Welcome back to another week of Rumor Roundup, where we dive into all the recent talk, transactions, and trends from around the league, balancing both fantasy baseball implications and real-world baseball analysis through the lens of a front office.
Featured Story
Seattle Mariners superstar catcher, Cal Raleigh, is headed to the IL with a right oblique strain. Multiple reports confirm the Mariners will shut him down from baseball activity for at least one whole week. Raleigh’s most recent MRI came back with better results than the last one, so that is a huge sigh of relief for M’s fans.
Raleigh, 29, is slashing just .161/.243/.317 with a miniscule 63 wRC+ this season. After his jaw-dropping 60 HR performance last year, the backstop has gone deep just seven times in 41 games. His K% (32%) has also increased a tremendous amount. Perhaps the veteran is overcompensating, trying to recreate his remarkable success from last year — he’s been under the baseball ~10% more often, causing lazier fly balls that generate outs instead of making quality contact like he was a season ago.
Regardless, perhaps this IL stint was for the best. Raleigh gets a mental reset and can revamp his approach without worrying about in-game results on a day-to-day basis. I’m confident that he’ll be able to bounce back.
Injury Updates
The following players have started rehab assignments this week:
- RHP Grayson Rodriguez
- C Logan O’Hoppe
- RHP Andrew Walters
- C Kyle Teel
- RHP Chris Martin
- OF Heston Kjerstad
- INF Jeremy Peña
- OF Lars Nootbaar
The following players have been placed on the IL this week:
- OF Kerry Carpenter — left AC joint sprain
- INF Jacob Wilson — left shoulder dislocation
- LHP Robby Snelling — UCL sprain
- C Francisco Alvarez — right meniscus tear
Finally, the following players have seen their IL status change this week:
- RHP Justin Verlander — moved to IL60
- LHP Sam Hentges — activated
- INF Ha-Seong Kim — activated
- INF Mookie Betts — activated
- RHP Tatsuya Imai — activated
- LHP Trevor Rogers — activated
Recent Transactions
The following trades and/or free agent signings have occured:
- RHP Lou Trivino elected free agency
- Pirates trade INF Alika Williams to Athletics in exchange for prospect RHP Kyle Robinson
Promotions/demotions:
- RHP Trey Gibson — demoted
- C Endy Rodríguez — promoted
- INF Anthony Volpe — promoted
- OF Henry Bolte — promoted
- OF AJ Ewing — promoted
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) | Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire
