Poll: Who Will Be The NL’s Wild Card Teams?
MLBTR’s Connor Byrne asked this same question in a poll just over a month ago, and it was the Nationals (30%) and Mets (22%) who collected the most votes from a field of nine (eight teams and an “other” option). As we look at the standings today, the Mets have fallen four games back of the Cubs for the second wild card slot, while Washington continues to sit in pretty good shape, with a three-game lead over Chicago for the first wild card spot and the subsequent home-field advantage in the one-game playoff.
With only three weeks of regular-season baseball remaining, let’s alter that original field to seven clubs. This omits the “other,” and also removes the Giants (7.5 games back) and Reds (10 games back) from contention. However, we’re also going to add the Cubs into the mix, as they were leading the NL Central at the time of the original poll and thus weren’t included. The Cardinals have since roared out to a 4.5-game lead over Chicago in the division race, but we’re keeping St. Louis within the field if some voters feel the Cubs can re-claim the NL Central lead — the two rivals still have seven head-to-head games remaining, after all.
The Brewers also could still technically be in the NL Central mix, since they have three games left against the Cardinals but sit 6.5 behind the Redbirds in the standings. It’s much more likely that Milwaukee’s path to the postseason will go through the wild card game, as the Brewers have gone 7-3 over their last 10 games to move two games behind Chicago. This also ties Milwaukee with the Phillies, as the two teams have identical 74-68 records.
While the Brew Crew have been hot, however, it hasn’t matched the Diamondbacks‘ roll of 11-2 over their last 13 games. Arizona is closest on the Cubs’ heels, just 1.5 games out of that second and final position.
It makes for a very exciting September finish, and we can’t omit the possibility of some type of multi-team tie that would require a play-in game just to reach the wild card game. Which two teams do you think will end up holding all the cards once the dust settles? (Poll link for app users)
Who Will Be The Two NL Wild Card Teams?
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Nationals 40% (9,104)
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Cubs 22% (4,997)
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Diamondbacks 14% (3,295)
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Brewers 11% (2,480)
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Phillies 4% (992)
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Cardinals 4% (950)
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Mets 4% (907)
Total votes: 22,725
Addison Russell Evaluated For Concussion-Like Symptoms After HBP
In a scary moment in Milwaukee, Cubs shortstop Addison Russell exited the game after he was hit in the face by a pitch from the Brewers’ Adrian Houser. In a post-game update, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that Russell suffered a nasal bruise on the play and is under evaluation for concussion-like symptoms.
Russell remained on the ground for several minutes after sustaining a fastball to the face. He was tended to by members of the training staff, though he ultimately remained in the game. Immediately after taking first base, he stole second and would later come around to score. However, when the Cubs took the field in the bottom half of the inning, Russell was replaced defensively.
The incident could hardly come at a worse time for the Cubs, who just yesterday received news that Javier Baez could miss the remainder of the season after suffering a hairline fracture in his thumb. Russell, the Cubs’ best shortstop option behind Baez, was set to take over for the injured Cubs star; however, the Cubs may well find themselves down another infield piece should Russell’s injury require a sustained absence.
While Russell is far from the offensive powerhouse that Baez is, he at least represents a capable backup and a defensive difference-maker at the shortstop position. However, if Russell misses time, Chicago will have to dig even deeper for a replacement shortstop. David Bote, who took over for Russell in today’s game, is perhaps the best choice; he’s played sparingly at the position in his two years of big-league experience, though he’s far from a traditional shortstop. Otherwise, it might be too much to ask one of Tony Kemp, Ian Happ, and Robel Garcia to try their hand at the position—all three have experience at the keystone but have never suited up at shortstop.
Quick Hits: Astros, Correa, Suzuki, Haniger, Buxton
The Astros will move forward with a four-man rotation for the remaining 18 games of the season, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Between Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke, and Wade Miley, Houston’s club features perhaps the most formidable rotation in baseball, and the team will start gearing up for postseason play by trotting out what projects to be its playoff rotation. As McTaggart notes, the schedule lines up such that the fifth spot in the rotation will only come up twice more, leaving each of the Stros’ four starters to make four more appearances while manager A.J. Hinch will have to patch together two bullpen days. Meanwhile, lefty Framber Valdez will pitch out of the bullpen for the last few weeks of the year. The young lefty has toggled between the rotation and the bullpen throughout the year, and results have been decidedly better as a reliever: he’s posted a 3.90 ERA out of the bullpen, compared to an unsightly 7.07 mark as a starter.
Here are some other notes from around the baseball landscape…
- Also from Houston, injured Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, currently on the injured list experiencing back soreness, took batting practice at Minute Maid Park today, tweets McTaggart—the first time he’s done so since the injury. He also took ground balls on the field, indicating that the 24-year-old could embark on a rehab assignment in the next few days. However, it’s worth mentioning that the Astros’ two active minor-league affiliates could be eliminated from postseason play before Correa can join them, in which case the star shortstop would have to settle for live batting practice. All things considered, it’s a positive sign that one of the team’s cornerstones could return in time for the postseason.
- Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki underwent an MRI Sunday morning after feeling some discomfort in his right elbow last night, per the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty. In a later update, Dougherty tweets that the MRI showed nothing more than inflammation in the elbow, leaving Suzuki day-to-day. Presumably, Suzuki will be good to go for the beginning of the Nats’ series in Minnesota. Suzuki missed Sunday’s series finale against the Braves and he will enjoy an off day Monday before kicking off a series against the Twins on Tuesday. Suzuki, who’s slugged 16 home runs this year, has combined with the Yan Gomes to form a solid catching duo for the playoff-hopeful Nationals. It seems that the Nationals got the best possible news regarding Suzuki’s elbow, which shouldn’t necessitate an extended absence for the veteran.
- The chances of Mariners star outfielder Mitch Haniger returning this season look to be fading, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. The 28-year-old received a second opinion on his strained lower back, which set back his recovery from a ruptured testicle suffered earlier this year. Those injuries have limited the All-Star to just 63 games this year, a number that likely won’t budge after that second opinion yielded no new information. It seems that at this point, there would need to be a unexpected breakthrough in order for Haniger to see the field again in 2019.
- Twins center fielder Byron Buxton, who hasn’t made a plate appearance since August 1 thanks to a left shoulder injury, may not hit again this season, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters including Dan Hayes of the Athletic. The oft-injured outfielder is set to travel to California to visit a shoulder specialist. While we’ll have to wait and see what comes of that, Buxton may be henceforth limited to a role as a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive substitute. It’s an unfortunate development given Buxton’s progress as a hitter: in 2019, he’s enjoyed the best offensive season of his career, slashing .262/.314/.513 with ten home runs in just 87 games.
Mariners Outright Matt Carasiti
The Mariners have outrighted right-handed pitcher Matt Carasiti to Triple-A Tacoma, per an official team release. Carasiti will no longer occupy a spot on Seattle’s 40-man roster.
The 28-year-old Carasiti has tossed 9 2/3 innings for the Mariners this year, his first season pitching in the big leagues since 2016. He’s tallied ten strikeouts against five walks, posting an overall 4.66 ERA. He’s compiled solid numbers at the Triple-A level between the Mariners and Cubs organizations, pitching to a 3.53 ERA while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings pitched.
Presumably, the Mariners are looking to clear room on the 40-man for potential call-ups from Double-A Arkansas, where the season has not yet ended.
Diamondbacks Activate Yoshihisa Hirano
The Diamondbacks have activated right-handed pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano from the injured list, according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
Hirano, 35, landed on the injured list in mid-August while dealing with elbow inflammation. It turned out to be a three-week stint on the IL for the second-year big leaguer, who pitched a scoreless inning during a rehab appearance with the D-Backs’ High-A affiliate.
After a stellar 2018 season, Hirano has taken a step back this year, as his ERA has jumped to 4.89. However, there are still some positive indicators to suggest that he isn’t far off his 2018 performance: with an increased strikeout rate, Hirano’s FIP sits at 3.89, not far off the 3.69 mark he posted a year ago.
With his activation, Hirano will join a surging Arizona club that has won 11 of its last 12 games and finds itself in the hunt for a Wild Card spot. It remains to be seen just how Hirano, who hasn’t pitched in a big-league game in more than three weeks, will fit into the bullpen mix. However, it seems that manager Torey Lovullo will want to reinstall Hirano, who has been one of the team’s top late-inning options, into high-leverage spots shortly.
