Many Top Players Survived Trade Deadline
ALSO: ICHIRO'S INDUCTION SPEECH WAS SPECTACULAR
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
In his first game for the Reds, who acquired him to shore up their infield defense, third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes made a critical error that turned a 3-1 lead into a 3-3 tie — before both the Braves and Reds scored eight runs in the eighth inning . . .
Reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge, out with a flexor strain in his right elbow, may be unable to return to his post as right-fielder for the Yankees even after the injury heals . . .
When Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz hit four home runs in a game against the Astros July 25, he tied Shawn Green’s record of 19 total bases in a game and also became the first player with six hits, four homers and eight RBIs in a game . . .
The Padres plan to deploy newly-acquired Mason Miller as a starter rather than reliever, a conversion they successfully completed with Michael King . . .
Veteran pitcher Carlos Carrasco, traded to the Braves by the Yankees, was not on New York’s 40-man roster but was pitching well in the upper minors . . .
Atlanta, which also grabbed Eric Fedde from St. Louis, was desperate for starters after Spencer Schwellenbach, Chris Sale, Grant Holmes, and AJ Smith-Shawver wound up on the 60-day IL at the same time . . .
Curtis Pride, son of country singer Charlie Pride, signed his new book, detailing his career as a hearing-deprived major-leaguer, during Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.
Phillies pilot Rob Thomson happily changed his number, taking No. 49 and giving newly-acquired closer Jhoan Duran No. 59 after Philadelphia acquired him from Minnesota Thursday.
Leading Off
Last Men Standing: Trade Bait With No Takers
By Dan Schlossberg
It happens every year.
The most amazing things about the trade deadline is the list of players who stayed put.
Rumors to the contrary, this season’s list included Louis Robert Jr., Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman, Justin Verlander, Marcell Ozuna, Sandy Alcantara, Steven Kwan, Dylan Cease, Joe Ryan, Robert Suarez, Mitch Keller, Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson, and a host of others.
Most of those have expiring contracts and will test free agency this fall. Some weren’t dealt because their clubs wanted too much in return. And a few stayed home because their teams still consider themselves contenders, thanks to a playoff format that includes 12 of the 30 teams.
One of those would-be contenders is the Los Angeles Angels, a team with a history of avoiding the July gambles most general managers are willing to make.
Just ask Dave Dombrowski.
The baseball operations chief of the Philadelphia Phillies inevitably puts his money where his mouth is. He knows what he wants, where to find it, and how to get it.
That’s why his once-maligned bullpen is now a team strength — with David Robertson lured out of free agency and Jhoan Duran obtained from Minnesota in a deal many doubted could be completed.
The Twins, however, have enormous debts and were anxious to slice payroll any way they could. Minnesota got rid of 11 players — including star shortstop Carlos Correa — and thereby signaled its surrender to the rest of the American League Central.
The National League team with the biggest sell-off was Arizona. It not only dealt Merrill Kelly, one of the NL’s best starting pitchers, but actually traded erstwhile stars Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery, both starting pitchers, to Milwaukee for the proverbial “player to be named later.” A tunafish sandwich would have been a better return.
Pittsburgh’s moves also seem fishy. The Pirates sent Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to Cincinnati and lefty closer David Bednar to the Yankees but kept such potential trade pieces as Tommy Pham, Andrew Heaney, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, all of whom generated as much trade interest as Keller, whom they also kept.
No wonder the Pirates are on track for their seventh straight losing season.
Despite widespread demand for a third baseman, the St. Louis Cardinals held onto Arenado. Again.
At 34, he’s still one of the best defenders at his position and hits with power to boot. But his big salary is a huge stumbling block to possible trades — along with a limited no-trade clause he’s reluctant to waive.
Ozuna has 5-and-10 rights, meaning he can veto trades to places he doesn’t like, and suggesting he’ll be a free agent for any team that needs a slugging designated hitter. This year’s hip problems should be behind him by 2026.
Alcantara, who underwent Tommy John elbow surgery after winning a Cy Young Award, is a good building block for the young Marlins, who also declined to move fellow pitcher Edward Cabrera despite a plethora of suitors.
The White Sox, like the Marlins, believe they can still squeeze the potential out of Robert, the most coveted outfielder on the market this summer. He’s expensive, with a $20 million club option, but offers speed, defense, and potentially a better bat than he’s shown.
As for Verlander, who produced one lonely win after signing a $15 million, one-year pact, his age (42), fading ability, and contract killed his potential market.
Cleveland wanted more for Kwan than the market produced, while San Diego thnks Cease and Suarez can contribute to a possible world championship run.
That’s the same reason the Boston Red Sox kept Bregman, whose contract allows him to opt out after this season. Their theory is that the third baseman will want to stay in Boston, where he hammers the Green Monster with regularity, if it adds a World Series ring as an enticement.
Fans who covet the frenzy of a busy deadline day got their wish but it may take months to determine the true winners and losers.
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is senior contributor of baseball for forbes.com and author of 43 baseball books. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Ichiro Steals The Show at Cooperstown Inductions
By Dan Schlossberg
Despite a chilly rain in Central New York last Sunday, the baseball gods gave an estimated 45,000 fans a sun-splashed experience at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown.
The sun broke through the heavy overcast just in time for Ichiro, a svelte former outfielder, who was the last of inductees to speak.
Ichiro even spoke in English, explaining later that he wrote his speech in his native Japanese and asked his wife to translate.
Of the five speeches, including two by family members of deceased electees Dick Allen and Dave Parker, Ichiro was by far the funniest.
He not only imitated one of the Seattle announcers but also thanked the writers who voted for him.
“Except for one,” added Ichiro, who had 509 steals in his career before collecting his biggest one in Cooperstown.
The anonymous writer who left Ichiro’s name off his 10-man ballot cost the player the chance to join Mariano Rivera as the only unanimous electees.
Ichiro, seeking to calm the protests in the Pacific Northwest, actually invited the writer to dinner at his home. He was curious too.
But after getting no response, the former Seattle leadoff man announced, “That invitation is no longer valid.”
Ichiro mentioned that he had 4,367 lifetime hits (Japan + U.S. totals) and a record 262 in one American season. “Not bad, huh?” he asked the crowd, many wearing shirts that said Seattle on the front and Ichiro 51 on the back.
A day after the inductions, which were delayed an hour by rain, Ichiro used an interpreter while reverting to his native tongue at a Doubleday Field event that also included CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, the other living electees.
As an oddity, all three reached Cooperstown as left-handers even though Wagner and Ichiro are natural right-handers taught to play baseball left-handed, Wagner after a childhood accident and Ichiro after his father sought to make maximum use of his speed — placing him two steps closer to first base.
On stage at Doubleday Monday, Sabathia complained that Ichiro hit two rare home runs against his newly-developed slider. The pitcher also blamed Ichiro for stealing his Rookie of the Year award, although Sabathia got just one of the 28 first-place votes.
The good-natured repartee was enhanced by the fact that Sabathia and Ichiro were teammates with the Yankees from 2012-14.
Together, they look like Mutt and Jeff: a towering 300-pound pitcher who clocks in at 6’7” in height and a diminutive outfielder who measures a half-foot shorter. Wagner is also short — so small in fact that several coaches and scouts discouraged him on his path to the major leagues.
As the first position player born in Japan Ichiro was also conscious of his height — or lack of it. Japanese friends warned, “Don’t disgrace our country.”
As the first Hall of Famer born in Japan, not to mention the first player enshrined in both the Japanese and American baseball Halls of Fame, Ichiro didn’t do that.
In fact, he brought honor and recognition to Cooperstown, visiting the baseball shrine during his record-setting rookie season in 2001 and making a half-dozen other visits over the years prior to his election.
It was largely because of Ichiro’s success that the Hall opened its new Yakyu exhibit, a detailed display outlining the history of baseball in Japan, just prior to Induction Weekend.
Induction Weekend, which also included Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch and Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, had more than its share of surprises.
Among them were the presence of Will Wagner, a Toronto infielder given a one-day leave by the team so he could witness his dad’s installation, and an appearance by the the iconic Sandy Koufax, the longest-tenured Hall of Famer. He’ll turn 90 in December.
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ has covered every induction since 2014. He is senior contributor for forbes.com, columnist for Sports Collectors Digest, and author of 43 baseball books, including the forthcoming Here’s the Pitch 2026. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Extra Innings: The Twins Who Got Traded
Of the 10 sets of twins to play in the major leagues, Taylor and Tyler Rogers are the first to be traded on the same day, with Tyler going from the Giants to the Mets and Taylor from the Reds to the Pirates . . .
When both played for San Francisco, they had been the fourth set of twins to play for the same team at the same time . . .
Sarah Langs of MLB.com notes that both twins were traded in separate swaps before the Minnesota Twins — named for the Twin Cities — completed any transactions . . .
Taylor throws left-handed while brother Tyler throws right-handed . . .
There are no other twins active in the major leagues at this juncture.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.