Around Baseball 2023

[G-Snarls]

Mariners are just going to be annoying again I know it. They have the pitching to go on a run. And even though there offense is dog s*** they are timely as f***.

 

Also I don't know if I should be laughing at the Angles or feel sorry for them. Can I really fault them for trying to win for one last ditch effort to keep Ohtani. But everything about that decision including Mike Trout's injury seemed extremely ill-advised. I am conflicted.

 

Yeah

 

Real bad week for the Angels, lost 4 straight to the Mariners and have lost 6 in a row altogether

 

Angels now below 500 with a 2% chance of making the post season according to Fangraphs

[G-Snarls]

How long will Guardians' Jose Ramirez be suspended for Tim Anderson fight? Jose Ramirez and Tim Anderson face likely suspensions following their fight on Saturday night.

 

https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/mlb/cleveland-guardians/how-long-guardians-jose-ramirez-suspended-tim-anderson-fight/95-838d4ac1-a620-4ce2-93cf-f40bbc377186

 

 

Ramirez was in the lineup for Cleveland on Sunday, while Anderson received a reported scheduled day off. It is expected that suspensions for both players could be announced as early as Monday.

 

So what kind of suspension are Ramirez and Anderson looking at?

 

While the MLB rule book doesn't explicitly mention fighting, both players' actions likely qualify for the league's "unsportsmanlike conduct" category. Such fights have typically resulted in 2-5 game suspensions for position players (pitchers often receive longer suspensions to ensure they'll miss at least one start).

 

In 2017, then-Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper received a four-game suspension for his role in a fight with San Francisco Giants pitcher Hunter Strickland. That fight saw both players exchange punches after Strickland hit Harper with a pitch, in what escalated into a bench-clearing brawl.

 

The wild card, regarding Ramirez, may be the end result, in which his punch knocked down and reportedly dazed Anderson. Considering the Guardians' third baseman inflicted more apparent damage, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him receive a harsher punishment than Anderson receives.

 

It would, however, be a surprise to see Ramirez suspended significantly longer than Harper was six years ago. Considering the viral nature of the brawl, perhaps he'll receive as many as five games, with another potential factor being who the league determines instigated the brawl.

 

 

[G-Snarls]

Don't hate the thought of Ramirez missing the whole 4 game series against us

[BigCecil]

Berrios and Gausman deals are looking like sweetheart contracts. Even Kikuchi is fine at 12M per

 

At the moment. Long way to go. Ex: Berrios has had 1/2 good years and 5 more to go. Given what we saw with Manoah in '23 we all know this.

 

 

I think Kooch is going to be paid 16/10/10 with biggest chunk out of the way which is nice.

[metafour]

At the moment. Long way to go. Ex: Berrios has had 1/2 good years and 5 more to go. Given what we saw with Manoah in '23 we all know this.

 

He just turned 29 years old and is one of the most consistent pitchers in the league. He also doesn't miss starts. His contract is very team-friendly (under $20 mill per year until 2027).

 

It sounds like you're just talking to talk. Any player can implode at any moment in time. By that logic you should probably never extend anyone of value past their arbitration years if Jose Berrios' contract (of all players) is worrying to you.

[BigCecil]

He just turned 29 years old and is one of the most consistent pitchers in the league. He also doesn't miss starts. His contract is very team-friendly (under $20 mill per year until 2027).

 

It sounds like you're just talking to talk. Any player can implode at any moment in time. By that logic you should probably never extend anyone of value past their arbitration years if Jose Berrios' contract (of all players) is worrying to you.

 

Ya right. Because a 7 year extension is norm right? lol. Id expect this kind of comment from a charter member of the Ross Atkins salad tossing brigade. We paid two top picks (albeit not great ones by this FO) for him plus this deal. I hope he delivers like this year for most if not all of this deal. He has been durable. Quite a few arms are until they aren't over 7 years. He ate up a lot of IP in MINN. We shall see.

 

My preference would be to augment a rotation with FAs rather than paying premiums building 5/6th of the rotation around them. Rather see some more developed in house realistic options since 2016. Call me crazy.

[Terminator]

Id expect this kind of comment from a charter member of the Ross Atkins salad tossing brigade.

 

Wow!

