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Today’s Headlines
Preller Strikes Again
It had a chance to be a perfectly normal Friday. Day baseball at Wrigley, a couple games on AppleTV+, and a heavyweight matchup between Atlanta & the Dodgers in LA. And then A.J. Preller decided it had been too long since he shocked us:
BREAKING: The San Diego Padres are nearing a deal to acquire second baseman Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins for a package of three prospects and a relief pitcher, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN. The trade is in medical review but is expected to be finalized soon.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 4, 2024
This won’t be the last marquee trade we see this year. But we absolutely didn’t expect to see the first one to happen in May. The Padres will acquire the defending NL Batting Champion Luis Arraez in exchange for a trio of prospects. Reliever Woo-Suk Go, whom San Diego signed over from South Korea in the offseason, will also head to Miami.
Scoring runs hasn’t been an issue for the Padres. They had scored the third-most runs in the league heading into Friday. But the acquisition of Arraez lengthens the lineup and gives them a regular on-base presence for the bigger bats.
For the Marlins, well, they’re calling it a year. On May 3rd.
Minnesota TWWWWWWWWWWWins
The Minnesota Twins & their sausage won again on Friday night. In the first game of a seven-game homestand, they knocked off the Boston Red Sox 5-2:
11 STRAIGHT DUBS!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Ut4u09qwrz
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 4, 2024
As has been the case with this streak, Minnesota saw contributions throughout the roster. Seven different players had hits, while Chris Paddack turned in his third strong outing in a row. Two weeks ago, the Twins were 6-12, in fourth place, and had a -21 run differential. Now, they’re 18-13, feature a +18 run differential, and sit just 1.5 games behind Detroit.
Turner Wows, then Leaves
Bit of a good news, bad news on this one. For the former, Trea Turner did a cool thing in Philly on Friday night:
Ohh ya gotta be quicker than that pic.twitter.com/15Uc53MT7x
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 4, 2024
Turner scored on a ball that deflected off the glove of Tom Murphy. From second base. Only the smallest handful of players are capable of such a feat. More importantly, it put the Phils up 4-2 and would later serve as the winning run. Unfortunately, Turner would leave the game immediately after, having tweaked his hamstring. The post-game didn’t make it sound too serious, but you’d prefer your second-best hitter (statistically) to not be out for any period of time.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Post-Trade Awkwardness
I’m not sure this qualifies as a “best” moment, but it is interesting nonetheless. We saw plenty of Luis Arraez in the dugout following his trade. But the minor league side of things provided an interesting moment as well:
Nathan Martorella was standing on second base when he was traded to the Marlins for Luis Arraez 😅
(via @SamDykstraMiLB)pic.twitter.com/uqHUIILqDn
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) May 4, 2024
Nathan Martorella was very unsure as to why he was being pulled, only to find out he’s on his way to join the Miami organization. It’s a weird moment, for sure. It also led me to have a thought. As a prospect approaching the upper levels, you’re probably aware of the possibility of a trade. Especially when you’re in an organization headed by A.J. Preller. But how much awareness do you have as to that possibility in May?
Padres Power Surge
Just one more Padres note, I promise. Opening their series in Arizona on Friday, the team was likely aware of the deal in the works early in the game. It was clear they took some level of excitement to the plate. An assumption given this:
Jurickson set the table and said, “Fernando… it’s time to eat!” pic.twitter.com/alu76jtbPk
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 4, 2024
And this:
Had to go back for seconds 😏 pic.twitter.com/SaoQEAoW5B
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 4, 2024
This, too:
Padre strength 💪 pic.twitter.com/E9LbuLURMU
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 4, 2024
Again, it’s not as if San Diego is struggling to score runs this year. But they have shown some of those tendencies that they did last year, where the offense and the pitching aren’t doing their thing on the same night. When Fernando Tatis Jr. & Jake Cronenworth are going back-to-back, with Manny Machado contributing later, it likely tends to make things a bit easier on the bump.
Hit-Stick River
(It was the best I could come up with.)
Heading into Friday, 48 players had hit a baseball from PNC Park into the Allegheny River. After Friday, Ryan McMahon was the 49th:
ROX SPLASH BROS 🤘 pic.twitter.com/nmAAtZTLqn
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 4, 2024
I’ve been begging the Rockies to give me a reason to remember they exist, and a moonshot into a body of water is certainly a way to do it. McMahon is only the second Rox player to accomplish the feat. Todd Helton was the first (obviously).
Oh yeah, Oneil Cruz did it too:
Oneil Cruz’s blast makes it a 1-run game in Pittsburgh 👀 pic.twitter.com/CKv8nTHdVd
— MLB (@MLB) May 4, 2024
Ho hum. He’s done it before. He does it once a week.
No-No-rfolk Tides
We talk about the Norfolk Tides more than we talk about just about any team in affiliated ball. Given the talent there gestures broadly at the Baltimore farm system, it’s probably not a surprise. But Friday night gave us a reason to discuss something other than their bats:
The @NorfolkTides have spun their first no-hitter since 2010!@Orioles pitchers Chayce McDermott, Nolan Hoffman + Kaleb Ort combine for the honors 🎉 pic.twitter.com/7dBjKsqRLt
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 4, 2024
A trio of Tides arms combined for a no-hitter, striking out 13 hitters in the process. It’s been too long since we’ve seen one at the Major League level (it’s been roughly a month), but given that there has been plenty of unironic discussion as to whether these Tides could beat the Chicago White Sox, this feels close enough.
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ Twins signed P Adam Plutko to a minor league deal.
⚾ Cardinals placed P Steven Matz on the 15-day IL (back strain) & recalled P Kyle Leahy.
⚾ Rays reinstated OF Johnny DeLuca from the 10-day IL, selected C Alex Jackson from Triple-A, optioned C René Pinto & UTIL Niko Goodrum to Triple-A, and designated P Colby White for assignment.
⚾ Rockies recalled P Angel Chivilli from Double-A & placed P Justin Lawrence on paternity list.
⚾ Phillies placed P Yunior Marté on the 15-day IL (right shoulder inflammation) & selected P José Ruiz.
⚾ Guardians designated P Tyler Beede for assignment & recalled RP Peter Strzelecki from Triple-A.
⚾ Rangers placed SP Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day IL (right groin strain) & recalled P Yerry Rodríguez from Triple-A.
⚾ Twins placed OF Byron Buxton on the 10-day IL (right knee inflammation) & recalled UTIL Austin Martin from Triple-A.
⚾ Athletics activated 3B J.D. Davis, selected IF Brett Harris, optioned SS Nick Allen, and transferred P Freddy Tarnok to the 60-day IL.
⚾ Pirates optioned C Henry Davis to Triple-A & activated C Yasmani Grandal from the 10-day IL.
Articles You Should Read
Diving Into Early-Season Pitching Narratives – Mike Gianella (Baseball Prospectus)
Introducing the Kirby Index: A New Way to Quantify Command – Michael Rosen (FanGraphs)
A 40-90 season?! This budding superstar is setting a historic pace – Thomas Harrigan (MLB.com)
Look Into The Future With Jared Jones – Adam Salorio (Pitcher List)
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