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New York Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Ronny Mauricio finally breaking through, plus: Cowser not afraid of shrimp, actually.
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. Ronny Mauricio is back, Ken (still) praises the Brewers' pitching depth and we take an early look at this year's trade deadline. Plus: We can confirm, Colton Cowser is not afraid of shrimp. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup! When last we saw Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio in the big leagues, he was 22 years old, and it was the end of the 2023 season. Ranked 87th on Keith Law's top 100 prospects list that year (he had previously ranked as high as No. 32, back in 2021) his numbers in 26 games weren't overwhelming, but the promise was still there — .248/.296/.347 (.643 OPS) with two home runs. Advertisement Then came winter ball, and a torn ACL. His ranking fell to No. 94 on Law's 2024 rankings (he rebounded slightly to 91st on this year's list), and as he geared up for a return this year, it appeared the Mets were going to give him as much time as he needed to get fully healthy, allowing Mark Vientos and Brett Baty to hold down the third-base job in Queens. There have been developments. As Will Sammon reports here, Mauricio could also see significant time at designated hitter, especially since he has only played back-to-back games on defense twice as he eases back into full-time game action. More Mets-Dodgers: For the second night in a row, it went to extras: This time the Dodgers walked it off after Max Muncy's redemption arc continued, with his second homer of the game tying it in the ninth. More Keith Law: Law highlights the biggest risers and fallers from the newest top 50 prospect rankings. In my notes column last week, I wrote about the Brewers' surprising number of starting-pitching options. And I warned, the moment a team thinks it has a surplus of pitching is generally the moment it starts to disappear. Naturally, it took only four days for an issue to arise. Last night, pitching on his rehabilitation assignment at Triple A, Brandon Woodruff was struck on the right elbow by a 108.2 mph comebacker. X-rays were negative, but Adam McCalvy reported Woodruff will undergo additional testing today in Milwaukee. Still, my original point stands: The Brewers are in a good spot with their starting pitching, and might even have enough depth to deal from strength at the trade deadline. Wild, isn't it? Two months from now, the Brewers' situation obviously might look quite different. And some of their starters need to be handled with care. Henderson, for example, threw only 81 1/3 innings last season, so it's not as if the Brewers are going to stretch him to 150. The team's bullpen also has thrown the second-most innings in the majors, behind only the Dodgers. The recent returns of Hall and Aaron Ashby should help ease that burden. Piggy-backing starters would be another option. Advertisement Still, the Brewers never are afraid to trade, even when in contention. Peralta is earning $8 million with an $8 million club option for next season. Civale is earning $8 million in his walk year. The Brewers conceivably could move one or both and replace them with cheaper alternatives. Peralta, with a 2.92 ERA in 13 starts, would be especially attractive. One of the best sentences I've ever gotten to write on The Athletic was: 'Adrián Beltré prefers Tupperware over Drake.' That story came in the boring middle third of spring training, where everyone is willing to engage in some silliness. When I saw this new contender for my favorite baseball headline, I suspected that mid-spring madness might have been partially to blame: Cowser sets record straight on Henderson's Topps autograph: 'I'm not afraid of shrimp' Kudos to Jake Rill of for getting to the bottom of this. It started when it was discovered that Orioles star shortstop Gunnar Henderson had signed a Topps limited-release card with 'Cowser is afraid of shrimp,' referring to his outfielder teammate. And Rill confirmed yesterday, yes: It was definitely a product of spring madness. Those card signings happen during spring training, and the two had been on a fishing trip in Florida this spring. I'll let Cowser take it from here: 'I'm not afraid of shrimp, by the way. I will grab the shrimp. One time, one jumped out of my hand and had to grab it off the ground and it took a little bit longer because it was in the crevice of the deck.' This is the sort of silliness that injects the long baseball season with a little whimsy. Good job, everyone. More Dudes Rock: Last year when Jeff Hoffman was an All-Star with the Phillies, someone stole him a street sign. When the Blue Jays visited Philadelphia this week, the sign was in his locker. You know what they say: By the first of June, you should know what your team is. It's not always true (I still think the Braves will recover), but it's a good rule of thumb. So as we begin to tentatively sort teams into 'buyers' and 'sellers,' we have a couple similar stories today: One team I'm especially curious about is the Cardinals. They spent last offseason trying to get a head start on being sellers, but couldn't quite line up the pieces to trade Nolan Arenado. Surprise, surprise: They're 33-27 and in second place in the NL Central. As of last night, Baseball Reference gave St. Louis a 53.9 percent chance to make the playoffs. So … how's this gonna go? We'll know more after this brutal stretch of 28 games in 29 days. If they do implode, names like Arenado, Ryan Helsley, Miles Mikolas, Sonny Gray and others could really change the landscape of the sport come late July. Late last night, we got some more reporting from Evan Drellich on the federal investigation into the MLBPA and NFLPA. Among the developments: Union head Tony Clark and the MLBPA have each hired separate lawyers. We'll have more on this tomorrow. The Diamondbacks still haven't announced the severity of Corbin Burnes' injury, but they did place Burnes on the 15-day IL while he gets a second opinion. Advertisement Meanwhile, in Minnesota … Pablo López will get an MRI today after leaving his start with 'shoulder tightness' — but the team thinks it's a lat strain and he's likely to go on the IL. Spencer Strider is back … but it might be a while before he's back-back, you know? The Yankees have lost a third baseman and a closer to the IL recently. Fortunately, they have a third baseman and a closer handy. Pete Crow-Armstrong has gotten the bulk of the attention, but Seiya Suzuki has been a big part of the Cubs' success this year, writes Patrick Mooney. Is college baseball OK? After Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan had a full meltdown about a game's start time, Wake Forest coach Tom Walter also had to make a public apology for using a homophobic slur during a game against the Tennessee Volunteers. And to a lesser degree, Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt also wasn't at his most eloquent or graceful this week. Tighten it up, fellas. Bryce Harper missed five games after being hit by a pitch. In his first at-bat back, he homered, obviously. The Rockies beat the Marlins 3-2 last night, and — for the first time this season — won a series. On the pods: Mariners GM Justin Hollander joined 'Starkville' to talk about the Mariners' strong start, Cal Raleigh's otherworldly season, how hard it was to fire a good friend like Scott Servais and more. Most-clicked in our last newsletter: This week's Power Rankings, where we made the case for an All-Star from each team. 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
C. Notes: If the Reds sell at the deadline, which players could they make available?
With Sunday's loss to the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds sit at 29-31 on the season in fourth place, 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Cubs, 4 1/2 games behind the second-place St. Louis Cardinals and three games behind the third-place Milwaukee Brewers. Fourth place is hardly where the expectations were for this team coming into the season, and if the Reds continue to tread water while the Cubs and Cardinals surge as June turns to July, the Reds could turn into sellers at the July 31 trade deadline. Advertisement It seems unlikely the Reds would part with their best trade chips, shortstop Elly De La Cruz or right-hander Hunter Greene, with both under team control through at least 2029 (De La Cruz through the arbitration process and Greene is signed through 2028 with a team option for 2029). The Reds seem more inclined to build around that pair than move either in the immediate future. So, that means for the most part, the Reds' trade pieces are in one of two groups — players who will be a free agent after the 2025 season and those with another year of team control through the 2026 season. Here are the Reds on expiring contracts (or with team/mutual options), with their 2025 salary in parentheses: RHP Nick Martinez ($21,050,000), LHP Taylor Rogers ($12 million, but the Giants paid half of that), RHP Emilio Pagán ($8 million), OF Austin Hays ($4 million with a mutual option), LHP Brent Suter ($2.25 million with a club option), RHP Scott Barlow ($2.5 million with a club option) and 2B/OF Garrett Hampson ($1.5 million). Of those, Martinez's versatility and performance would make him attractive to a contender looking to bolster its rotation for the homestretch with the backup plan of a trusted, experienced reliever. Bullpen arms like Rogers, Pagán, Suter and Barlow have their appeal, but would bring back less than Martinez. Hays' performance this season would make him an attractive trade candidate, but he's on his third IL stint this season, which could give a team pause. The second group would be players who have another year of team control. Extra team control helps with the return in a trade, but it also hurts the team in 2026. Reds who are scheduled for free agency following the 2026 season are