. FanGraphs, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN and Baseball America each rank him as a Top 100 prospect and the #2 player in the system behind shortstop George Lombard Jr. MLB Pipeline slots him behind Lombard and Carlos Lagrange in the organization but has him in the back half of their Top 100 list. Keith Law of The Athletic ranked Rodríguez sixth in the system, expressing a bit more skepticism about the righty’s command but writing that he has a #2 starter ceiling if he throws enough strikes.
Rodríguez is eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive, meaning he’d earn a full year of service time if he finishes top two in AL Rookie of the Year voting. It seems unlikely he’ll place that highly, as it’s not clear how long a look he’ll get in his first big league stint. Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole are each on rehab assignments and could be back within the next few weeks. Rodríguez should get at least two or three turns but might be pushed back to Triple-A once Rodón and/or Cole are healthy. The Yankees have gotten excellent work out of their rotation aside from Gil’s four starts.
Guardians To Select Travis Bazzana
The Guardians are reportedly promoting 2024 first overall pick Travis Bazzana. He should debut tomorrow and take over as the everyday second baseman. They’ll open an active roster spot by optioning Juan Brito. Cleveland still has an opening on the 40-man roster after waiving Kolby Allard a couple weeks ago, so no other move is necessary.
Cleveland’s middle infield has been in flux since Gabriel Arias went down with a left hamstring strain three weeks ago. That moved Brayan Rocchio from second base to shortstop. The Guardians promoted Brito after the Arias injury, but the 24-year-old second baseman struggled after collecting five hits in his first three games. Brito had just four hits in 39 at-bats over his next 12 contests. He also committed four errors across 123 1/3 innings.
That opened the door for Bazzana’s first major league look. The Australian-born infielder is out to a strong .287/.422/.511 start over 24 games with Triple-A Columbus. He has taken walks at a huge 17.9% clip against a league average 21.4% strikeout rate. Bazzana only has two home runs, but he has already tallied 11 doubles and a pair of triples. He’s also 8-10 in stolen base attempts.
Bazzana’s advanced hit tool and extremely patient approach have been his calling cards dating back to his college days at Oregon State. He was expected to be one of the quickest players from his draft to the majors. Instead, Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz, Cam Smith, JJ Wetherholt, Jac Caglianone, Christian Moore, Trey Yesavage, Carson Benge and even Konnor Griffin (a high school draftee) were all 2024 first-rounders who got to the big leagues before he did.
That’s at least partially due to health. A pair of oblique injuries limited Bazzana to 77 games between the top two minor league levels last season (plus seven rehab contests at the Arizona complex). It was understandable the Guardians wanted him to open the season in Triple-A. They probably should have swapped him in for Brito earlier than they have this April, however.
It’s a moot point now, as Bazzana joins Chase DeLauter as touted rookies in Stephen Vogt’s lineup. He has been a full-time second baseman in the minor leagues and could see time at the keystone and designated hitter. That’d allow them to use hot-hitting utility player Daniel Schneemann more frequently in left field against right-handed pitching. George Valera has started slowly since returning from a season-opening calf strain, while the switch-hitting Angel Martínez has better career numbers against lefties.
Bazzana comfortably meets the criteria to qualify for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He entered the season among the top 25 minor league talents at each of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and ESPN. He was a little lower on preseason rankings from FanGraphs and Keith Law of The Athletic but still easily a consensus Top 100 prospect.
It’s beyond the point at which Bazzana can accrue a full service year through time spent on the MLB roster. He would earn a full year of service time if he places within the top two in AL Rookie of the Year voting. It’ll be a challenge to compete with Kevin McGonigle, Munetaka Murakami, Carter Jensen and teammates DeLauter and Parker Messick among what could be an excellent AL rookie class. The Guardians would not be eligible for an extra draft choice if Bazzana wins Rookie of the Year because they waited beyond the second week of April to call him up.
If Bazzana sticks on the MLB roster, he’d be a lock to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player after 2028. The Guardians will hope he hits the ground running and solidifies his hold on the second base job. If not, future optional assignments to the minor leagues could change his service trajectory. Arias’ initial 4-8 week recovery timeline left open a potential May return. He should be a utility player but could reclaim the shortstop job and push Rocchio back to second if Bazzana struggles in his first look at big league pitching.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Bazzana promotion. Zack Meisel of The Athletic reported the Brito demotion. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.
Reese McGuire Elects Free Agency
Catcher Reese McGuire elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. The White Sox designated him for assignment over the weekend.
McGuire was on the Sox’s roster for around a month. He was in camp with Milwaukee on a minor league contract but didn’t have a path to an MLB job after the Brewers signed Gary Sánchez to back up William Contreras. McGuire opted out at the end of Spring Training and pulled a big league deal from the White Sox.
