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MLB News & Moments You Should Know – July 28

Mike Trout injury news, Albert Pujols records...

Adam Sloate
MLB Morning News 7/28/2022

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

 

Today’s Headlines

 

More Mike Trout Injury News

One of these days, the Angels will recover from whatever curse they’ve taken on since 2014. My thought is, the curse of changing the team name to Los Angeles Angels is finally catching up with them.

Yesterday was not one of those days.

That’s right, Mike Trout has been diagnosed with costovertebral dysfunction in the T5 vertebra of his spine. The T5 vertebra is approximately halfway down your back and is responsible for liver function, body circulation, and blood pressure control, apparently. Pretty important stuff. Some people have determined Trout’s career over, while others have called for more measured takes on the rest of the Millville Meteor’s career with the Halos. It’s unclear how much this will affect his long-term career outlook, but it certainly will have an impact.

The man himself seems relatively unbothered:

It probably goes without saying, but here goes: Mike Trout is not a “quitter.” Injury luck (or the lack thereof) doesn’t make you a quitter. Wishing Trouty the best of luck in his recovery. Hopefully, we can see him back on the diamond soon.

 

More Juan Soto/Mike Rizzo News

The Washington Nationals continue to search for the best possible deal for superstar OF Juan Soto. Some writers have floated the idea of another team absorbing Patrick Corbin’s hefty contract along with Soto to dilute the prospect return heading back to the District. Mike Rizzo’s having none of that:

Rizzo’s words make sense. The Nationals are in no position to be dealing away a package of valuable players and “overpaid” players; those types of deals are only utilized when the team is only a few pieces away from contention and needs to “free up” some luxury tax space to then spend on other supplemental players. The Nationals are nowhere near competing and the concerns about Corbin’s contract, while slightly valid, don’t really make sense if the Nationals are trying to burn it all to the ground and start over.

Corbin’s contract is only on the books through the end of 2024, and he’s only owed $60 million over the next two years ($24.4 in 2023, $25 in 2024, and then a $10 million deferred payment in 2025). The Nationals won’t be competitive in 2024, barring a Giants-like turnaround, so their financial commitment to Corbin really isn’t going to hurt the team’s contention status by the time the next core of prospects is ready to go. Some of the discord around Corbin’s contract makes it seem like an anchor on the Nationals’ payroll, but a cursory look at the team, its finances, and Corbin’s contract will reveal that to be totally unfounded.

They shouldn’t diminish the prospect return to avoid paying Corbin’s full salary, especially because the Nats aren’t exactly bumping up against the competitive balance tax. There’s no real financial incentive to trade Corbin away, since the Nats are $67 million below the tax penalty, and Corbin’s contract isn’t so hefty that it’s dramatically cutting into profits. The Nationals are still making money, hand over fist, whether Corbin is traded or not.

 

The Evil Empire Is Singlehandedly Saving Trade Deadline Rumor Season

The news has been confirmed by other reputable reporters, like Jeff Passan.

Anyway, the Yankees are in on pretty much everyone, from Soto to Luis Castillo to any other player that might be halfway decent, which means baseball fans are going to have to suffer through a whole lot of Yankees discourse as the Trade Deadline approaches. I hope everyone’s excited for more “Quest for 28” posts from August through October.

Castillo and Montas will be under contract at least through 2023, although one would think that the Yankees acquiring those players would also freeze them out of free agency in 2023. No one, except maybe the Dodgers, can seriously contend with the combination of New York’s financial strength and their fans’ ability to complain about the team’s performance. So, if Castillo or Montas (or both) are wearing pinstripes when the dust settles, we will probably see them in pinstripes for a long, long time.

If Montas gets traded to the Yankees, it’ll be another great opportunity to use this clip (skip to about 1:20):

Castillo made his regularly scheduled start for the Reds yesterday, serving up a dinger to youngster JJ Bleday as part of a solid-ish start against the Marlins.

Montas pitched on July 26, throwing 5 innings and allowing 7 hits, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and striking out 4. He now holds a 3.18 ERA/3.36 FIP on the season and should fetch a nice package from somebody.

Oh! And Andrew Benintendi was traded late last night!