[G-Snarls]

https://www.mlb.com/news/tim-anderson-jose-ramirez-emmanuel-clase-suspended

 

A combined eight members of the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox have received discipline for their roles in the benches-clearing on-field incident that occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning of Saturday night’s game at Cleveland’s Progressive Field. Michael Hill, Major League Baseball’s Senior Vice President for On-Field Operations, made the announcement:

 

• White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has received a six-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for fighting.

• Guardians third baseman José Ramírez has received a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for fighting.

• Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine.

• White Sox manager Pedro Grifol and Guardians manager Terry Francona have each received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine.

• Guardians third base coach Mike Sarbaugh has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine.

• In addition, White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech and Guardians outfielder Gabriel Arias have each received an undisclosed fine.

 

The suspensions of Anderson and Ramírez had been scheduled to become effective tonight, when the Guardians are to host the Toronto Blue Jays and the White Sox are to host the New York Yankees. However, both Anderson and Ramírez have elected to appeal. Thus, the discipline issued to them will be held in abeyance until that process is complete. Clase has elected not to appeal and will serve his discipline tonight.

 

Grifol and FrancAona must serve their respective suspensions tonight, while Sarbaugh will serve his suspension on Tuesday.

[Spanky99]

Haha... I said it last night he'd appeal and accept the suspension against an easier opponent. Edited August 7, 2023 by Spanky99

[BigCecil]

Wow!

 

ya, that was over the top. lol. My bad. Metafour knows his ball. We just disagree on a few topics.

[Ehjays]

[Ehjays]

Guardians Claim Ramon Laureano

By Steve Adams | August 7, 2023 at 1:33pm CDT

 

The Guardians announced that they’ve claimed veteran outfielder Ramon Laureano off outright waivers from the A’s. He was designated for assignment by Oakland over the weekend.

 

As a reminder, Major League Baseball did away with revocable August trade waivers five years ago. Laureano was claimed off (irrevocable) outright waivers. He’s now under Guardians club control through the 2025 season, and Cleveland will pick up the remainder of this year’s $3.55MM salary. The Guards currently have MLB’s tenth-worst record, indicating that the eight non-A’s clubs ahead of them — Royals, Rockies, White Sox, Cardinals, Nats, Tigers, Mets, Pirates — all passed on putting in a claim.

 

Just two years ago, the notion of Laureano being placed on waivers would’ve seemed difficult to fathom. From 2018-21, the now-29-year-old Laureano was a core piece in Oakland, batting a combined .263/.335/.465 (119 wRC+) and coupling that production with strong baserunning, respectable glovework in center and plus defense in right field.

 

Laureano, however, was hit with an 80-game PED suspension midway through the ’21 campaign and has never regained his footing. He was suspended for the final couple months of play in 2021, and that ban lingered into the 2022 season. He’s since missed time with oblique, groin and hamstring strains, as well as a fractured hand. Since returning from that PED suspension, Laureano has four IL trips and a collective .212/.285/.371 batting line in 158 games/629 plate appearances — effectively one full season’s worth of games.

 

The A’s have surely had varying levels of trade interest in Laureano over the past couple years, but they’ve understandably opted against selling low on a player whose value was once considerable. Unfortunately for the club, they’ll now lose Laureano for nothing more than the $1.07MM in salary relief they’ll gain with Cleveland claiming the outfielder and his contract. It’s a sub-par outcome that’ll draw ire from fans and criticism from pundits — particularly given the lackluster results of the current rebuilding effort. Laureano would likely have been non-tendered rather than given a raise this winter, so once a trade failed to materialize prior to the deadline, the A’s apparently shifted gear and simply looked to recoup some of salary obligation.

 

The final two months of the season will serve as an audition for Laureano in Cleveland, where outfield production is a near-annual concern. Guardians outfielders are batting a combined .248/.310/.342 this season, and the resulting 81 wRC+ (i.e. 19% worse than the MLB-average hitter) places the Cleveland outfield 29th of all 30 teams, leading only the last-place Royals. Steven Kwan is the only Guardians outfielder with even average offensive output at the plate this season, so the chance to buy low on Laureano for a cost of just over $1MM is a sensible roll of the dice for the team.

 

Laureano will at the very least provide a right-handed-hitting complement to lefty-swinging Will Brennan in right field, but the production (or lack thereof) from Brennan and center fielder Myles Straw is glaring enough that there ought to be an opportunity for Laureano to claim a larger role if the change of scenery proves beneficial.

[Terminator]

 

This is so pathetic.

[InsideThePark]

Wut? There's literally a graphic put onto the broadcast around what he's saying. At minimum that means someone made the graphic and the person responsible for what makes air approved it. More than likely a whole bunch of more people involved in what is a completely normal thing to put on air. But the broadcaster gets suspended for it? That makes no sense

[metafour]

Ya right. Because a 7 year extension is norm right? lol. Id expect this kind of comment from a charter member of the Ross Atkins salad tossing brigade. We paid two top picks (albeit not great ones by this FO) for him plus this deal. I hope he delivers like this year for most if not all of this deal. He has been durable. Quite a few arms are until they aren't over 7 years. He ate up a lot of IP in MINN. We shall see.

 

Simeon Woods-Richardson wasn't a pick by this team.

 

As usual, you are looking for things to complain about. Jose Berrios is signed to a below-market AAV. He signed a 7-year term, but he was just 27 at the time of that extension. This means that he will be just 34 years old when he is a UFA. That isn't even old by any standard of metric; Chris Bassitt is literally 34 years old right now and he's still plugging away at a 2+ WAR pace.

 

Berrios is one of the most durable pitchers in the league. He has zero history of control/command concerns. He is not fat, and he does not have a wild/inconsistent delivery. His success has never depended on overpowering velocity. He is about as safe as it gets from a pitching perspective, and to repeat: his below-market contract doesn't even run until his age 35 season.

 

To state "we'll see what happens" can be said about any player in the history of the game. Again, if Jose Berrios' contract has you spooked then you may as well not extend any player ever again LMAO. Yes guy, the 29 year old who never misses a start and doesn't even make $20 mill per year might iMplOdE aT aNy mOMeNt! YoU nEvr KnOw!

[Pendleton]

[metafour]

ya, that was over the top. lol. My bad. Metafour knows his ball. We just disagree on a few topics.

 

I hope you realize I'm also trolling you smh...

[Captain_Obvious]

 

This is so pathetic.

 

I don't get it. What did he say that was offensive? I probably missed it.

[Spanky99]

 

This is so pathetic.

 

What did he do wrong, clown world, man?

[Jonn]

[Terminator]

I don't get it. What did he say that was offensive? I probably missed it.

 

 

What did he do wrong, clown world, man?

 

Orioles are just a thin-skinned trash organization.

[G-Snarls]

I don't get it. What did he say that was offensive? I probably missed it.

 

This clip must be the wrong clip or something

 

I don't get it

[Carlos Danger]

Guardians Claim Ramon Laureano

By Steve Adams | August 7, 2023 at 1:33pm CDT

 

The Guardians announced that they’ve claimed veteran outfielder Ramon Laureano off outright waivers from the A’s. He was designated for assignment by Oakland over the weekend.

 

As a reminder, Major League Baseball did away with revocable August trade waivers five years ago. Laureano was claimed off (irrevocable) outright waivers. He’s now under Guardians club control through the 2025 season, and Cleveland will pick up the remainder of this year’s $3.55MM salary. The Guards currently have MLB’s tenth-worst record, indicating that the eight non-A’s clubs ahead of them — Royals, Rockies, White Sox, Cardinals, Nats, Tigers, Mets, Pirates — all passed on putting in a claim.

 

Just two years ago, the notion of Laureano being placed on waivers would’ve seemed difficult to fathom. From 2018-21, the now-29-year-old Laureano was a core piece in Oakland, batting a combined .263/.335/.465 (119 wRC+) and coupling that production with strong baserunning, respectable glovework in center and plus defense in right field.

 

Laureano, however, was hit with an 80-game PED suspension midway through the ’21 campaign and has never regained his footing. He was suspended for the final couple months of play in 2021, and that ban lingered into the 2022 season. He’s since missed time with oblique, groin and hamstring strains, as well as a fractured hand. Since returning from that PED suspension, Laureano has four IL trips and a collective .212/.285/.371 batting line in 158 games/629 plate appearances — effectively one full season’s worth of games.

