Tonight, Cole Hamels and the Cubs will try to guarantee at least a series split with the Phillies at Wrigley Field, and – more than usual – Luis and I are really pulling for an exciting game.
Why? Well, tonight is our very first episode of Outside the Ivy – a new show on NBC Sports Chicago that comes on after the post-game. The show has a really loose format (I like to think of it as a televised podcast) and we’ll be taking questions from fans on Facebook live, where it’ll also be streaming during the show. So just keep the Cubs game on or go to NBC Sports Chicago on Facebook tonight after Kap and Dejesus wrap things up to check us out. My mom is very excited.
Carter Stewart was considered one of the top prospects of the 2018 draft and was even selected by the Braves with the eighth overall pick. However, a wrist injury led the Braves to offer Stewart a below-slot bonus, which he eventually declined, planning instead to re-enter the draft this year. But not anymore. According to Ken Rosenthal, Stewart will forego the upcoming draft electing instead to sign a 6-year deal worth at least $7M with a team in Japan! That’s a lot more than he would’ve gotten from the Braves last year and likely much more than he would’ve gotten this year, as well. And although he’s locking himself up for 6 years, he’ll hit full-on free agency sooner than expected. MAYBE he could’ve earned more money overall in the next six years if he was fast-tracked to the Majors … and reached arbitration quickly … and was good enough to command a competitive raise, but it was very far from a guarantee – especially as he’s just 19 years old right now.
So, yes, this is a very big deal. Not only is Stewart doing well by himself, he’s also setting himself up to be a pretty young free agent (25-26 years old). He gets the life-changing money upfront *and* shows other amateur players (and the teams looking to sign them for less than they’re worth) that there are alternatives. If other guys find themselves in his position, his follow-through will help make their threats more real. More at MLB Trade Rumors.
The Cubs need bullpen help and there was a time not so long ago (2015-2017) that Addison Reed, still only 30, was a very good reliever …
… But that time may have passed. After posting a 4.50 ERA (5.11 FIP) last season, Reed began the 2019 season on the Injured List with a thumb sprain, was DFA’d on the 16th, leading into his soon-to-be release. The Cubs could pick him up for next to nothing and help him continue to rehab, hoping he’ll turn into what he was just two seasons ago (2.84 ERA over 76.0 IP), but I’m not sure I see it happening. He’s got upside, but the Cubs need some more certainly in a bullpen addition. He’ll catch on somewhere.
MLB has reinstated Dodgers’ pitcher Julio Urias, currently under investigation for Domestic Violence, after initially placing him on administrative leave. And there’s a lot of important caveats to that. First, the decision to reinstate Urias was not up to the Dodgers and they cannot, at this time, prevent him from returning. Second, the official police incident report has not yet been released and we know the MLB investigation is still on-going. Apparently, mall officials in possession of the video evidence of the incident are not handing over to MLB, which … dude. C’mon. In any case, we know – from Aroldis Chapman to Addison Russell – MLB can still suspend Urias with or without a criminal charge. It’s all a very weird, very sad story, of which you can read more at ESPN.
Adam Eaton called Todd Frazier “very childish” on Monday night, after the two players got into a bit of a tussle during the game. Apparently, Eaton heard Frazier yelling him across the infield all night and eventually confronted him about it – continuing a feud that’s been going on since their days together on the White Sox. Deadspin has more on the beef between these two, but like they say in the headline … it’s getting old and pretty dumb.
NBC Sports Chicago has a bit more of the actual back and forth, but Ozzie Guillen comes in for some … pretty candid words on Adam Eaton (lol … yikes):
https://twitter.com/NBCSChicago/status/1130989069515841537
SUPRISE! The Mets (22-25, third place in the NL East, 5.5 games out of first) are a mess … again, and Jeff Passan gets into the reasons why. And all of that aside, I gotta say, I’m not hating how much less impressive the NL East is looking overall because if the Cubs need to break glass in case of emergency and get into October through the Wild Card, a more top-heavy NL East could eventually help.
LOL: This is just like that time the Cardinals announcer said Jon Lester wouldn’t throw over to first, just before he made the pick off:
I don’t know what’s crazier, Zack Greinke becoming just the 37th pitcher to reach 25Ks in MLB history, or the fact that TWO OTHER guys did it earlier this year:
And finally, if you missed this, you’re gonna want to check it out. Not only is this the best executed hidden ball trick I’ve ever seen (4-5 players are in on it) … it was a GAME ENDING hidden ball trick that sent the winners to the Division III College WORLD SERIES: