11 MLB hot takes with baseball entering dog days of summer
The Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone, the pennant races don’t shift into high gear for another month, and while the clock is ticking on Chicago's South Side, there hasn’t been a managerial or GM firing this season.
So while we wait and watch the Olympics in admiration, wondering if MLB really could let its biggest stars play in the 2028 Olympics, why not spray opinions across the diamond as we get through the dog days of August.
Here are the news flashes of the week, and the hot takes to go along with them:
Mike Trout out for the season again
HOT TAKE: Can we finally please stop the discussion that Mike Trout should be traded to a contender?
The cruel reality is that Trout has no real trade value, not after missing 382 games since 2021 and with $232 million left on his contract.
While Giancarlo Stanton is lambasted in New York for his injury history, consider this: He has missed 174 games since 2021, and has hit 32 more homers and drove in 124 more runs than Trout:
Stanton since 2021: 108 homers, 280 RBI, 196 runs.
Trout since 2021: 76 homers, 156 RBI, 179 runs.
Detroit Tigers keep Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal
HOT TAKE: Yes, and the New York Yankees decided to hang onto Aaron Judge, too.
Come on, Skubal was never going anywhere, and it was grossly unfair to Skubal for him and his family to listen to the rumors for weeks.
Teams like the Dodgers said that when they called the Tigers, the conversation was short: No.
The Tigers wouldn’t even listen.
Baltimore Orioles hang on to top prospects
HOT TAKE: Once again, all mere speculation.
The names of Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo never even came up in trade talks, GM Mike Elias said.
“The types of players that you would even fathom having discussions with those guys didn’t even get traded,’’ Elias told reporters. “So, it really didn’t come up.”
Expanded postseason ruining MLB trade deadline
HOT TAKE: It’s the only sport where the trade deadline is talked about the moment the season starts until the actual deadline, producing plenty of speculation (real or fabricated) and excitement.
Sure, this deadline lacked in star power, but the 32 trades on deadline day were the most in the last 20 years, and 59 trades in the final week.
If you go back from 2003-2014, there were never more than 12 trades on deadline day, including four years of just five or fewer trades, according to @CespedesBBQ’s research.
The truth is that the expanded postseason has greatly enhanced the deadline with 19 teams making moves to improve their club. The more teams with a shot at playoffs, the more activity.
And the timing is perfect the way it is, forcing some GMs to make uncomfortable decisions not knowing whether they’re in or out (yes, we’re talking about you, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Pittsburgh Pirates).
For the first time in history, World Series has flexibility in its schedule
HOT TAKE: Bravo!
We used to know before the season whether the American League or National League would host Game 1 of the World Series, with home-field advantage alternating every other year. It had to be that way, we were told, because the league needed to know and set up hotel accommodations for the teams, league officials and media.
Home field changed for 2003 – thanks to the tied 2002 All-Star Game – to the league who won the Midsummer Classic. That way, MLB would have at least four months to know where the World Series was starting.
That changed in 2017 to the way it should have been all long – the team with the best record being awarded home-field advantage.
Now, for the first time, MLB has taken a huge step forward: Flexibility.
MLB, after getting FOX to sign off on it, no longer has a definitive date to start the World Series.
It’s scheduled to begin Oct. 25, but it could start as early as Oct. 22 if the NLCS and ALCS lasted five or fewer game, eliminating the long layoff. If that happens, the World Series wouldn’t run into November for the first time since 2020.
MLB hopes to avoid what the NBA endured in June when the Celtics and Mavericks had a combined 17 days off before the start of the Finals.
Blake Snell throws the first no-hitter of his career
HOT TAKE: If there was any doubt that Snell would opt out of his San Francisco Giants contract, he erased it all one night Friday in Cincinnati.
Snell, who had pitched in the eighth inning only once in his career, tossed a no-hitter in the bandbox known as the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, and is pitching better than anyone in the game the past month.
Snell, who was 0-3 with a 9.51 ERA when he came off the injured list on July 9, suddenly has a 0.55 ERA in his last five starts, yielding just eight hits and two earned runs in 33 innings, striking out 41. Opponents are hitting .078 against him in those five starts, the lowest by any pitcher over a five-start span in modern-day history, according to OptaSTATS.
The man who failed to pitch eight full innings in 201 career starts, proved he can last deep into the night, after all.
"They can't say it anymore, you know?" Snell told reporters after the game. “Complete game. Shutout. No-hitter. Leave me alone.
"'He doesn't go into the 9th. He doesn't go into the 8th.' Just did it. Leave me alone."
He’ll be a free agent again in three months.
And this time, rest assured, he won’t be waiting until spring training to sign.
Rays finally have plans in place for a new ballpark in 2028
HOT TAKE: Hello, expansion.
MLB hasn’t expanded since 1998 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays, but now that the Athletics (moving to Las Vegas) and Rays have resolved their stadium issues, it opens the door for two more teams and a potential $4 billion windfall in expansion fees for owners to share.
Baseball still has no plans to expand before 2029 or 2030, but the mechanics can soon start rolling with owners and cities being selected, along with an intriguing expansion draft.
MLB isn’t remotely close to picking the sites, but Nashville, Tenn., and Salt Lake City, Utah are among the favorites.
And once expansion comes to fruition, there could be massive re-alignment, revamped playoff system, and likely two more playoff teams.
The American League and National Leagues, as we know them, likely will be abolished with divisions aligned by geography, with teams like the Yankees and Mets, Dodgers and Angels, and Cubs and White Sox, placed in the same divisions.
Tigers retire Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland's number
HOT TAKE: Why in the world haven’t the Pittsburgh Pirates retired Leyland’s number, too?
It’s the same with Tony La Russa, who has had his number retired by the St. Louis Cardinals, but not by the Oakland Athletics.
There are only two managers in baseball history whose number have been retired by two teams:
Sparky Anderson: Cincinnati Reds and Tigers.
Casey Stengel: New York Yankees and Mets.
Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, MLB’s first Black manager, had his number retired by three teams – but two of the teams retired his number as a player (Baltimore Orioles and the Cincinnati Reds).
Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan is the only other player to have his number retried by three different organizations (Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers and Houston Astros).
The Hall of Fame inducted three players and a manager
HOT TAKE: There should be a new Hall of Fame category that combines an individual's performance as a manager and a player. How about a category for managers who have won at least 1,000 games while incorporating their player statistics?
The category would include former managers with stellar playing careers. We’re talking about guys like Felipe Alou, Lou Piniella, Jim Fregosi, Davey Johnson, Mike Hargrove, Joe Girardi, Arte Howe, Mike Scioscia, Clint Hurdle and others.
It’s a shame that only Piniella has drawn traction on the manager’s ballot, but if you include his playing days as a former All-Star and two-time World Series champion – in addition to being a three-time Manager of the Year – that should be enough.
Padres GM A.J. Preller deadlining for his job?
HOT TAKE: Preller should be safe, whether the Padres make the playoffs or not, but he certainly secured his reputation as a high-stakes gambler, unafraid to trade away prized prospects.
This deadline, or really this entire year, he has traded 12 of his top 15 prospects, acquiring White Sox ace Dylan Cease in March, two-time batting champion Luis Arraez in May, and now All-Star closer Tanner Scott and setup man Jason Adam.
The Padres, who are 9-2 since the All-Star break, have surged to within 4 ½ games of the Dodgers and could be the scariest team in the postseason if they get in with one of baseball's best bullpens.
Instead of being fired, Preller could wind up being in the Executive of the Year conversation.
Max Scherzer is back on the injured list with no timetable for return
HOT TAKE: The Rangers, battling injuries all season, may have trouble overcoming the latest to reach the postseason.
They are now without four starters: Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray and Tyler Mahle.
Yet, look around, and virtually every contender’s rotation is missing at least two starters:
Los Angeles Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin
Houston Astros: Justin Verlander, Lance McCullers, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy
Atlanta: Spencer Strider, Max Fried
Baltimore Orioles: John Means, Tyler Wells, Kyle Bradish.
Philadelphia Phillies: Ranger Suarez, Taijuan Walker.
San Diego Padres: Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove
St. Louis Cardinals: Lance Lynn, Steven Matz
Arizona Diamondbacks: Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez
Minnesota Twins: Chris Paddack, Anthony DeSclafani
Around the basepaths
– The Chicago White Sox had a lengthy private meeting Wednesday after their 17th consecutive defeat with owner Jerry Reinsdorf, GM Chris Getz and manager Pedro Grifol to address a myriad of issues with their woeful team, including Grifol’s future.
They ultimately decided not to fire him before their weekend series against the Minnesota Twins.
While Grifol could still be fired any day – or even last until the end of the year if they suddenly start sprinkling in a few victories – the White Sox have no plans to look for a permanent replacement until after the season.
Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who’s expected to leave the Marlins after the season, remains the leading candidate for the job. Yet, he’s also a hot candidate for several other teams who will be looking for new managers in this winter.
Grifol, who’s in the second year of a three-year, $3 million contract, led the White Sox to a 61-101 record a year ago, are now a major-league worst 27-85 heading into Saturday. They are on pace to eclipse the New York Mets all-time record for 120 losses in 1962.
– The Boston Red Sox can’t help but wonder if only they had retained Chris Sale instead of trading him to Atlanta for injured infielder Vaughn Grissom.
If it’s not painful enough for the Red Sox watching Sale emerge as the leading NL Cy Young candidate, they also are paying him $17 million for his salary this year, with Atlanta paying just $500,000 this season.
– The Yankees were on the verge of acquiring Tigers starter Jack Flaherty and then trading away starter Nestor Cortes (perhaps to St. Louis for injured infielder Tommy Edman), until plans changed. Yankees GM Brian Cashman denied they backed out after reviewing Flaherty’s medicals, concerned with his recent back problems, but several GMs were convinced that Flaherty’s back problems indeed scared off the Yankees.
– The White Sox were never going to trade Garrett Crochet, or even Erick Fedde in the division unless completely overwhelmed.
While Fedde wound up with the Cardinals, Crochet will definitely be traded this winter.
The White Sox are expected to completely shut down Crochet at some point to help assure teams that he’s healthy and will be dominant again in 2025. Chicago believes his trade value will be much higher this winter.
Crochet, who will get a healthy bump from his $800,000 salary in arbitration next year, is under team control through 2026.
When Crochet was asked by Chicago reporters after the deadline about whether he had any regrets making demands on staying in the rotation and not pitching in the postseason unless he received a contract extension, he said he would do the same thing again, even if it means staying with baseball’s worst team.
“As baseball players, we have a little bit of notoriety, so if I wipe my [rear-end] the wrong way," Crochet told reporters, “I think someone would say something about it. …
“I think it may have come across as greedy to some, but I think those in the industry realized it’s logical to have that line of thinking.”
– The Baltimore Orioles, who did the White Sox a huge favor by acquiring Eloy Jimenez and the remaining $4.2 million left on his contract, have the option of keeping Jimenez if he suddenly starts living up to the hype.
The Orioles have two club options on Jimenez: $16.5 million for 2025 and $18.5 million for 2026. The White Sox had no intention of picking it up.
– Quote of the week: Former Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin at Ryan Braun’s Brewers Hall of Fame induction: “I’m retired in Florida now. There are nights where I’ll grab a whiskey, sit out on the patio and pull up (Braun) highlights on YouTube. There’s a lot of highlights. I’m drunk by the end of the night.”
– Quote of the week runner-up: Cubs’ Mike Tauchman after his walk-off, pinch-hit double against the Cardinals on Thursday night:
“My wife had an OB-GYN appointment this morning and she told me the last walk-off I had, she also had a doctor’s appointment that morning. I’m going to start sending her to the doctor a lot more. Shoutout to women’s health care.”
– No one has made a bigger impact at the trade deadline than Jazz Chisholm of the Yankees. He’s hit .368 (7 for 19) with four homers, eight RBI and a 1.400 OPS in his first four games, with the Yankees winning all of them.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, who nearly landed Chisholm, are left wondering whether he could have had the same impact with them.
– If there was a comeback player of the year in-season, it would be Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who was in danger of being released, and now is helping carry the D-backs to the postseason.
May: 172, 2 HRs, 8 RBI, .525 OPS
June: .156 2 HRs, 6 RBI, .576 OPS
July: .333, 10 HRs, 27 RBI, 1.131 OPS
His closest comeback competition would be from Mets starter Jose Quintana.
He was 1-5 with a 5.29 ERA in his first 13 starts, pitching five or fewer innings in seven of those games. In his last eight starts, he’s 5-1 and yielding a 1.91 ERA, pitching at least six innings in five of those starts, yielding two or fewer runs in all but one.
– The Dodgers are privately concerned about Clayton Kershaw, who was rocked in his second start against the Padres, lasting just 3 ⅔ innings and for the first time in his career, failed to strike out a batter. It ends his record 423-game streak with at least one strikeout, the longest streak since the mound was moved to 60-feet-6 inches in 1893.
Kershaw, who averaged less than 90 mph on the gun, generated only two swings-and-misses.
– It was 20 months ago, back on Dec. 5, 2022, when reliever Carlos Estevez had to make a decision: Sign with the Phillies to be a reliever or sign with the Angels and be their closer.
He chose the Angels, signing a two-year, $13.5 million contract.
But now, here he is after the trade deadline, with the Phillies, after all.
– Is there a tougher guy in all of baseball than 34-year-old Orioles catcher James McCann?
Here’s a guy who gets hit in the face by a 95-mph fastball, his nose broken, blood streaming from his nostrils, and he stays in the game after a 15-minute delay, and catches the next eight innings of the game with his left eye swollen and nasal plugs up his nostrils to stop the bleeding.
“I would go to war every single day for James McCann,” Orioles pitcher Tyler Wells posted on social media. “But after seeing that, I am convinced that I would [be] absolutely useless to him. That’s the toughest SOB I’ve ever met. And he just proved it right there.”
– Atlanta has no plans to cut ties with MVP candidate Marcell Ozuna after the season and will pick up his $16 million club option.
It leaves Atlanta with two DHs with the recent acquisition of Jorge Soler, who hadn’t played a single inning in the field this season but will now play right field.
“I think the one thing we’ve seen the last few years is, you’re going to need more than three (outfielders), and injuries are part of it,” Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters. “Every year, we’ve had to acquire bats. …
“It’s hard to find on-base with power and plus makeup. The fact that Jorge can play right field. I think people think (it’s only) corner outfield, and we don’t necessarily view it that way. Not all corner outfield is viewed the same. A lot of players in baseball can play left field only, because they don’t have arm strength and so on. The fact that Jorge has some arm strength as well makes an option in right.”
And certainly, defensive liability and all, Atlanta needed offensive help.
Atlanta’s outfielders have been hitting .204 (29th in baseball) with an MLB-worst .606 OPS since Ronald Acuña suffered a season-ending torn ACL, with the third-worst batting average (.208) and OPS (.631) among leadoff hitters.
– One of the strangest statistical oddities could occur on Aug. 26 when the the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays resume their suspended game.
Danny Jansen, who was traded from the Blue Jays to the Red Sox last weekend, was in the Blue Jays’ starting lineup and played the first two innings as their catcher and was at the plate when the game was suspended because of rain.
The makeup game will force the Blue Jays to pinch-hit for Jansen, who could be catching for the Red Sox that day, or pinch-hitting.