The 31-year-old appeared in 11 games, hitting .172 without an extra-base hit across 34 plate appearances. He also had a tough time defensively, committing two passed balls and failing to throw out any of 15 base stealers. The pitching staff probably shoulders some of the blame for the latter issue. McGuire has a reasonably strong arm and threw out an above-average 26% of runners last season in a backup role with the Cubs.
In any case, the White Sox weren’t wedded to McGuire as a backup catcher. He has appeared for four teams, including two separate stints with the Sox, over a career spanning parts of nine seasons. They were paying him a $1.2MM salary, a little above the league minimum.
Players who have more than five years of MLB service time ordinarily can refuse a minor league assignment while retaining their full salary. However, some fringe roster players will sign contracts that include advance consent clauses. Barring injury, those deals aren’t fully guaranteed until 45 days into the regular season.
If McGuire’s deal contained such a clause, the Sox save a couple hundred thousand dollars by swapping him out for Drew Romo, who was selected from Triple-A to replace him. Edgar Quero remains the primary catcher as long as Kyle Teel is on the injured list.
McGuire will likely look for a minor league contract elsewhere. He was reasonably productive on the other side of Chicago last year, popping nine homers in 44 games for the Cubs. McGuire owns a .246/.292/.369 slash line in a little over 1200 career plate appearances.
Austin Slater Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency
April 26: Slater has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per Mish.
April 23rd: The Marlins made the Slater and Ruiz moves official today.
April 22nd: The Marlins are designating veteran outfielder Austin Slater for assignment, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid. Esteury Ruiz has played four Triple-A games on a minor league rehab stint and will be activated for Friday’s series opener in San Francisco. Miami’s 40-man roster count will drop to 39.
Slater signed a $1MM free agent contract at the end of Spring Training. He had been in camp on a minor league deal with Detroit but didn’t crack their roster. The Fish wanted a righty-hitting platoon outfielder with Ruiz shelved by an oblique strain and starting left fielder Kyle Stowers down with a hamstring strain. Stowers returned over the weekend, and Ruiz’s forthcoming return pushes Slater off the roster.
It wasn’t a great showing for the 33-year-old Slater. He played in 12 games and collected just four hits, all of them singles. He took four walks but struck out nine times in 28 plate appearances. Slater has pinch hit a few times but hasn’t been in Clayton McCullough’s starting lineup since April 12. Heriberto Hernández gets some work as a righty-hitting left fielder. Utilityman Javier Sanoja can also play out there.
Ruiz, an offseason trade pickup from the Dodgers, adds a speed element off the bench. He hasn’t hit much in the big leagues but raked in Triple-A last year. Ruiz stole 67 bases for the A’s back in 2023, his only full season at the MLB level.
Miami has five days to trade Slater or place him on waivers. He has sufficient service time to decline an outright assignment and seems likely to be released.
Reds Place Eugenio Suárez On 10-Day Injured List
TODAY: Cincinnati officially announced Suarez’s IL placement, retroactive to April 24. Right-hander Kyle Nicolas was also optioned to Triple-A, and Bleday and right-hander Jose Franco were called up from Triple-A in corresponding moves.
APRIL 24: The Reds will place Eugenio Suárez on the 10-day injured list with a low-grade oblique strain, manager Terry Francona told reporters (including Charlie Goldsmith). He was scratched from tonight’s game with what the team initially called mid-back discomfort.
Although oblique strains can linger for hitters, this one doesn’t appear to be particularly serious. Goldsmith writes that the team is hopeful Suárez can resume baseball activities after a brief shutdown and reevaluation. The Reds can backdate the placement to April 23, meaning the earliest he could return is May 3.
Outfielder JJ Bleday was removed from tonight’s Triple-A game after two plate appearances. That seemingly points to him being recalled tomorrow as the corresponding move. It would be Bleday’s first look at the MLB level with Cincinnati. He has been on optional assignment all year but is on a tear in the minors, batting .345 with six homers through his first 23 games.
Bleday isn’t a direct positional replacement for Suárez, but the Reds have used the latter mostly as a designated hitter. He has only made six starts at the hot corner compared to 18 appearances as the DH. They’re a much better defensive team with Ke’Bryan Hayes at third base, but the two-time Gold Glove winner is out to a terrible start at the plate.
Hayes is hitting .081 with one home run in his first 68 trips to the dish. Cincinnati has managed to keep winning despite getting nothing offensively from Hayes, catcher Tyler Stephenson, or any of their outfielders. Suárez hasn’t been particularly productive either, batting .231/.300/.363 with just three home runs through his first 100 plate appearances.
