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Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Washington Nationals And Arizona Diamondbacks Have The Same Record
CJ Abrams and the Washington Nationals are playing much better than anyone expected. (Photo by ... More) The Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks have the same record through 59 games (28-31). Who had that on their bingo card when the season began? Arizona was expected to make the playoffs and potentially have a deep run in October. Over the off-season, they picked up the team's option on third baseman Eugenio Suarez for $15 million, and then allowed Christian Walker and Joc Pederson to leave in free agency. They filled their first base hole by trading for the Guardian's Josh Naylor, coming off a 31 home run/108 RBI season in Cleveland. While Pederson kills righties, the club brought in Randall Grichuk to smack around lefties. After a surprise run to the World Series in 2023, there was hope in the desert that 2025 could result in a return trip to the playoffs. General manager Mike Hazen then bolstered the pitching staff by adding arguably the best arm on the free agent market, Corbin Burnes, signing him to a six-year, $210 million deal. Burnes slid ahead of Zac Gallen, giving the Snakes a great 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation. Potentially the biggest 'acquisition' may be a hot start from right fielder Corbin Carroll. Over the first half of 2024, in 94 games, Carroll slashed .212/.301/.334, with just five home runs. In the second half, over 64 games, he slashed .258/.351/.568, with 17 dingers. In August alone he hit 11 home runs and had an OPS of 1.042. The team felt confident that if Carroll could get off to a better start, the team could truly compete in the rough National League West. Carroll hasn't disappointed, playing MVP-caliber baseball, with 16 home runs, an .877 OPS, and 2.1 bWAR through the first third of the season. Burnes has lived up to the hype. Over his first 10 starts, he averaging just under six innings per appearance, while sporting a 2.72 ERA. Unfortunately, he left Sunday's game with an apparent elbow injury, so the future is now unknown. Unlike Burnes, Gallen is currently 3-7, with a 5.54 ERA, 4.58 FIP, and has the worst WHIP of his career, which is due to his league-leading 32 walks. The low-end of the pre-season predictions had the Diamondbacks winning 86.5 games (FanDuel), with Keith Law of The Athletic taking the other end of the spectrum, guessing 90 wins. Nearly every site had Arizona as a Wild Card team. As of Sunday afternoon, Arizona is in fourth place in the NL West, eight games back of the Dodgers; and maybe more importantly, they are five games back of a Wild Card spot, but would need to leap over three teams just to get there. There is a still a lot of baseball to be played, so the Diamondbacks have plenty of runway to figure this out. But they will need to markedly improve on their .475 winning percentage if they want to play baseball this Fall. No one really gave the Nationals much of a chance this season in the highly competitive National League East. Everyone had their eyes focused on the Phillies, their incredible pitching staff, and roster of steady veterans; the New York Mets and their new three-quarters of a billion-dollar toy, Juan Soto; and the back-from-IL-hell Atlanta Braves, returning former MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and Cy Young-finalist Spencer Strider to their lineup. Keith Law predicted the Nationals to win 74 games. FanGraphs had them even worse, with just 69 wins. But this team, rebuilt with the players president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo acquired from the San Diego Padres in return for Soto in 2022, has staked a claim. If not in 2025, well at least a heck of a lot sooner than others thought. And, with ten runs in the first inning against the Diamondbacks on Saturday, they announced their presence with authority. The core of the players the Nats received from San Diego now represent the core of their roster. C.J. Abrams is slashing .274/.348/.492, and has accrued 1.9 bWAR through the first third of the season. James Wood (who was the Padres' #3 prospect when they shipped him east) is hitting .288 with 16 home runs, and is redefining power to the opposite field. MacKenzie Gore leads the league in strikeouts, and had a roughly five-to-one strikeout to walk ratio. He struck out 181 batters last season in just 166 innings, but he also led the league with 14 wild pitches. This year he only has three wild pitches, and seems to have mastered both his command and control. He is on pace for a 6.0 bWAR season. Robert Hassell III (who was San Diego's #1 prospect at the time), is getting his first taste of big league experience this season, getting ten hits in his first nine games played. While FanGraphs doesn't necessarily have high hopes for Hassell (35+ Future Value score on the 20-80 scale), the Nationals hope he can have a future in their outfield. Washington also benefited from having the number two pick in the 2023 draft, which they used for Dylan Crews, just weeks after he won the Golden Spikes Award as the best player in college baseball. Crews is off to a slow start in his official rookie season (and is currently on the IL with an oblique strain). In 45 games before his injury, Crews was batting just .196, with a .620 OPS, and seven home runs. But the stats belie what is actually happening with Crews. His BAbip is .233 (league average is .291); his hard hit percentage is 41.7% (league average is 39.6%); his average exit velocity is above average. He is 'barreling' balls at twice the league average; his expected batting average per Statcast is .258 (no great shakes, but not under the Mendoza line); and his expected slugging percentage is nearly 100 points higher than his actual number. Suffice to say that the law of large numbers points to Crews being just fine once his side heals. The Nationals are equaling the Diamondbacks with a pitching staff that is middling at best. Their starting crew has an ERA of 4.44 (25th in baseball); and their relievers are worse, with 6.03, with eight blown saves. But this is not supposed to be Washington's year. They are making a little bit of hay long before the sun is supposed to shine. Arizona, on the other hand, is supposed to contend. Which makes their identical records confusing, confounding, and exciting (for at least one fan base) as we move into the second third of the season.
Reuters
2 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Brewers' Christian Yelich (hand) leaves after HBP
June 1 - After getting hit by a pitch in the first inning of Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich was later removed due to a "right hand contusion." Yelich, who served as the Brewers' designated hitter, stayed in the game to run in the first. But when his spot in the order came around again in the third, Eric Haase batted for him. Yelich had been one of the hottest hitters in the major leagues prior to being hit by Phillies starter Ranger Suarez. Over his previous eight games, the 33-year-old outfielder had gone 17 of 36 (.472) with five homers, 10 runs, 13 RBIs and two steals. That spree, which included a walk-off grand slam May 27 against the Boston Red Sox, boosted Yelich's slash line from .184/.276/.324 to .233/.314/.423. With his 12 homers and 10 stolen bases, Yelich was one of 11 big-league players with double digits in homers and steals -- joining the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, Arizona's Corbin Carroll, the Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker, Pittsburgh's Oneil Cruz, Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz, Cleveland's Jose Ramirez, San Diego's Fernando Tatis Jr., the New York Mets' Francisco Lindor and Texas' Wyatt Langford. The Brewers announced Yelich's hand contusion midgame, and didn't immediately say whether Yelich will need a stint on the 10-day injured list. --Field Level Media
Associated Press
5 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Garcia leads Nationals against the Diamondbacks after 4-hit game
Washington Nationals (26-30, fourth in the NL East) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (27-29, fourth in the NL West) Phoenix; Friday, 9:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Jake Irvin (4-1, 3.42 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 47 strikeouts); Diamondbacks: Merrill Kelly (5-2, 3.52 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 58 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Diamondbacks -221, Nationals +182; over/under is 8 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals take on the Arizona Diamondbacks after Luis Garcia had four hits on Thursday in a 9-3 win over the Mariners. Arizona has a 14-15 record at home and a 27-29 record overall. Diamondbacks hitters have a collective .445 slugging percentage to rank third in the NL. Washington has a 26-30 record overall and a 13-16 record in road games. The Nationals have gone 21-8 in games when they record at least eight hits. The teams meet Friday for the fourth time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Corbin Carroll leads the Diamondbacks with 16 home runs while slugging .560. Gabriel Moreno is 14 for 36 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games. James Wood leads the Nationals with 15 home runs while slugging .571. Garcia is 13 for 37 with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Diamondbacks: 3-7, .241 batting average, 4.39 ERA, outscored by eight runs Nationals: 7-3, .265 batting average, 3.56 ERA, outscored opponents by 18 runs INJURIES: Diamondbacks: Eduardo Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), A.J. Puk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jordan Montgomery: 60-Day IL (elbow), Blake Walston: 60-Day IL (elbow) Nationals: Jacob Young: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Dylan Crews: 10-Day IL (back), Paul DeJong: 10-Day IL (face), Orlando Ribalta: 15-Day IL (biceps), Derek Law: 15-Day IL (forearm), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Associated Press
7 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Reynolds leads Pirates against the Diamondbacks after 4-hit performance
Pittsburgh Pirates (20-36, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (27-28, fourth in the NL West) Phoenix; Wednesday, 3:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Paul Skenes (3-5, 2.36 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 70 strikeouts); Diamondbacks: Zac Gallen (3-6, 5.25 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 63 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Diamondbacks -267, Pirates +217; over/under is 8 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates play the Arizona Diamondbacks after Bryan Reynolds had four hits on Tuesday in a 9-6 win over the Diamondbacks. Arizona is 27-28 overall and 14-14 at home. Diamondbacks hitters have a collective .333 on-base percentage, the fourth-ranked percentage in the NL. Pittsburgh has a 7-20 record on the road and a 20-36 record overall. The Pirates are 5-24 in games when they have allowed at least one home run. Wednesday's game is the third time these teams square off this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Corbin Carroll leads the Diamondbacks with 16 home runs while slugging .561. Gabriel Moreno is 14 for 36 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games. Andrew McCutchen has eight doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs for the Pirates. Oneil Cruz is 8 for 38 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Diamondbacks: 3-7, .260 batting average, 4.91 ERA, outscored by one run Pirates: 5-5, .258 batting average, 3.64 ERA, outscored by eight runs INJURIES: Diamondbacks: Eduardo Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), A.J. Puk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jordan Montgomery: 60-Day IL (elbow), Blake Walston: 60-Day IL (elbow) Pirates: Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (thumb), Nick Gonzales: 60-Day IL (ankle), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Endy Rodriguez: 10-Day IL (finger), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
New York Times
7 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Cubs are open to negotiating extension for Pete Crow-Armstrong even in-season
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs haven't closed the door on a long-term contract extension for Pete Crow-Armstrong, the dynamic center fielder whose breakout performance is already putting his name in the National League MVP conversation. After exchanging proposals around the season-opening Tokyo Series, the two sides agreed to table those discussions. When reports on the extension talks surfaced last month, Crow-Armstrong declared: 'I'm here to play baseball.' Advertisement Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer later echoed that talking point, saying the club would let Crow-Armstrong focus on the season, which is now turning into a long 'PCA' highlight reel. While Hoyer will defer to Crow-Armstrong's preferences, the Cubs do not have a strict organizational policy against in-season negotiations. 'Not talking during the season, to me, that's a player-focused thing,' Hoyer said Tuesday at Wrigley Field. 'I'm not playing. I've got time to negotiate if they want.' Crow-Armstrong is represented by Creative Artists Agency, which worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks to finalize Corbin Carroll's eight-year, $111 million contract extension during spring training in 2023. Another reference point arrived shortly after this season's Opening Day, when the San Diego Padres announced a nine-year, $135 million contract extension for Jackson Merrill, a young center fielder who signed what was generally viewed as a team-friendly deal, which includes a club option for 2035. Crow-Armstrong, 23, is currently under club control through the 2030 season, meaning there isn't an overwhelming sense of urgency. 'There's been a general understanding that we're not going to let it be a distraction throughout this year,' Crow-Armstrong said last month. Since those comments, Crow-Armstrong has hit 14 home runs while continuing to play Gold Glove-caliber defense and cause havoc on the bases, showing his full potential as one of the sport's most exciting talents. Crow-Armstrong is doing all this for a first-place team, in a city that holds a deep connection for his family. The outline of the initial report — a contract extension for Crow-Armstrong potentially worth around $75 million — has been characterized as inaccurate. Both sides also described the discussions as amicable. Advertisement 'We hadn't talked in a couple weeks when it leaked out,' Hoyer said. 'In general, it's just easier to negotiate if it's not out in the media. People aren't speculating on numbers and things like that. Even the number that came out about that wasn't right. The more we can keep things under wraps, the better. 'For a player, if it's going to mess with their head, if it's going to distract them or make them feel different, then you shouldn't do it. To me, not negotiating in-season, that's a player thing. Not specifically a team thing. But I totally respect guys who feel like they don't want to deal with it in-season, because they feel like it messes with their performance. I get that.'
