MLB 2022

[gunnar hendershow]

There are currently no teams below .500 in the AL East. I wonder what the latest point in a season a division has had this be the case is.

[Twist]

3 hours ago, damhausen said:

There are currently no teams below .500 in the AL East. I wonder what the latest point in a season a division has had this be the case is.

In 2005 every team in the NL East finished the season at .500 or above.

Only happened two other times after July 12 though. So very rare.

[The Buscher]

The 46-42 Blue Jays just fired Charlie Montoyo. Wow.

[Krabby]

17 minutes ago, CM Busch said:

The 46-42 Blue Jays just fired Charlie Montoyo. Wow.

What happened there?

[Toe]

I guess management just wanted to shake up the team? People had this team pegged as World Series contenders, so 46-42 is a bit of a disappointment. 

Here's the ESPN article - Toronto Blue Jays fire manager Charlie Montoyo, according to reports (espn.com)

[Gabriel]

28 minutes ago, Krabby said:

What happened there?

There has been no consistency whatsoever this season. When the bats are hot, the pitching is the shits... and when the pitching is hot, the batters are swinging at everything like they have the shits and are desperate to get to the bathroom.

The accumulated talent on the field should be yielding better results. I don't put the blame on Charlie though. I think he did a great job, and I think he's a scapegoat for the underwhelming performance.

Ross Atkins should be taking the heat for this. Bats go cold. You have to plan for that. What he gave Charlie to work with from the pitching mound lacked any kind of depth. Atkins gave him a fantastic looking roster of pitchers to start the year, but the depth chart falls straight down to hell after the obvious roster pitchers. If you plan for the best case scenario and put your pieces in place for that, you can't blame the manager or the players when injuries pile up and the lack of depth shines through like a ray of light inviting other teams to pick up easy wins.

Ryu's injury was unfortunate, but long-term could be the thing that gives him the time to correct his issues and earn the rest of that big ol' contract. Yusei Kikuchi has been a bust so far, but if you look at past Jays reclamation projects, they weren't forced to endure a starting role during poor stretches of performance. They were more insulated until they gained their confidence. Kik's never had a chance.

This is a Ross Atkins problem that Charlie Montoyo is paying for.

[Toe]

I can't stand watching Kikuchi. I know he has some pretty good stuff, but he might be the most consistently inconsistent baseball player I've ever seen.

[Lowerdeck]

The Royals will have 10 players on the restricted list, unable to play in Toronto.  Including Benintendi.  Four of their five best hitters, their top two SP's, and both catchers on the active roster.

 

I'm rooting for all the AA and AAA kids

 

 

[gunnar hendershow]

I'm not surprised Montoya got the axe. Jays are not in a good spot and need to shake it up. I am surprised La Russa is still driving the White Sox into the ground. Another World Series contender about to have a lost season.

[The Buscher]

18 hours ago, Lowerdeck said:

The Royals will have 10 players on the restricted list, unable to play in Toronto.  Including Benintendi.  Four of their five best hitters, their top two SP's, and both catchers on the active roster.

Apparently teams had been informed of Benintendi's vaccination status a couple of months ago and teams have still remained engaged in trade talks, including even the Jays.  Although in the case of the Jays it would almost certainly be a conditional trade where he verbally agrees to get the vaccine and no players change hands until he actually does it.

Canada requires you to be 14 days removed from either your 2nd Moderna/Pfizer shot or your 1-dose J&J shot.  I don't think they'll trade for him, but if they did I imagine they'd have a soft deadline of July 29th in mind where he could hypothetically get the jab, join them on the road August 2nd and be in the country by the next homestand on August 12th.

[The Buscher]

 

[gunnar hendershow]

The Orioles win streak was snapped 4 hours after this tweet was sent. Good work Mike.

[The Buscher]

The Nationals are now exploring trading Juan Soto after he rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract.  While that's an eye-popping number to turn down, that's still an AAV of only $29.3 million, a figure which he should absolutely shatter in a couple of years if he stays on his current trajectory.

Much as I'd love to dream of a scenario where the Mets get him, Lerner doesn't believe in trading players in division, so any sky high asking price they already had would be even higher.  Any prospective deal would start with Alvarez and Baty (Mets' consensus 1 and 2 prospects) and likely include at least two of Alex Ramirez, Matt Allan, Ronny Mauricio, or Mark Vientos depending on who they rate highest, and they might just push for them all.  Or if they only want two of them, they might ask for a cost-controlled arm like David Peterson in exchange for eating the remaining 4 years, $140 million on Strasburg's deal despite the fact that he just had TOS surgery and is probably done.

I'm not a prospect hugger when it comes to a generational talent, but their farm is so depleted, adding the Nats' in-division premium on top of it makes it nearly impossible to see how they'd ever find a way to actually agree to terms.

Not sure the Nats can actually make a deal of this magnitude within 2.5 weeks but if they do, the safe bet is always the Dodgers.  They simply have an endless supply of top flight prospects year after year after year.

[gunnar hendershow]

Soto was smart to turn that down. It was backloaded as well, so even less the first few years.

Given the uncertain ownership future there I wouldn't want to sign on long-term since you could easily fall into a cheap-ass owner who doesn't spend to win. Soto will get a megadeal from someone in the next couple years - could be wherever he's traded or someone else in 2025. I suspect his next 2 arb years will be right around what he'd have gotten the first 2 years of this proposed contract as well.

[The Buscher]

The one knock on Soto is that at 23 years old he already looks like he'd be best served being a full-time DH.  Advanced metrics have him as the worst defensive RF in the majors, and he was an absolute butcher in LF the first couple of years of his career.  He's still young but it's kinda tough to imagine him suddenly improving out there.

Of course, advanced defensive metrics have been poor to Trout for ages too, and he stopped even trying to steal bags years ago.  He's not moved to a corner spot yet and who knows how well he'll do out there, but with his injury histories it wouldn't be a shock if he's a DH by 2024 if Ohtani leaves.  He's being paid entirely to hit now and is more than giving the team their money's worth.  Soto will be doing the same thing.

[Gabriel]

I hear these people at Rogers have some money...

It's way out of character for the team, but throwing a truckload of cash at Soto wouldn't make me upset with the Jays... especially if they can get out from the Ryu or Kikuchi deals in the process. No knocks on either guy... Ryu's had some tough luck the last couple years and arguably was paid for what he'd done previously, not what he was expected to keep doing. Kikuchi just hasn't worked out. He needs some time coming out of the bullpen in low-stress situations to re-build his confidence. Both guys are high-potential bounce-back properties to have, but if the Jays are serious about being "next level" now, they need to add pitching and an impact bat with good consistency before the deadline.

Deadline wants: at least 2 solid starting pitchers (minimum of 1 with options to bounce back and forth), 3 or 4 solid to game breaking bullpen arms, and 1 Juan Soto please.

[The Buscher]

As per usual in today’s era, draft plans must’ve leaked out as Termarr Johnson just blew past Druw Jones, Jackson Holliday, and Brooks Lee as the betting favorite for the #1 overall pick for the Orioles.

[gunnar hendershow]

I thought they might go for a college guy since the team projects to compete in 2024. So Johnson is a surprise. This was always a very tough draft to pick first in given how many guys seemed like the "logical" choice. Not a lot of separation but obviously some/most aren't going to reach their lofty expectations.

[The Buscher]

Speaking of #1 picks, the Tigers demoted Spencer Torkelson today.  He spent all season in the big leagues and hit below the Mendoza line.

I know very little about most big league draftees so I felt the same way about him as I did Mickey Moniak:  his name just sounded too goofy for me to imagine him as a star.

[gunnar hendershow]

That 2020 draft was very weird. Torkelson was a general consensus top pick and then the Orioles surprised a lot of people taking Kjerstad at number 2. Worse yet he only just started playing professional ball in 2022 since he had medical ailments and injuries that delayed a start to his career.

He absolutely crushed it at Low-A while he was there so hopefully he pans out, but not a great start.