NEWSLETTER
MLB Notes — We’re just 42 days away from the MLB trade deadline, and The Athletic’s Jim Bowden put together five trades that he would like to see before then.
Bowden: 5 Trades (Including a Wild Luis Robert Jr. Trade Idea)
His first trade was a wild one involving 10 players changing teams in an all-time blockbuster between the White Sox and Dodgers. In the deal, the White Sox sent Luis Robert Jr., Garrett Crochet, and Michael Kopech to Los Angeles.
In exchange, the White Sox would receive outfielder Andy Pages, catcher Dalton Rushing, and pitchers Nick Frasso, Kyle Hurt, Justin Wrobleski, and Payton Martin. The deal would also include Emil Morales, 17, heading to Chicago as a lottery ticket.
“The White Sox would get a haul of seven solid to good prospects in return, putting them on track for a much faster rebuild. Andy Pages could replace Robert in the outfield immediately. Dalton Rushing would become their future starting catcher. Nick Frasso, Kyle Hurt, Justin Wrobleski, and Payton Martin would make their future outlook on the mound much brighter and come with many years of team control. And the final piece of this deal, Emil Morales, 17, would give the White Sox a high-risk, high-reward defensive wiz at shortstop down the road if he develops as a hitter.”
Sorry, Jim, that’s a no from me. I would prefer the White Sox strike a deal with the Orioles for Luis Robert Jr. and then shop Crochet and Kopech elsewhere, either as a package or separately.
The rest of Bowden’s deals weren’t as out there, and you can check them out here:
Beyond Baseball: Twins Hitting Coach Left the Team to Be With Ailing Son
The Athletic’s Dan Hayes dropped a phenomenal feature today about Minnesota Twins assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon, who had to delay the start of his dream job to spend last spring at home in Illinois with his wife and newborn, who was dealing with brain damage at birth. Shomon had just been promoted to the major league staff that spring and was set to attend his first major league camp with the Twins.
“What timing,” Keriann Shomon said with a laugh. “I don’t think Derek knows how to not worry about baseball in a good way. It’s his escape and I think it keeps him level-headed and keeps him as calm as you can be in that situation. Your son is born, and he’s sick, and you’re also supposed to be in your first year of Major League Baseball. He’s got to have felt so torn. How do I tell the Twins who just promoted me, ‘Hey, I can’t be there’? And how do I tell Keriann, ‘I’ve got to go in 25 days and can’t be here.’”
The good news is that Derek and Keriann Shomon’s son Micah is making progress these days, and Derek was able to return to the Twins. But it’s a feature worth your time today.
First MLB All-Star Game Ballot Update
Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper lead the way for their respective leagues at this week’s first ASG ballot update. If the two sluggers can hold their leads through June 27, when Phase 1 of the voting ends, they’ll receive starting bids to the All-Star Game for the AL and NL teams.
Judge is the leading vote-getter with 1,366,315, but his Yankees teammate Juan Soto is behind him, trailing by fewer than 115,000 votes. Harper has 1,110,562 votes and is one of four National League players with more than a million votes. His Phillies teammate Alec Bohm, Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, and Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani are also a part of that club, although Mookie Betts won’t play in the game due to the hand fracture he suffered over the weekend.
Sure, here’s a brief summary of the text: The leading vote-getter in each league during Phase 1 will secure a spot in their team’s starting lineup. Additionally, the top two vote-getters at every position and the top six outfielders will advance to Phase 2 of the voting, which starts on June 30. Notably, if an outfielder is a league’s leading vote-getter, only the next four outfield finalists will move on to Phase 2. Some close positional races have emerged, such as AL first base, AL second base, AL designated hitter, and NL second base.
Here’s a look at the complete ballot update, including positional leaders:
