Today's MLB rumors roundup looks at a former Yankees star hitting the trade block, a Red Sox pitcher getting a role change, and more.
The MLB season is long and grueling, but there is always drama to be had. Usually, it's sprinkled into a game here and there throughout each week, but this week gave us several really intense games all in one night.
We'll start there with this morning's MLB rumors roundup but also look at a Red Sox pitching change and a relief pitcher who is going to get a lot of attention at the trade deadline.
Walk-offs were everything on Wednesday night in the MLB
Wednesday night gave us three very intense games, with three walk-offs, two of them coming in extra innings.
Astros walk off the Cubs
The Houston Astros entered the eighth inning down 6-1, but stormed back in the final two frames to win over the Chicago Cubs 7-6. Here's what manager Dusty Baker had to say after the game, courtesy of MLB.com's Brian McTaggart:
"I always say, 'If you can win the eighth and ninth, you've got a chance to win the ballgame,'" Baker said. "Boy, we had some heroes over heroes tonight. The guys came through. It was a wonderful win. It was the win of the year. That's great, especially right before an off day, too. The thing I appreciate is not many of the fans left."
The Cubs are no strangers to comebacks, erasing a massive 7-run deficit of their own earlier this season against the Seattle Mariners. This time, though, they were on the wrong side of things.
Blue Jays get the last laugh with extra innings homer
The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees locked horns on and off the field this week. A standard mid-May series has included Aaron Judge being accused of cheating by Jays broadcasters, a Yankees base coach — who was appeared to be called "fat" by Jays manager John Schneider — was reported to the league by the Jays for standing too far out of the box, and now a 10th-inning walk-off home run from Danny Jansen has made for another fun episode.
The best news? This series isn't done. The Yankees have won two, the Jays one, and there's one more game tonight. Season-long, each team has won three games. Six more come after this, but no until September. Tonight's game definitely matters, especially with how closely contested the AL East should be down the stretch.
Mets win with a three-run homer
Another New York team involved in a 10th-inning game, but this one worked out in the NY team's favor.
Mets star Pete Alonso hit a three-run home run to end the game, but just before him was Francisco Alvarez singling, who was called up from Syracuse earlier in the day.
The Mets had to rally back multiple times. Mark Vientos tied it up at 2 runs apiece in the bottom of the seventh with a home run.
The Rays' Brandon Lowe pushed the Rays ahead with a two-run homer in the eighth. Then, in the ninth, Randy Arozarena made it 5-2 with an RBI single.
Alvarez sent it to extra innings with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Tampa scored three runs in the 10th, but New York scored three off the Alonso homer.
Tampa scores a league-leading 6.25 runs per game, but the Mets have middled at 4.25 per game, so their rally was impressive and not necessarily characteristic.
Alex Cora moves Nick Pivetta to a relief role
Nick Pivetta is no longer going to be a starter for the Boston Red Sox, at least for the time being. Manager Alex Cora told reporters after Wednesday night's game that Pivetta will move into a multi-inning relief role for the Red Sox.
Cora included some hope, though, saying that he needs to, "Just dominate," his role and that he's seen him do it before.
In eight games started this year, Pivetta has put up a WHIP of 1.55, far higher than his 1.31 or 1.38 as a 30-plus game starter in 2021 and 2022. Per nine innings, here's how his stats have played out in 2021, 2022, and 2023 with hits, walks, and strikeouts, in that order:
- 2021: 8.0; 1.4; 3.8
- 2022: 8.8; 1.4; 3.7
- 2023: 9.7; 2.0; 4.3
While his strikeouts are up (which is somewhat misleading because he's also facing more batters. His K% is lower this year than in 2021 and 2022), he's allowing far more hits and walking more batters as well. Pivetta, according to Baseball Savant, is allowing a bottom nine percent of the league average exit velo (93.9 MPH) and hard-hit percentage (51.7%). Batters slugged .422 against his four-seamer last year, his best pitch, so far this year, .622.
A role change appears to be due here where Pivetta can regain some confidence on the bump. Clearly, Cora still has some belief in him since he'll be using him as a multi-inning reliever.
Aroldis Chapman is going to be one of the most coveted trade deadline movers
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Aroldis Chapman is already keeping the Kansas City Royals' phone lines busy (subscription required), with his sources telling him several teams have already inquired about the relief pitchers' availability.
Chapman just threw the fastest pitch in Royals history and has rediscovered his velocity and command after completely losing both in 2022 with the Yankees. Chapman's 2022 was controversial. He struggled on the mound after being an elite closer in the several years prior, missed plenty of games due to injury — including a tattoo infection — and then reportedly quit on the team ahead of the postseason because the Yankees refused to allow him to close games in the playoffs.
His 4-seam fastball has a run value seven better than it did last year, and it's averaging 99.5 MPH. He completely reinvented his split-finger pitch, which traditionally would spin very slowly. He added an average of around 2 MPH to it this year and it rotates 260 revolutions more per minute in 2023 than it did in 2022.
Chapman is back, and the Royals are 14-31. He's on a one-year deal so there is no sense in keeping a star who can compete on the roster. He will almost certainly be traded, allowing the Royals to cash in and Cashman another opportunity at another World Series win.
Chapman's presumed preference is to stay on the East side of the country — he had a partial no-trade clause with the Yankees that would keep him on the East — but as far as can be told, no such clause exists with the Royals. Any team that wants a closer will be on the line.
