Transmogrified Tiger

Stroman and Smyly are both starting rehab assignments in the next 48 hours, so given the expiration date they'll probably make do for the 1, maybe 2 starts until then.

Mervis and Slaughter both with a single and HR, Slaughter adding a BB and 2 K. I'd really like to know how viable a defender Slaughter is at 2B or 3B.

I think the optimistic story we can say about Higgins is this. He's hitting well at the MLB level now with a balanced approach that doesn't point to his production going to zero imminently, and his defensive reviews are that he's competent, no defensive stopper but not a DH masquerading as a C either. I would expect that with enough exposure, Higgins gets figured out or he starts losing just a little sharpness due to age(he's already 29) and that production does go to zero. The good news is that being used as a backup catcher and occasional lefty masher should both prolong that period where he's useful, and it matches up with the team's needs with the potential of Contreras being traded and Amaya's rehab from injury. Long story short, I expect by 2024 no one really wants Higgins on the MLB roster, but I think the potential he has to fill a gap until then is a good and opportune fit for the current personnel.

that one wasn't off a position player boy did Morel get all of it

Higgins is now at 65 PA with a .400 wOBA, and while that obviously won't continue there's nothing outrageously unsustainable going on with his total line.

So if both want to get to 20, B1G taking Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, and another(Colorado? Utah?) seems to make the most top of head sense. Then the SEC would take their pick of 4 ACC teams: probably Clemson, probably FSU, and 2 of Louisville, UNC, Miami, V-Tech, and Virginia?

Took Sampson 3 pitches for there to be a pitch that wasn't hit over the outfield fence, that is too many

PCA really filling up the box score, 3 for 3 with a BB and 1/2 SB

And now a HR

Morel sliding into first awkwardly after they just showed the replays of Bote wrecking his shoulder was terrifying

You've almost certainly followed this more closely than me, but do the stories about Boehly being super hands on and insisting on American sports-style trades appear to be accurate? The english soccer internet seems to be having a lot of fun with it either way. As for Pulisic, Juventus would be an improvement though it also has that mega-club problem where attackers hardly ever last more than 2 years unless they go supernova(see: Chelsea blowing up their attack *again*).

The only hitter on the 40 man that isn't on the active roster or hurt is Canario, so if they have a new injury requiring a DL stint(Heyward), a 40 man move is a necessity. As for where the move comes from, Hermosillo is a few days from 60 on the IL and they clearly don't care about DFA'ing him if push comes to shove, so 60 day-ing him feels like the play.

Heyward DL feels more likely

yeah have to say he's acquitting himself pretty well, but i'd like to know more about the high H/9 which is in stark contrast to his more dominant teammate [attachment=0]mwl.JPG[/attachment] unfortunately there's really not much prospect firepower in the MWL to compare him to statistically though There's definitely concerns there, though scanning his game log I'm wondering how much is him getting yanked a little early due to single inning pitch count and/or early season buildup. There's a chicken/egg dynamic to this, but when he goes 4+ IP the H/9 comes down a lot, and if you look at the pitch counts it's not as if he's throwing the same 75 pitches and only getting through 2.2 in his bad outings. Maybe if he had kept going in those he would've gotten shelled more, or maybe he would've been able to balance that out a bit were it not for the workload shackles.

BP has a (free) scouting report for Canario: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/article/75665/eyewitness-accounts-nastrini-is-in-control-can-canario-hit/ More at the link, but this is the overall summary:

That sounds like Close not wanting to sound like a pushover and does nothing for Freeman at all. It would once again be an agent acting in his own best interest over his client's. Most likely yes, but there's probably shades of gray. What if in my example it's actually 1 AM on Day X that the final offer comes from Atlanta, as one hypothetical. The idea is that in order for Close to reflect his client's wishes(in this case on decision timing), he may have to create ultimately arbitrary limits to ensure all the logistics are in order, and that creates room for there to technically be a time where Atlanta sends an offer(whether that's a detailed contract or a text message with years/dollars) that is after that limit but before Freeman deciding or signing with LA. Or maybe he's getting a kickback from the Dodgers. I'm mostly just thinking out loud.

Do you protect Slaughter? I believe he's eligible. I would think of him and Hill pretty similarly, in that you don't make any plans at the deadline with them in mind, and cross that bridge when you get to it. In both cases they were obviously unrosterable until about 6 weeks ago or so, and while players can make adjustments and aren't completely beholden to their past, it's prudent to see how the final couple months of the season play out. Hill for example doesn't even need to play all that poorly to end the season with a line like .320/.350/.450, which is a good line but not one you worry much about insisting on a 40 man spot for a LF only profile. Slaughter's .476 wOBA (!) has more room for error, especially if he's at all playable at 3B/2B, and it'll come down to how sustainable he shows his simultaneous power spike and big drop in K rate is.

I don't think you need to lose much sleep about protecting Pinango, the tools/upside aren't loud enough given his level and present production. Probably can say similar things about Roederer and Hill, though you can at least squint and see the argument if Roederer steps on the gas or Hill keeps flirting with .400 at AAA. But yes, trade Happ, and if you can without paying pennies on the dollar, choosing between Velazquez and Canario would be helpful.

The only innocuous explanation that makes sense to me is Close sticking to an arbitrary timeframe in the name of not being seen as a pushover. E.g. Freddie says he wants to make his choice on Day X, Close tells teams final offers due by 5 PM on Day X-1, on Day X-1 at 7 PM Braves say wait we found more money under the couch cushions, Close says no too bad we gave you a deadline and it passed.

Not sure what purpose Snell would serve, if you turn him around you have him for 1 year and then have to make a FA decision on an inconsistent 30 y/o SP. There are worse problems to have but doesn't exactly have me drooling at the prospect of bringing him in. The Myers thing makes me wonder how desperate they are to shed that half-year's salary. Is it "here's a back of the Top 30 prospect for your trouble"? Is it "we're willing to listen on attaching a Hassell or Wood"? Is it "can we interest you in a lightly used Adrian Morejon"? After the talk about rollover funds this would be an excellent application of them if the answer to that question is the right one.

Albert tried to pull a Game 7 on a double to the wall, bless him

Both teams swinging through a lot of fastballs so far

I'm sure there are teams who would be interested in adding Hendricks to their rotation at the right price. Considering the Cubs biggest need is near-MLB ready SP and they likely do not care about unloading Hendricks' salary(at least they better not), I'm not sure how that works given his lack of consistency or top of rotation ceiling.

Yeah if Jed was really furious about Heyward getting all the starts he would do something about it, and Jed has also proven himself not at all overly attached to the players of past glories. Prior to Suzuki's injury and his spell with covid, Heyward was playing far less, and while he had gone cold right before the covid spell, on the whole he was playing at a rosterable level. Since he's been back from covid, Suzuki and Hermosillo are out, and apparently they don't trust anyone else(given Ross's playing time distribution and Jed DFA'ing Frazier) to play RF with any regularity. I can half accept this argument for the lack of alternatives even if I don't agree with it, but the marginal alternative is something like Rivas playing RF so it's not something I care to get too worked up about. Both UZR and Statcast seem to agree that his defense is still comfortably above average(in the +5 to +7 range) if not at his previous elite +12 or +14. As for Velazquez, I think it's clear that they don't think he should be up, but injuries have forced their hand and they're hesitant to do even more 40 man shenanigans to get someone else in. I can accept that they want to meter out his playing time carefully, he was hitting .211/.290/.415 with a 36% K rate at Iowa, he's very likely gonna get humiliated by hitting against RHP with regularity which could set back whatever development path they have for him.