Some links to make your Tuesday go down smoother
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a pretty glum start to this week. It’d be nice if the sun could come out for just a minute, although I know the garden will appreciate the deep supply of groundwater once summer rolls around. It’d also be nice if the Mariners weren’t playing the Astros, which always sours my mood. But if you happen to be in the south end this afternoon, come on out to Lowercase Brewing for today’s game; a few of us are planning to stop by and watch at least part of the game. Tuesdays are $4 pints at Lowercase, and they specialize in lighter, session beers, ideal for game-watching. They’ll still be playing the Astros, though. Sorry there’s nothing we can do about that.
In Mariners news:
- ICYMI, Logan Gilbert has been named the AL Pitcher of the Month for April. It’s the first time a Mariner has won the award since James Paxton won it in August of 2017, a month where he won all six of his starts with an ERA of 1.37. Edwin Díaz also won AL Reliever of the Month that same month.
- Gilbert isn’t the only pitcher of the week in the Mariners system: RHP Taylor Dollard has been named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week, representing Seattle’s Double-A Arkansas Travelers. The 6’3” righty has collected 14 strikeouts over his first 13 innings (4 games) without giving up an earned run.
Taylor Dollard was awesome tonight. Final line: 5IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 6K, 54 pitches, 38 strikes. pic.twitter.com/GRZ2LMrYAU
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 30, 2022
- Another day, another fun Julio fact:
Julio Rodríguez is the only @Mariners player in the Statcast era (since 2015) to hit a 450+ foot HR & register a sprint speed of ≥30 ft/sec in the same game.
(h/t @JasonBernard_)— Alex Mayer (@alexmayer34) May 2, 2022
Around the League:
- Today was the deadline for teams to cut down their rosters, which saw a lot of players returned to the minors and others designated for assignment, the biggest news being that the Mets designated Robinson Canó for assignment. The 39-year-old is now six years past when he put up a 6.8 fWAR season for the Mariners, and was batting below .200 to open the season. It’s unclear what will happen for Canó, still owed $39M by the Mets, next; he’ll certainly clear waivers, and probably some team would be willing to take a chance on his veteran leadership, or he might head back to the Dominican Republic and start preparing for this year’s LIDOM season, where he played last year.
- More roster cuts victims: the Brewers designated José Ureña for assignment; the Marlins demoted Zach Pop, who was solid against the Mariners, back to Triple-A and DFA’d former Mariner Shawn Armstrong; and in a weirdly parallel move, the Rays demoted Nate Lowe back to Triple-A and DFA’d former Mariner Robert Duggar.
- Not limiting former Mariner roster moves to the Florida teams, the Twins demoted catcher José Godoy along with righty Cole Sands to Triple-A, while calling up top prospect José Miranda and lefty Jovani Moran; Kyle Garlick and Miguel Sanó were placed on the 10-day IL as corresponding moves. The Twins are reportedly considering surgery for Sanó to alleviate his chronic knee pain.
- Another effect of the new roster rules: rosters are now capped at no more than 14 pitchers; that number will decrease to 13 on May 30. Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer thinks that will help the league’s suddenly-stagnant offense, and not just this season, but in producing a more watchable product for the future.
- Re: that suddenly stagnant offense, Gabe Lacques of USA Today dove into the wide gulf between expected statistics and what hitters are actually producing. Jesse Winker says hello.
- If you have an ESPN+ subscription you can read this investigation Jeff Passan did into the official strike zone used to create K-zones and the like vs. MLB’s “Zone Enforcement System,” which allows a two-inch grace zone all around the zone and is responsible for umpires grading out much more positively by MLB than by public-facing accounts.
- Former Athletic Yusmeiro Petit is headed to the Padres on a minor-league deal.
Kate’s pick:
The only thing better than this Michael A. Taylor catch is Zack Greinke’s (lack of) reaction. Greinke gonna Greinke.
Brilliance from @Taylor_Michael3!#TogetherRoyal pic.twitter.com/1b3GGnBAOn
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 2, 2022