The Reds nevertheless pulled out another improbable win on Friday. Nathaniel Lowe, who drew into the lineup at DH with Suárez out, hit a walk-off two-run homer off Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth. That was Lowe’s second of the night, his first two longballs in a Cincinnati uniform. They’re up to 17-9 despite entering the night ranked 24th in MLB in scoring.
Lowe figures to pick up most of the extra at-bats while Suárez is sidelined. The bench skews left-handed and will lean even more in that direction if Bleday is the corresponding move. Lowe has a decent career track record against pitchers of either handedness and got the DH assignment tonight against Detroit southpaw Framber Valdez. Hayes seems assured of continued run at third base for the time being.
Ellie Rodríguez Passes Away
Ellie Rodríguez, a two-time All-Star catcher who played throughout the 1970s, passed away this week. The news was reported by multiple outlets, including ESPN Deportes. He was 79.
Rodríguez was born in Puerto Rico but moved to the Bronx as a child. He began his playing career on a minor league contract with the then-Kansas City Athletics out of high school. His hometown Yankees plucked him away after the 1964 season. Rodríguez spent a few seasons in the Yanks’ system and made a nine-game debut during the ’68 campaign.
Then 23, Rodríguez would change organizations again over the 1968-69 offseason. He’d return to a K.C. club but not the one for which he’d played a few seasons earlier. The new Royals franchise selected Rodríguez in the expansion draft. He was behind the plate on Opening Day as the first starting catcher in team history.
A defensive catcher, he did an excellent job controlling the running game. He threw out 45% of basestealers as a rookie and was selected to the All-Star Game. Rodríguez spent one more season with Kansas City before being traded to the Brewers.
The righty-hitting backstop had his best seasons in Milwaukee. He played three years and 325 games in a Brewers uniform, working as their primary catcher between 1971-73. Rodríguez was selected to his second All-Star Game in ’72 amidst a career-best .285/.382/.352 showing.
Milwaukee traded Rodríguez to the Angels over the 1973-74 offseason. He played two seasons in Anaheim, hitting a career-high seven homers in the first of those years. He was also behind the plate for the fourth no-hitter of Nolan Ryan’s career during the 1975 campaign. Rodríguez closed his MLB career with a 30-game stint for the Dodgers in ’76. He’d play in the Mexican League into the 1980s and coached youth baseball in Puerto Rico as recently as 2018.
Rodríguez finished his MLB career with a .245/.356/.308 slash line over 775 games. He only hit 16 home runs but tallied 533 hits and walked more often than he struck out. He caught nearly 6000 innings and twice led the American League in throwing out baserunners. Rodríguez cut down an MLB-high 56 stolen base attempts (a 48% clip) with the Halos in 1974. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, loved ones, friends and former teammates.
Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Anthony Franco
- Good afternoon, hope all is well!
- Looking forward to another of these, let's get it going
M
- Which under .500 teams do you think are most likely to make the post season, and which above .500 teams do you think are most likely to regress and miss out?
Anthony Franco
- Seattle on the positive side. There are a handful of teams a little above .500 that I doubt are playoff teams (A's, Tampa Bay, St. Louis) but most of the teams at the top of the league feel about right
- Cincinnati's the exception, I guess, but they're a viable NL Central threat or Wild Card team even if they're punching above their weight right now
JimJam
- Realistic expectations for Giolito in SD?
Anthony Franco
- Better than Matt Waldron, Germán Márquez and Walker Buehler
- Would guess he's a true talent mid-4.00s ERA pitcher at this point but a fine fifth starter. More intrigued by what they'll get out of Canning once he comes back though
Guest
- How much longer are the Brewers going to let the left side of the infield not hit before making a change?
Anthony Franco
- Just don't have alternatives right now. Jett Williams and Cooper Pratt aren't hitting in Triple-A and they clearly don't trust Tyler Black there defensively
- Calling up 18-year-old Jesús Made straight from Double-A (where he has 23 games played) is too aggressive. Maybe by late season he forces his way into the picture but just have to ride it out for now
Dave Dombrowski
- It's July 15 and the Phillies are 15 games out of a playoff spot. Zach Wheeler, who has promised to retire after the possibly unplayed 2027 season, is pitching reasonably well and improving with each start. Do I trade him for the best available return, or hope '26 is a blip and '27 is actually played?
Anthony Franco
- Can't see any way that Wheeler's getting traded. They have to assume the '27 season is getting played -- would put the odds less than 2% that the entire season gets banged -- and they'll still be all-in even if this year is a complete disaster
Cat_Herder
- All of the off-season talk was Skubal and Framber. Thoughts on Casey Mize? He's looking like a solid mid-rotation starter right now. Especially with Jack not looking reliable and Verlander still rehabbing.