He would become the first player in baseball history to play for two teams on the same day.
– The strangest and coolest signing occurred last week when 30-year-old Brett Phillips, yes, the same former outfielder who had that World Series walk-off hit for the Tampa Bay rays , sign a minor-league deal with the New York Yankees ... As a pitcher.
Phillips threw 97-mph with sharp sliders and signed after making a surprise appearance for the GPS Legends in the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita striking out the side in the first inning.
The Yankees signed him the next day.
– Remember the days the Phillies were the best team in baseball?
They have lost 12 of their last 16 games and Bryce Harper, who was a strong MVP candidate at the All-Star break, suddenly is on a 1-for-34 skid.
That 10-game lead in the NL East has evaporated to five over Atlanta.
It has gotten so bad that backup catcher Garrett Stubbs was been forced into pitching duty three times in a matter of weeks.
– Pretty cool seeing Hall of Famer Tim Raines managing his twin daughters, Ava and Amelie, on Arizona’s softball team in the Junior League World Series.
– If this is the year Atlanta’s reign atop the NL East ends, so be it.
Atlanta doesn’t really care as long as they’re in the postseason.
“Honestly, we don’t play this game to win a division and win a flag,” Atlanta reliever A.J. Minter told reporters. “We play this game to win the hardware and win a trophy. So we’re not worried about who’s at the top of our division. Congrats if you win a flag."
Sure, Atlanta would love to win the division, but, look at who was in the World Series a year ago.
Texas and Arizona, two wild-card teams.
“Yes, you want to put yourself in the best situation as possible, and that’s obviously winning the division,’’ Minter said. “But I can tell you one thing: If we do get in the postseason, no one’s going to want to face us, and you got to remember that.”
– Kudos to the Athletics for not trading All-Star outfielder Brent Rooker, 29, who still has three more years of control after the season, and should be one of the fan favorites when the team plays in Sacramento for at least the next three years.
– The Toronto Blue Jays, who didn’t hide their intentions ahead of the deadline, certainly delivered
They traded their impending free agents in Yusei Kikuchi, infielder/DH Justin Turner, outfielder Kevin Kiemaier, catcher Danny Jansen and relievers Yimi Garcia and Trevor Richards.
And kept first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., shortstop Bo Bichette, starter Chris Bassitt, and relievers Chad Green and Jordan Romano, who are all under control for one more year.
They likely will make changes in the dugout, and perhaps front office too, but vow to make one more run at it in 2025, while hoping to at least sign Guerrero to a long-term contract.
If the Blue Jays struggle next year, they could the epicenter of the 2025 trade deadline.
– Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who signed a four-year, $80 million free-agent contract in the offseason, has not pitched in a major league game since Oct. 1, 2023 with a left shoulder strain.
Yet, instead of appearing in a minor-league game in a rehab assignment, he is scheduled to go straight to the D-backs and pitch Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians.
– Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks are baseball’s hottest team, 20-8 since June 29, and suddenly are just four games behind the reeling Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West.
You know they’re feeling good about themselves with a National League pennant replica ring giveaway on Aug. 10.
Yep, the day the Phillies are in town, the team they beat in seven games in the NLCS a year ago.
– It has been a rough month financially for the Astros, who designated reliever Rafael Montero for assignment last week halfway through his three-year, $34.5 million contract. That's after releasing Jose Abreu, who was halfway through his three-year, $58.5 million deal.
– Beautiful gesture by Mariners pitcher George Kirby who threw the only knuckleball of his life with his first pitch at Fenway Park in honor of late Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield.
– Prayers to Dodgers All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman and his family.
Freeman has been away from the team the past week to be with his family and 3-year-old son, Maximus, who is battling a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome.
“These have been the hardest and scariest days of our lives,” Chelsea Freeman, Freddie’s wife, wrote on Instagram.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 11 MLB hot takes with baseball entering dog days of summer