AL Notes: Springer, Rangers, Calhoun, Rays
Astros outfielder George Springer is in the lineup today against Seattle, marking a quick return from a concussion suffered earlier this week after he collided with the center field wall. Some other news from around the AL:
- The Rangers have uncertainty at the hot corner for 2020, and they’ll at least kick the tires on the top free agent at the position, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. There’s an argument that Anthony Rendon is the top free agent on this offseason’s market, period, with a six-year deal a strong possibility. It’s notable to hear the Rangers could consider shelling out that kind of cash, although Wilson notes they’ll evaluate their internal candidates at third base over the season’s final month. Those include Danny Santana, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Solak, per Wilson, but not Joey Gallo, who is no longer seen as an option at the position.
- The Rangers have had difficulty developing pitching in recent seasons, causing the organization to modernize its pitching development, explains Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News in a piece that would be of interest to Ranger fans. Texas has upped its usage of wearable technology and curtailed its recent draftees’ workload in an effort to keep their top arms healthy. As Grant notes, the program isn’t off to a rousing start, as Hans Crouse, Owen White and Cole Ragans, among others, have dealt with injury-plagued 2019 seasons. Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to monitor the progression of the Rangers’ arms as the program takes a more defined shape.
- Things don’t appear to be trending well for Kole Calhoun to return to Los Angeles in 2020, observes Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription link). As expected, Olney notes that the Angels hope to clear room alongside Mike Trout and Justin Upton for top outfield prospect Jo Adell, Baseball America’s #2 prospect. The Angels hold a $14MM option (or a $1M buyout) on Calhoun’s services, a borderline price point for a corner outfielder with a .233/.325/.466 slash (107 wRC+). Despite the not-insignificant price tag, Olney believes the Angels will at least consider picking up the option and dangling Calhoun in trade, figuring some outfield-needy team would be willing to take on the veteran for a marginal prospect return.
- The Rays are making some changes within their baseball operations hierarchy, per a club press release. Mitch Lukevics, the organization’s long-time farm director, is transitioning to a senior advisory role in the front office after 14 years running the club’s minor-league operations. Lukevics “will remain closely involved” with the minor league system, the Rays added. Tampa Bay has also promoted Jeff McLerran to director of minor league operations, promoted Patrick Walter to director of international operations and promoted Steve Miller to director of international scouting. McLerran and Walter had previously been assistant directors in those respective fields, while Miller has spent the past six seasons as an international crosschecker for the Rays.
Pirates Select James Marvel’s Contract
Sunday: The Pirates have made Marvel’s call-up official. Outfielder Jason Martin was transferred to the 60-day injured list with a dislocated left shoulder to clear 40-man roster space, while right-hander Yefry Ramírez was reinstated from the 10-day IL.
Saturday: The Pirates will call up right-hander James Marvel to start Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, manager Clint Hurdle told MLB.com’s Adam Berry and other media. Pittsburgh will have to make another roster move before selecting Marvel’s contract from Triple-A, as the Bucs currently have a full 40-man roster.
A 36th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2015 draft, Marvel surely would’ve gone higher had Tommy John surgery not wiped out almost two full seasons of eligibility at Duke. He recovered from that early-career injury setback to work his way up the Bucs’ minor league ladder, posting increasingly impressive numbers in the upper levels. Marvel has a combined 2.94 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 2.96 K/BB rate over 162 1/3 innings (101 2/3 IP at Double-A, 60 2/3 IP at Triple-A) in 2019.
Marvel isn’t ranked within MLB.com’s list of the top 30 Pittsburgh prospects, though since the Pirates will be exploring all avenues for pitching this winter, there’s no risk in seeing what Marvel can do against Major League competition. Marvel doesn’t miss many bats, though he induces a lot of grounders and (perhaps most notably given baseball’s current hitting environment), doesn’t allow many home runs. The 25-year-old has only an 0.6 HR/9 over his entire minor league career, maintaining that average even during the most homer-happy Triple-A season in history.
Yankees Activate Gio Urshela From IL
As expected, the Yankees announced today they have activated third baseman Gio Urshela from the 10-day injured list. The 27-year-old missed the minimum amount of time due to a left groin injury.
Urshela’s breakout stands as one of the most surprising and remarkable stories of the 2019 season. A career .225/.274/.315 hitter entering the year, Urshela was forced into unexpected action by a rash of injuries, most notably Miguel Andújar’s season-ending labrum surgery. To say Urshela took advantage doesn’t come close to doing him justice.