Anthony Franco
- I don't feel much differently about him than I did entering the season. Splitter has gotten much better results than it did last year but that's kind of always been the one plus pitch
- Solid mid-rotation starter seems right. Good player, agree he's their third-best arm with Reese Olson out
RAGBRAI
- Is Curtis Mead anything to be excited about this year or next for Washington?
Anthony Franco
- Probably not given the career production but I don't have a great explanation for why he hasn't at least been a slightly above-average hitter
- He hit throughout his minor league career and the pitch recognition, contact skills and bat speed are all serviceable
- Still not a great overall player given the lack of athleticism and defensive value but I'm not completely out on him being able to carve out a career as a bench bat
- I know I can’t keep THIS up, but can I continue to be REALLY good? Maybe go for the Cy Young?
Arrer Prone
- MLBTR has been saying Soriano is a really good pitcher, but after last year I was beginning to wonder. Clearly I was wrong, but does it surprise you at just how dominant he's been this season so far? And does this put him as the clear Cy Young candidate, or at least in the running, or is it still too early?
-
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Poll: Should The Blue Jays Make A Closer Change?
The defending American League champions have had a difficult first few weeks. Their 10-14 record has them in fourth place in the AL East. The relief group is a big part of that, as the Jays rank 23rd with a 4.81 bullpen ERA. They’ve blown seven leads, tied with the White Sox for third most in MLB (behind the A’s and Nationals at eight apiece).
The problems have extended to the ninth inning. Closer Jeff Hoffman has been charged with three blown saves, which is tied for the MLB high. That doesn’t include Tuesday’s rough outing against the Angels.
Hoffman entered with a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth. After striking out Zach Neto, he allowed four consecutive batters to reach. Skipper John Schneider turned to Louis Varland with the bases loaded and a 4-2 lead. Varland promptly got Nolan Schanuel to bounce into a game-ending double play. That technically went down as a hold for Hoffman because he recorded an out and left the game with the lead, but it obviously wasn’t what the Jays wanted from their closer.
After the game, Schneider was noncommittal on sticking with the righty in the ninth. “We’ll reevaluate everything, talk with him, see how he’s doing. He’s going through it obviously a little bit,” Schneider told reporters on Wednesday (links via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet and Jared Greenspan of MLB.com). “We’ll see (about his role).” The skipper noted they’d take advantage of Thursday’s scheduled day off to discuss things with the pitcher.
Hoffman has made 12 appearances on the season. He has allowed at least one run in six of them. The 33-year-old righty has surrendered 11 runs (nine earned) over his first 10 2/3 innings. Hoffman has given up 16 hits, walked six batters, and hit a pair on Tuesday. He has successfully locked down a trio of saves.
The bottom line results have been terrible, but Hoffman ranks near the top of the league in strikeouts. He has fanned 24 of 57 opponents, a monster 42.1% clip. Among pitchers with at least 10 innings, only Mason Miller has a superior strikeout rate. Hoffman’s 21.2% swinging strike percentage is also second behind Miller’s unbelievable 30.3% mark. All four of Hoffman’s pitches have missed bats and his velocity is at usual levels.
There’s clearly some amount of bad luck in Hoffman’s early results. Opponents have hit above .600 when they’ve put the ball in play. If he were coming off a dominant 2025 season, the Jays would surely give him more rope to allow the batted ball variance to even out.
However, his first year in Toronto was up and down. Hoffman recorded 33 saves but ranked second among relievers with 15 home runs allowed. He had a 4.37 earned run average across 68 regular season innings. Hoffman was excellent for the majority of the postseason until allowing the famous Miguel Rojas home run in the ninth inning of World Series Game 7 — his only homer and blown save of the playoffs.
If the Jays move Hoffman out of the ninth, Varland would be the obvious choice to replace him as the closer. Last year’s deadline pickup has begun his ’26 campaign without allowing an earned run through 13 innings. He has fanned 19 hitters against three walks. Varland has been an excellent setup man but has no closing experience. Tuesday’s one-pitch outing was the first save of his MLB career.
Varland has clearly outperformed Hoffman through a few weeks, but naming him the closer would limit Schneider’s flexibility to use him earlier in games. No Toronto pitcher has entered in higher-leverage situations on average than Varland, as the biggest at-bats aren’t always in the ninth inning. Hoffman is third in that regard, also behind the already optioned Brendon Little. The Jays also have Tyler Rogers and Braydon Fisher in key late-game roles.
How should the Jays proceed?
How should the Blue Jays approach the ninth inning?