NEWSLETTER
There was a bunch of MLB-oriented stuff that I wanted to get into this morning in the Bullets, but then it built up to a huge pile, and the Cubs stuff was a huge pile, so I just split ’em up …
•  Another one of those short-term extensions for guys who weren’t in line for a huge free agent payday in any case: it’s 30-year-old center fielder Michael Taylor re-upping with the Royals on a two-year, $9 million deal. (Jeff Passan suggested yesterday there could be more coming (well, he said extensions in general, and I’m extrapolating that it’s this type).) The super-elite defensive center fielder can’t really hit, but having that glove available for the next two years is probably worth the modest investment. And since Taylor wasn’t going to get a huge contract in free agency no matter what happens with the CBA, this looks to be a perfectly fine and safe deal for both sides. Maybe a touch on the high side? So maybe it’s a tiny signal that the Royals think the markets will move northward after the CBA (which should be the outcome, considering the long-term revenue landscape).
•  Others who’ve been extended recently are all short-term: Lance Lynn (2/$38M), Brandon Crawford (2/$32M), Travis d’Arnaud (2/$16M), Jonathan Schoop (2/$15M), Charlie Morton (1/$20M), Yadi Molina (1/$10M).
The A’s are basically eliminated in the AL Wild Card race at this point, but with just four days left, there are still FOUR teams within a game or two of BOTH Wild Card spots (Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Mariners). That race is crazy.
•  Although the primary reaction – understandably! – to the Devin Williams news focused on his injury and how it happened, the secondary layer is all about the impact on the Brewers’ postseason chances now. I may not much like the Brewers, and a lot of their fans are needlessly dickish, but I do have some empathy for the many nice Brewers fans I know, and for the players in general. They were set up to have this killer front three in the rotation, and then Williams-Hader to cover the 8th and the 9th every single game. In the postseason, you can lean on elite relievers like that thanks to the off-days, and you don’t always see a clear degradation in performance. (Unless you throw a guy for multi innings, multiple games in a row, when you totally didn’t need to keep him out there that long in a game that became a blowout, I MEAN, AT LEAST GET SOMEONE UP IN THE BULLPEN EARLIER THAN THAT!!!)
•  Ope, got sidetracked. Anyway, the point is, losing Williams is more than just losing one relief arm. The loss could impact how the starting pitchers are used, how Josh Hader is used, and then obviously how the less-effective portions of the bullpen try to fill in the gap. It wouldn’t shock me if the numbers crunchers said it decreased the Brewers’ chances of winning it all by like 10 to 15%. That’s rough.
•  Noah Syndergaard spoke after his one-inning 2021 debut (post-Tommy John), and said he is “fairly confident” he’ll be with the Mets next year, and he hopes to get a Qualifying Offer. Combined, that makes me wonder if he’s hoping to get the offer so he can take it, and just stay where he’s comfortable on a really nice one-year contract and rebuild his value for a bigger score the next year. I have obviously been hoping the Cubs could be the team to give him that short-term deal, though $19-$20 million is pretty high for a guy in Syndergaard’s situation. I still love the post-surgery upside given how dominant he was in his mid-20s, but I also don’t want to ignore the fact that he was showing considerable warts in 2019, his last full season of pitching (and before that, he’d missed a lot of time with injury). I was thinking he’d be more in that $12 to $15 million range. I guess we’ll see what happens, but either way, I’m sure hoping the Mets don’t make him that QO.
•  That White Sox-Tigers rumble the other day, started by a HBP and a dirty slide? It led to a suspension, but not for the guys directly involved. Instead it was Tim Anderson getting three games for making contact with an umpire:
Here's the video of Tim Anderson and Umpire Tim Timmons in the scuffle pic.twitter.com/NQOwtj0vKN
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) September 29, 2021
•  It’s impressive how extremely hyped Wander Franco has been for years at such a young age, and how immediately he just went and did his thing in the big leagues:
Wander Franco has etched his name into the baseball history books.
He has tied Frank Robinson for the most consecutive games reaching base (43) before turning 21. #Rayspic.twitter.com/EQHUu6o1mB
— Today in MLB (@Todayin_MLB) September 30, 2021
•  Speaking of the Rays, they’re still trying to make the split-home thing happen, and it’ll include adding a Tampa Bay/Montreal home graphic at their ballpark this postseason:
The Tampa Bay Rays’ plan to split time between Montreal, Florida still draws skepticism two years on: https://t.co/Bljyi5eEoy
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) September 28, 2021
•  It surely SEEMS like what the Rays actually want is for one of the two cities to just say, OK, we’ll build you a baller stadium, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen (probably more likely in Montreal). It’s clear that the current situation is not tenable – the ballpark and the location are just so bad – but I don’t know that the split-home thing will ever actually play. Most believe Rays ownership simply wants to move to Montreal, but needs to build a case first.
•  I knew things had been bad in the Phillies organization for a long time (you don’t churn as many people and win as few games (despite spending so much money) without there being major issues). But I had no idea it was this bad:
The Phillies have a new farm director, but it is only the first step in fixing a player-development program that has tried to do everything while not doing anything well. It comes back to culture: https://t.co/nHr5jCP80j
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 30, 2021
•  What a year for Marcus Semien, and what a good decision to take a pillow contract:
Marcus Semien has the most HR (44) in a single season by a 2B in AL/NL history. pic.twitter.com/eB3vhLXSzH
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) September 29, 2021
•  If you build it, The Big Hurt will buy it:
SCOOP: Baseball Hall of Famer @FrankThomas — @TheBigHurt_35 — is purchasing controlling interest in company that owns the "Field of Dreams" movie site in Iowa https://t.co/CGLTgAE5YW via @politico pic.twitter.com/R1qXPMMVZJ
— Shia Kapos (@ShiaKapos) September 30, 2021
•  I’m just sayin’:
Sometimes it's a very good decision to just go by "Richard." pic.twitter.com/LY9kq4UXau
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 30, 2021