Well, well, well, the Yankees got their man to replace Joey Gallo. FanGraphs’ RosterResource has Benintendi slotting into the five slot in the Bronx Bombers’ lineup against RHP, just ahead of Josh Donaldson. That should give the Yankees another high-quality left-handed hitter to complement Anthony Rizzo. The current lineup doesn’t include Giancarlo Stanton, who would likely slot in ahead of Gleyber Torres and Benintendi in the fully-healthy lineup. The fully healthy Yankees have an absolutely terrifying lineup.

And, they got more good news!

 

Bring Out Your Brooms! Bring Out Your Brooms!

Today, on “Things You See Over the Course of a Long and Arduous 162 Game Season!”

That’s right, readers, the try-hard Oakland A’s can’t even get losing down right. Those Athletics tried so hard they swept the Astros in Oakland over the course of the week, getting solid pitching performances from Cole Irvin yesterday, Montas on Tuesday, and Adam Oller on Monday. Additionally, the offense packed a little extra punch over the week, sticking 6 ER on Jake Odorizzi on Monday, 4 ER on Luis Garcia on Tuesday, and then 3 more on the occasionally unhittable Cristian Javier. 

Yesterday, Oakland got most of the help it needed from strongman Stephen Piscotty:

Oakland also got some help from some obscure basketball player. I think he plays for the Warriors or something.

Finally, new ace closer A.J. Puk got in on the action, shutting down the last of the Astros’ lineup to put an exclamation point on the three-game sweep.

Great work, fellas! Way to send the last few valuable players on the team off on a high note!

 

 

Best Moments from Wednesday

 

That Basketball Guy and Also Ayesha Curry Threw Out the First Pitch(es)

It’s not every day you get to see the best shooter of all time throw out a pitch at a baseball game. It’s just a shame he couldn’t be anywhere near as accurate with the pitch as he is on the court:

To her credit, Ayesha Curry nailed her pitch. She bounced it in, sure, but she threw it right down the middle. That’s an easy scoop for the man behind the plate. Steph, on the other hand, threw that ball through the opposing batter’s box. Perhaps he was trying to throw it towards San Francisco, where the Warriors now play?

Daily Albert Pujols Record-Breaking News

The Machine still has some magic left in him, folks!

With a hit earlier in the game, Big Al set another record, this time a Cardinals-specific one:

He just keeps on setting records. So inspirational!

The Boys Get FIRED UP

One of my favorite “little things” about baseball is how fired up the players get. It’s one thing I’m really hoping continues to grow as more players start to show emotion during games. I just love to see guys get hyped about their athletic achievements like football and basketball players do regularly. In honor of that, here’s a collection of guys getting FIRED UP yesterday:

I know it’s not technically Julio getting “fired up,” but this fits under “things that would make me very excited” (which equals “Fired Up”) and it’s my rules for this column, anyways.

 

OOPS

New angle:

Injuries

 

Kris Bryant is playing through plantar fasciitis. He has inflammation underneath his foot, with no clear fix. Manager Bud Black may give Bryant more DH days to preserve him.

Jacob deGrom, who is still rehabbing from a stress reaction in his right scapula, gave up a big dinger to Drew Waters as part of a 4-ER, 67-pitch outing today. The Mets feel DeGrom is appropriately stretched out and will likely be called up for a return to the Mets rotation next Tuesday.

Recent 2022 MLB draft pick (No. 2 overall) Druw Jones may miss the rest of the season after suffering a shoulder injury in batting practice. Jones is now injured just two days into his professional career.

Rafael Devers is right on schedule to return from the IL on August 2, the first day he is eligible to return. He took batting practice and fielded groundballs today in preparation for his return.

 

 

Articles You Should Read

 

It’s All Gone Sideways for  José Berríos — John Foley, PitcherList

Introducing the Next Star Relief Pitchers — Justin Dunbar, PitcherList

Nationals, I Beg You, Please Do Not Trade This Puke Man Who Makes Me Barf — Chris Thompson, Defector

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)

Adam Sloate

Die-hard Angels fan since birth; misses the good ol' days of Vladdy, Kendrys, and Weaver. Temple University alumnus, UCLA Law student.

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