 

The A’s have surely had varying levels of trade interest in Laureano over the past couple years, but they’ve understandably opted against selling low on a player whose value was once considerable. Unfortunately for the club, they’ll now lose Laureano for nothing more than the $1.07MM in salary relief they’ll gain with Cleveland claiming the outfielder and his contract. It’s a sub-par outcome that’ll draw ire from fans and criticism from pundits — particularly given the lackluster results of the current rebuilding effort. Laureano would likely have been non-tendered rather than given a raise this winter, so once a trade failed to materialize prior to the deadline, the A’s apparently shifted gear and simply looked to recoup some of salary obligation.

 

The final two months of the season will serve as an audition for Laureano in Cleveland, where outfield production is a near-annual concern. Guardians outfielders are batting a combined .248/.310/.342 this season, and the resulting 81 wRC+ (i.e. 19% worse than the MLB-average hitter) places the Cleveland outfield 29th of all 30 teams, leading only the last-place Royals. Steven Kwan is the only Guardians outfielder with even average offensive output at the plate this season, so the chance to buy low on Laureano for a cost of just over $1MM is a sensible roll of the dice for the team.

 

Laureano will at the very least provide a right-handed-hitting complement to lefty-swinging Will Brennan in right field, but the production (or lack thereof) from Brennan and center fielder Myles Straw is glaring enough that there ought to be an opportunity for Laureano to claim a larger role if the change of scenery proves beneficial.

 

This is a great pick-up by the Guardians. I would really like to know if the Blue Jays were planning on claiming him if he made it to us. I thought he would be a great fit for us.

[BigCecil]

Simeon Woods-Richardson wasn't a pick by this team.

 

As usual, you are looking for things to complain about. Jose Berrios is signed to a below-market AAV. He signed a 7-year term, but he was just 27 at the time of that extension. This means that he will be just 34 years old when he is a UFA. That isn't even old by any standard of metric; Chris Bassitt is literally 34 years old right now and he's still plugging away at a 2+ WAR pace.

 

Berrios is one of the most durable pitchers in the league. He has zero history of control/command concerns. He is not fat, and he does not have a wild/inconsistent delivery. His success has never depended on overpowering velocity. He is about as safe as it gets from a pitching perspective, and to repeat: his below-market contract doesn't even run until his age 35 season.

 

To state "we'll see what happens" can be said about any player in the history of the game. Again, if Jose Berrios' contract has you spooked then you may as well not extend any player ever again LMAO. Yes guy, the 29 year old who never misses a start and doesn't even make $20 mill per year might iMplOdE aT aNy mOMeNt! YoU nEvr KnOw!

 

Ya. That’s right on SWR. Quite the gotcha. Came over in Stro deal. I lose track sometimes of all the top prospects and picks traded away which they criticized AA for. Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd’s of the world.

 

Berrios sucked last year 1 fWAR. Especially when his V was down making the other pitches he relies on less effective. True that his FB command was also off. He needs to stay health and eat innings as thats where a lot of his value over 1200 IP has come from. If he doesn't his value drops dramatically. He's got a career FIP over 4. As far as what may happen, in a 7 year deal its all about risk assessment vis a vis term/AAV.

Edited August 7, 2023 by BigCecil

[BigCecil]

I hope you realize I'm also trolling you smh...

Nah. Not my thing to troll on the internet. But ok.

[Captain_Obvious]

Orioles are just a thin-skinned trash organization.

 

I understand. But even then, which part was offensive to a thin-skinned trash organization? I watched it twice and I still can't figure it out.

[BigCecil]

LAD just turned a 5 run gap around in a hurry. Now 8-5 on a 3-0 grand slam by Betts adding to his HOF career credentials. Hard to believe he has 55 WAR already.

[Spanky99]

LAD just turned a 5 run gap around in a hurry. Now 8-5 on a 3-0 grand slam by Betts adding to his HOF career credentials. Hard to believe he has 55 WAR already.

 

Pitchers are getting Rekt.

[BigCecil]

Pitchers are getting Rekt.

 

Wild. I can’t believe Jason Heyward has been reincarnated into a good bat at his age now. Taking some hacks.

[Spanky99]

Wild. I can’t believe Jason Heyward has been reincarnated into a good bat at his age now. Taking some hacks.

 

I was thinking of this after his basehit too, he's probably just finally near 100%. lol