Patience Wears Thin
The trade deadline approaches and more teams are selling
It’s that time of year when my kids’ hankering for one more pitch during evening wiffle ball remains unfulfilled even beyond the last moment of daylight. Last night, by the end, I couldn’t see the ball out of my hand.
I’ve never heard of hitters training in light-deprived environments — though a google search suggests it’s a good way to maximize your cannabis crop — but if my daughter and son have any kind of breakthroughs at the plate in the coming year, I’ve found a new gimmick for the WTP School of Hitting. (Don’t forget that we ascribe to Paul McCartney’s philosophy: And in the end, the pitch you take is equal to the pitch you rake.)
Baseball paused and returned from the All-Star Break, is barreling towards the trade deadline, and I’m still thinking about my trip to Dodger Stadium on July 3. I traveled north in the hopes that the home team would deploy a position player at pitcher. (You can find that story here if you missed it.) Turns out, I was a day early.
In the series opener of what proved to be a three-game sweep, the Astros took an 18-1 lead into the ninth. Infielder Miguel Rojas — affectionally known as “Miggy Ro” — was given the ball. He ended up the only Dodgers pitcher not to allow a run.
Across the diamond, Houston reliever Jason Alexander inherited a 17-run lead when he entered in the bottom of the seventh. (Hey, he’s no longer just the assistant to the traveling secretary of the Yankees.) Alexander threw three scoreless frames and secured the first save of his career. No shrinkage there.
Things have been kinda funny for the Dodgers since then. From the Fourth of July — when they got routed by the Astros — through Wednesday’s dramatic walk-off win1 — they are 4-11.
On Tuesday night in Los Angeles, the defending champs lost in a game that featured a bases-clearing tapper to the pitcher. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a play in which the pitcher fired a throw past the intended target at first base, crossed up the infielder backing up the play, and saw the ball reach the outfield wall before it was retrieved. For your viewing pleasure, please:
Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages is no stranger to the wall, and he reacquainted himself with it chasing down reliever Edgardo Henriquez’s errant throw. It’s a play that can’t be measured, sorted, and processed by in-stadium cameras and team analysts. I love this kind of play because of what can be parsed from an advance scouting perspective. Yes, we all know that Henriquez might have some trouble throwing to bases. He’s thrown five innings at the big league level in his career. But his spot on the roster is a result of Dodgers pitchers’ ever-mounting injury problems.
Pages, however, has started 98 of his team’s first 103 games, spending time in all three outfield positions. On such a wild play, the right fielder’s pursuit of the ball is secondary at best. Still, his rendezvous with the wall wasn’t exactly subtle. When the bright lights of October baseball shine, which Dodgers’ opponent will be prepared for Pages’ run-ins and be able to take an extra base against him? We’ll be watching.
The Dodgers, like many other teams this time of year, are in need to bullpen reinforcements and will use the trade market to find help. The Orioles have valuable pieces, and I’m curious to see how they handle the days leading up to the trade deadline.
Will they acquire Major League-ready players who can help the team win next year, or will they stock the lower-levels of their system? When the team was rebuilding, draft picks were a priority. Earlier this month, the O’s sent reliever Bryan Baker to Tampa Bay for the 37th overall pick in the draft2. (The pick was a competitive balance round selection, the only type of draft pick that can be traded. These picks aren’t set until December, so trading them isn’t an option at this time.)
Orioles GM Mike Elias has thrived in the draft. Since he shifted his team from rebuilding to competing, his key acquisitions have been via trade rather than free agency. Can a team quickly surrender, reload, and preserve winning expectations and culture?
Today, Baltimore sent relief pitcher Gregory Soto, who is slated to reach free agency after the season, to the Mets for two minor league right-handed pitchers. What will the trade strategy not just of the O’s but the rest of the league look like? We’ll break it down in the coming days and weeks.
Not From Concentrate
The Tampa Bay Rays finally have money? According to reports, the chronically frugal franchise is being sold for approximately $1.7 billion. I’ve heard that the team’s baseball operations leaders were given clearance to explore acquiring higher-paid players this month, a significant departure from behavior under principal owner Stuart Sternberg. I don’t know how the Rays leadership currently assesses their team’s chances. After losing seven of their last 10, Tampa Bay is just outside the playoff picture. But if the organization gains any kind of financial firepower under new ownership (and is able to work out a new stadium deal), the AL East will become that much more competitive.3
An Impressive Feat of Journalism
Earlier this week, Sam Blum, who covers the Angels and then some for The Athletic, wrote about the team’s opportunity to build for the future by trading a few coveted players (subscription required). He laid out many of the facts that have existed inside the franchise for a number of years now, dating back at least to Ohtani’s walk year.
The impressive part of the story to me, though, was what he didn’t say. Blum managed to deliver more than 900 words of insights and possibilities without once using the word “Trout.” Who knows? Maybe it was the author’s own challenge to himself, a way to keep things lively while writing another gloom-and-doom piece about the Halos.
What’s becoming clearer every year, though, is that Mike Trout’s presence on the roster may be more of a roadblock than a key to the organization’s success. Can the organization take even a tiny intentional step back as long as Trout is active?
The future first-ballot Hall of Famer turns 34 in a couple weeks. He’s on pace to appear in more games and take more at-bats than he has since 2019. While his offensive output is still solid, it’s nothing like it was as recently as 2022 when he hit 40 homers and slugged .630.
Each Spring Training, it seems like we read about Trout urging his team’s front office and ownership to spend more money and add talent. Currently, the team is on pace for its 10th consecutive losing season. I’m curious to know if owner Arte Moreno would even consider a conversation with GM Perry Minasian and their star player to map out a brighter future. Trout is due more than $37 million annually through the 2030 season. No team is going to assume that deal, even if the player were to approve a trade. Strategies rooted in hope and bobblehead giveaways haven’t moved the team forward. Just like the Orioles, how quickly could the Angels reset and advance with their current core?
The beginning of these stories are being written now — whether Trout’s name is mentioned or not.
It was quite something really. The Twins carried a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Manager Rocco Baldelli turned to reliever Griffin Jax for the save. Closer Jhoan Durán was unavailable, I believe, after throwing two innings the night before. Jax retired the first two Dodgers before Mookie Betts reached via infield single. Earlier in the at-bat, there was a two-strike check-swing call that very easily could have ended the game. It looked like Betts went, but first-base umpire Emil Jimenez said no. With two outs and a man on, Shohei Ohtani received the Barry Bonds treatment; he was intentionally walked, the tying run was forced into scoring position, and the Dodgers fate rested on the bat of defensive replacement Esteury Ruiz. Good strategy, bad execution. Jax walked Ruiz. The game continued for Freddie Freeman, who singled home the game-tying and game-winning runs. Dodgers win, 5-4.
Given that pick’s impact on the Orioles’ overall signing bonus pool, it’s difficult to assess this strategy quickly or simply. Considering the team used that selection on a high school outfielder, we shouldn’t expect to see the Baker trade directly return a player to contribute next season. But we don’t know how that extra pick may have influenced, if at all, the team’s other draft-day decisions.
I also wonder how new ownership’s stance on league-wide revenue-related issues could impact the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. Is there a chance that Tampa could add even more distance between the teams willing to spend and the A’s, Marlins, Pirates, and Rockies (the four clubs who pose, in my opinion, the biggest threat to labor peace).