Over 414 plate appearances this season, Urshela has mashed to the tune of a .331/.370/.555 line (142 wRC+), putting him in position to contend for the AL batting crown before this recent IL stint ended his chances of reaching the requisite number of plate appearances to qualify. To be sure, he’s not likely to keep up this level of output. His .366 BABIP seems unsustainable and dwarfs any batted-ball results he’d managed in his career pre-2019. It’s also fair to look askance at MLB’s twelfth-highest chase rate (minimum 400 plate appearances), although players like Javier Báez and Rafael Devers have made similarly aggressive approaches work in recent seasons.
Even if Urshela won’t be quite this good a hitter moving forward, he’s certainly set himself up as a valuable piece for a Yankee franchise that couldn’t have anticipated him doing so a few months back. Statcast loves him, for instance, crediting him with an 80th percentile average exit velocity and above-average hard contact rate, helping to explain his strong ball-in-play results. Urshela also comes with a reputation as a strong defender at the hot corner, even if his advanced metrics suggest he’s more competent than Gold Glove-worthy. What’s more, he comes with four years of team control beyond this season and won’t be arbitration-eligible until after next year, making him an affordable option throughout his prime seasons.
Urshela’s 2019 performance seemingly gives him the inside track on the 2020 third base job in the Bronx, which will lead to an interesting offseason for Brian Cashman and company to decide how to handle Andújar as he returns to a crowded corner infield/DH mix next season. More immediately, Urshela will look to help the Yankees secure home field advantage in the postseason, as they enter Sunday tied with Houston for the AL’s best record.
Twins Acquire Ryan LaMarre
The Twins announced they have acquired outfielder Ryan LaMarre from the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. He’ll be added to the club’s 40-man roster, tweets Dan Hayes of the Athletic. As Hayes notes, LaMarre won’t be postseason-eligible as a player acquired from outside the organization after September 1. Nevertheless, LaMarre is still eligible to be traded because he signed a minor-league contract with the Braves’ organization. As we’ve discussed at MLBTR in the past, the July 31 trade deadline applies only to players on major-league contracts.
It’ll be the second Twins stint for the 30 year-old, who got into 43 games with Minnesota last season before they designated him for assignment. After wrapping up 2018 with the White Sox, LaMarre was cut loose and sent back to the open market, where he signed with the Braves on the aforementioned minor-league pact last November. LaMarre was productive for the Braves Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett, slashing .311/.380/.477, albeit with a .416 BABIP. He also started 44 games in center field for the Stripers, so he’ll give the Twins a center field capable depth piece for the regular season’s final month.
LaMarre will take the 40-man spot of Michael Pineda, who was suspended for the rest of the season yesterday.
Nationals Select Tres Barrera
9:34 am: The Nationals have announced the moves.
9:24 am: To create 40-man roster space for Barrera, the Nationals will recall catcher Spencer Kieboom and place him on the 60-day injured list, tweets the Talk Nats fan blog (confirmed by Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). Kieboom has an elbow injury, Dougherty adds.
8:51 am: The Nationals are set to select the contract of catcher Tres Barrera, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. It’ll be something of an early birthday present for the University of Texas product, who turns 25 next Sunday.
This marks Barrera’s first MLB promotion, no doubt spurred on by a right elbow injury to Kurt Suzuki, who had to be lifted yesterday mid-game. There’s no indication yet Suzuki’s injury is a long-term issue, as it’s possible the Nats just wanted to bolster their catching depth behind Yan Gomes the next few days. Indeed, MASN’s Byron Kerr tweets that Suzuki will not immediately be placed on the injured list, as there’s little incentive for Washington to shelve the bat-first backstop with September roster expansion.
Barrera would have been eligible for the Rule V draft this offseason if not selected to the club’s 40-man. He’s not a top prospect, so it’s possible Washington would’ve left him exposed if not for Suzuki’s injury, but he stood a decent shot at being drafted if left unprotected. Fangraphs called Barrera a defensive-minded third catcher type in their writeup of the Nationals’ farm system entering the season, but he’s produced fine numbers at the plate in the minors. In 403 plate appearances in the pitcher-friendly Double-A Eastern League this season, Barrera slashed .249/.323/.381, passable production for a viable defensive catcher.