IF Jeimer Candelario, RHP Brady Singer, C Tyler Stephenson, 2B Gavin Lux, OF Jake Fraley, IF Santiago Espinal and C Austin Wynns. Of those, the player who would get the most in return would be Stephenson. The Reds signed Jose Trevino to an extension through the 2027 season this spring, but that was to be the backup. In the right package, it could make sense to move Stephenson, but it would be difficult to replace him for next season. Advertisement Lux and Singer could interest teams, while Fraley, Espinal and Wynns would draw attention. Wynns is the team's third catcher, but if there is any doubt he'd be claimed on waivers, the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed former Reds catcher Chuckie Robinson last week. If Wynns were to be put on waivers, it's unlikely he'd last long. Candelario has a club option for 2027, but his performance since signing a three-year, $45 million deal would make him difficult to trade unless the Reds took on a large portion of the money remaining on his contract, which includes $12 million in 2026 and a $3 million buyout for the 2027 club option. If the Reds find themselves as buyers? Well, a lot would have to go right in the near future, and it's tough to know what the needs would be at that point (beyond bullpen help — every team needs bullpen help at the deadline.) If you're not subscribed to our wonderful baseball newsletter, The Windup, you should be. But head Winder-upper Levi Weaver asked me Thursday night to explain the Alexis Díaz deal from the Reds' perspective. Here's what ran in the newsletter: The short answer is it saves money. Díaz is making $4.5 million this year and has two years of arbitration left. With what the Reds have seen this year, the team didn't believe he could help them at the big-league level this season. That means they'd also likely non-tender him after the season. If, in their eyes, Díaz wasn't going to help them this year and wouldn't be around next year, why pay him to pitch for the Louisville Bats? He continued to struggle in Triple A, where he had walked as many batters as he'd struck out (eight) since being optioned. He no longer had value to the Reds, and this was as good of a deal as they could get for a team willing to take on the contract. For the Reds, the only downside is looking bad if he rebounds, and fear of embarrassment isn't a good reason not to make a move. Advertisement But that's not everything. While all the headlines included the fact that Díaz was a former All-Star, it should be noted that he hasn't performed at an All-Star level since the 2023 All-Star Game. Díaz went to Seattle in July of 2023 with 26 saves and a 2.04 ERA. The first half of that season, he struck out 37.4 percent of the batters he faced and walked just 11.7 percent of the batters he faced. Since then, he's put up a 4.72 ERA and a 5.52 xFIP. His strikeout rate dropped to 20.7 percent and his walk rate increased to 13.3 percent. That started from the second half of 2023, when he had an ERA of 4.61 and strikeout and walk rates of 20.3 and 13.8, respectively. It's been around the same ever since. That's just simply not worth the money. There's a chance the change of scenery and voices help Díaz and that the Reds end up looking bad. But if that happens, it probably wouldn't have happened here. Lefty Wade Miley opted out of his minor-league deal with the team Sunday and became a free agent. Miley, 38, was coming off Tommy John surgery and had made seven starts between High-A Dayton and Triple-A Louisville, going 1-2 with an 8.84 ERA. He struck out 15, walked four and hit three over 19 1/3 innings, allowing 32 hits and 19 runs. He allowed a pair of runs on six hits and three walks over five innings Friday for Louisville. As an Article XX(B) free-agent signee in winter, Miley had the opportunity to opt out on June 1 if he was not on the 40-man roster. The Reds have an open spot on their 40-man roster, but Miley had communicated his desire to start, and with no spot in the rotation, the Reds didn't put him on the 40-man, allowing him to enter free agency. Two other minor leaguers, lefty reliever Joe La Sorsa and right-hander Aaron Wilkerson, have upward mobility clauses in their minor-league deals. Teams can claim either La Sorsa or Wilkerson within 24 hours, but the Reds can block such a move by adding the selected player to the 40-man roster. If either player is unclaimed, they can remain with the Reds organization. La Sorsa, 27, has appeared in 21 games for the Bats, going 2-1 with a 3.92 ERA. He has 14 strikeouts and 14 walks in 20 2/3 innings, but batters are hitting just .181 against him, with lefties hitting .179 and right-handed hitters hitting .182. In 11 starts for Louisville, the 36-year-old Wilkerson is 4-1 with a 3.84 ERA with a 0.99 WHIP, striking out 52 batters in 58 2/3 innings while walking just nine. Advertisement The Reds went .500 on the road, winning two of three in Kansas City against the Royals and winning the series opener against the Chicago Cubs before dropping the next two. The Reds were shut out for the ninth time this season Saturday, tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the most shutout losses this season. No team has been shut out more than the Reds (25 times) over the past two seasons. The Reds return home to face the Milwaukee Brewers, a team they have had little success against. The Reds haven't taken a season series from the Brewers since 2020. Since 2021, the Reds are 23-45 against the Brewers and 8-25 against Milwaukee at Great American Ball Park. The Reds' last series victory over the Brewers at GABP came in May 2022. After an off day Thursday, the Arizona Diamondbacks come to GABP for three games. • 1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand (low back inflammation) has hits in six of his seven games during his rehab assignment with Louisville, going 9-for-24 with three doubles, a triple and a pair of home runs. Encarnacion-Strand was 3-for-4 with two doubles Friday and 2-for-4 with a homer Saturday. • IF Jeimer Candelario (lumbar spine strain) is expected to begin his rehab assignment Monday in the Arizona Complex League. • OF Austin Hays (left foot contusion) went on the IL this week after fouling a ball off his foot in Wednesday's game in Kansas City. • IF Cam Collier (left thumb injury) has played nine games in the Arizona Complex League, going 12-for-30 with three doubles and a home run. He's also walked as many times as he's struck out (seven). • Triple-A Louisville (24-32): IF Levi Jordan went 0-for-4 Sunday, seeing his 11-game hitting streak snapped. Jordan had exactly one hit in each of the previous 11 games. On the season, he's hitting .228/.309/.371 with three home runs. Advertisement • Double-A Chattanooga (24-23): This isn't intentionally a Chase Burns update category, and it will cease to be when he's no longer the most interesting thing on the team. But … on Saturday, Burns went six innings for the first time and didn't allow a run on two hits, a walk and four strikeouts. It was the lowest strikeout total of his professional career. In his seven Double-A starts, he's 5-1 with a 1.54 ERA and 0.77 WHIP, with 49 strikeouts and four walks over 35 innings. • High-A Dayton (17-34): In the six-game series against West Michigan last week, IF Leo Balcazar went 10-for-28 (.357) with a pair of homers and a double with just three strikeouts. On the season, the 20-year-old from Venezuela is hitting .270/.355/.402 with five homers, 37 strikeouts and 21 walks. • Class-A Daytona (22-29): C Alfredo Duno hit .284/.448/.432 in May with a homer, a triple and six doubles. Duno struck out 24 times, but earned 21 walks. He hit .227/.341/.453 in April. Duno started June out right, finishing Sunday's game with two homers while going 3-for-4 with five RBIs. He's now hitting .268/.406/.490 on the season. (Top photo of Nick Martinez: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brian Cashman shares thoughts after Yankees lose Cabrera
The Yankees have been connected to just about every available third baseman since November. Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado and speculative names like Ryan McMahon and Ha-Seong Kim. But seven months later, with the trade deadline still weeks away, Brian Cashman has made zero moves at the position. And now, he's down another option. Advertisement With Oswaldo Cabrera expected to miss the rest of the season due to a fractured ankle, the Yankees' third base depth has taken another hit. Cabrera was already Plan B, behind DJ LeMahieu, who is still finding his form after beginning the season on the injured list. Former top prospect Oswald Peraza hasn't won the job and Jorbit Vivas is just getting his feet under him in the big leagues. So, is a move finally coming? 'We'll see,' Cashman told The New York Post's Dan Martin this week. 'It's hard to make improvements this part of the season. We've got what we've got. We'll assess it and move forward with opportunities as they start to present themselves at whatever positions they do.' New York Yankees general manager Brian Klement-Imagn Images If that sounds familiar, it should. It's been the front office's stance every year as we get closer to the trade deadline. Advertisement Since the offseason began, the Yankees have leaned on internal options, not acquisitions. They passed on Bregman in free agency. They have shown very little interest in an aging Nolan Arenado and his multi-year contract. The Yankees have stuck with LeMahieu through a spring injury. They gave Oswaldo Cabrera a runway. But the external market hasn't been defined yet. Most contending teams aren't moving controllable may explain the resigned tone in Cashman's answer. The Yankees are winning. They're getting by. But third base has been a lingering weak spot all year. And with Cabrera out, it just became harder to ignore. Related: Could the Yankees Reverse Course and Pursue a $120 Veteran Infielder This Winter? Related: Yankees Rookie Forcing Himself Into the Infield Playing Time Conversation
