I noticed:
• That Marcus Stroman, Sonny Gray and Nathan Eovaldi ranked 5-6-7 in Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric and all were named All-Stars.
• That Mike Ford, Gary Sanchez and Mike Tauchman — who had fallen since being key contributors to the 2019 Yankees’ fierce offense — joined teams with this season in progress and have become contributing regulars.
• That Miguel Anduar and Clint Frazier have failed to turn cameos elsewhere into reviving their careers — instead they are back in the minors — while Dom Smith with regular time at first base for the Nationals is demonstrating that he is not a regular.
At the All-Star break, I thought I would use this week’s “Awards watch” to catch up with 10 former Mets/Yankees I found the most intriguing in the first half. Not included on this list: 1) Carlos Correa, who was a Met for 15 minutes without ever actually being a Met. 2) Billy McKinney, who was a Yankee, a Met and now a Yankee again. 3) Chris Flexen, a former Met who was just acquired by the Mets not to be a Met.
The list in alphabetical order:
1. Michael Conforto, Giants
After missing all of last season, Conforto is having a fine season. The kind that almost certainly will lead him to opt out of the $18 million he is due next season. But not the kind of season that translates to the pot-of-gold contract that once seemed possible for him. Conforto has 13 homers and a 104 OPS-plus, but this has much to do with a 22-game period that bridged May to June during which he hit .359 with eight homers and a 1.115 OPS.
Overall, Conforto continues to struggle vs. lefties (.209 average, three walks, 23 strikeouts), and the defensive metrics have him as a below-average right fielder. In Conforto’s final Mets season in 2021, he hit a meh .232 with a .729 OPS. Midway through this year: .236/.745. Conforto will turn 31 next March.
2. Garrett Cooper, Marlins
You might forget Cooper’s 13 games with the 2017 Yankees. But his importance to the club is that he and Caleb Smith were traded after that season to Miami for Michael King. Cooper has been injury-prone but effective as a Marlin with a 112 OPS-plus in 428 games. He will be an interesting supplementary right-handed bat in free agency this coming offseason.
3. Ezequiel Duran, Rangers
You know what the 2023 Yankees could use? A .300 hitter who can play left field. Duran, a key part of the Joey Gallo deal, helped the Rangers earlier this season by filling in at shortstop while Corey Seager was injured, and then the natural infielder has shifted to left field to keep his bat (.308 average, 12 homers) in the lineup.
As for Gallo and all the early positive returns with him out of New York and in Minnesota, well, it was mainly just Gallo in the first half: 15 homers, a .186 batting average and a 40.9 strikeout percentage that was the highest for anyone with at least 200 plate appearances. And for all the touting of his overall game, he was at 0.6 WAR.
4. Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers
Nine starters received more in free agency last offseason than Eovaldi’s $34 million over two years. None has outpitched Eovaldi, who had 117 2/3 innings and a 2.82 ERA at the break, pretty much matching the first half of Gerrit Cole (117 innings, 2.85 ERA).
The top seven starters in dollars signed for in free agency either were coming to or leaving New York:
- Jacob deGrom, who made six starts before needing season-ending elbow surgery (the Rangers are fortunate to also have signed Eovaldi).
2. Carlos Rodon, who has made one start for the Yankees.
3. Justin Verlander, who is a few steps down from his AL Cy Young last year, but showing better signs of late.
4. Kodai Senga, who replaced Stroman on the NL All-Star team.
5. Taijuan Walker, who has been a good workhorse starter for the Phillies.
6. Jameson Taillon, who was having a miserable season for the Cubs before dominating the Yankees in his last start.
7. Chris Bassitt, who has been roughly league-average for the Blue Jays.
5. Mike Ford, Mariners
There is something about Ford’s bat that makes him desirable to organizations without translating into long-term employment. Since the Yankees traded him to the Rays in June 2021, Ford has been: designated for assignment by the Rays, claimed by the Nationals, taken off Washington’s 40-man roster and signed a free-agent deal with the Mariners, designated for assignment by Seattle, signed by the Giants, designated for assignment by San Francisco and traded to Seattle, designated for assignment by the Mariners, signed by the Braves, designated for assignment by Atlanta, signed by the Angels, designated for assignment by Los Angeles and signed last winter by Seattle for a third time.
He was called up on June 2. Through June 1, Seattle’s designated hitters had combined for an MLB-worst .496 OPS with just six homers. Since then, Mariner DHs have eight homers (seven by Ford) and a .781 OPS with Ford mainly manning the spot (though he also plays some first base). Since his arrival, Ford’s eight homers are two more than anyone else on the Mariners.
6. Aaron Hicks, Orioles
The Yankees hitting coach was fired on Sunday because he could not help jolt a moribund offense back to life. The before and after photo of Hicks certainly did not help Dillon Lawson’s defense of his offensive acumen. Hicks as a Yankee: .188/.263/.261 with one homer and no steals in 28 games. Hicks as an Oriole: .263/.373/.495 with six homers and three steals in 32 games.
Of course, there was a mental side to this as well: Hicks was being booed persistently at Yankee Stadium, where he particularly struggled to hit. Also, in his final 15 games going into the break, Hicks had followed a scintillating few weeks with the Orioles by hitting .174 with a .661 OPS, albeit with a three-run homer Sunday. But the most vital element for the Orioles is that his hot streak upon joining the club coincided with standout center fielder Cedric Mullins on the injured list. Hicks played center field and aided the Orioles in weathering the absence of a key performer in the way that Hicks (for a while) and the rest of the Yankees position players mostly have failed to do while Aaron Judge has been injured.
7. James Paxton, Red Sox
The injury-prone lefty made 29 regular-season starts for the 2019 Yankees and then just six total from 2020-22. He did not make his 2023 season debut until May 12, but he has been one of the best pitchers in the majors since. Only once in 10 starts has the lefty permitted more than three runs, and he has a 2.73 ERA. He and Brayan Bello have teamed to form a strong 1-2 punch atop the rotation as the Red Sox, despite being in last place in the AL East, remain wild card possibilities. If the Red Sox decide they are not contenders, Paxton would become an intriguing trade candidate.
8. Amed Rosario, Guardians
Last season, the double-play combo of Rosario and Andres Gimenez played so well as to make the Mets wonder about the wisdom of dealing the duo for Francisco Lindor. The Guardians certainly have no regrets between the money-saving and the future of Gimenez, whom they extended for $106.5 million over seven seasons. But neither Gimenez (99 OPS-plus) nor Rosario (90 OPS-plus) has played as well this season.
Rosario, though, has a history of heating up as the season progresses, and in his 23 games before the break was hitting .350 with an .827 OPS. Can he keep that up into the trade market to make him interesting to a shortstop-needy team such as the Dodgers (if the Guardians decide to do parallel buying and selling) and also into free agency this offseason?
9. Dominic Smith, Nationals
Smith is getting a full chance to prove himself — his 86 games played rank second on the Nationals. But he has an 88 OPS-plus. His slash line (.260/.328/.340) looks very much like those of Starling Marte (.256/.309/.336) and Jeff McNeil (.253/.331/.328).
10. Marcus Stroman, Cubs
Both he and Gray have put themselves in good position for the upcoming free-agent class. But Stroman also might be the best pitcher moved at the trade deadline if the Cubs decide to become sellers. Stroman has a player option for next season, but barring injury, he will almost certainly not trigger it and will head to free agency. Thus, this is the time for the Cubs to try to get something in return if they deem themselves out of the NL Central race.
When this season concludes, two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu will have three years at $45 million left on his contract, covering his ages 35-37 seasons.
One-time batting champ Jeff McNeil will have three years at $43.75 million left on his contract, covering his ages 32-34 seasons.
The two players just completed first halves that would make them strong candidates for any list of the 10 most disappointing players.
So this week let’s play: “Whose rest of the career would you take?” Or even: Who would be most likely to hit well again? It becomes more difficult to see either New York team thriving in the second half en route to a playoff spot if LeMahieu and McNeil continue to struggle.
McNeil is the better bet. He is younger. He won his batting title last year (LeMahieu won in 2016 and 2020).
LeMahieu’s tailspin has lasted longer. Since injuring his foot last season, LeMahieu flat-out has become a terrible hitter. The Yankees have never pinpointed an exact date in the second week of August 2022 when LeMahieu incurred a fracture near his right big toe. But from last Aug. 9 to this year’s All-Star break, LeMahieu’s slash line is .202/.265/.305.
Most concerning this season for LeMahieu has been a 23.3 percent strikeout rate. It was 13.1 last year. The 10.2 percent differential is the largest for anyone who batted at least 400 times in 2022 and 200 times so far in 2023.
McNeil’s strikeout rate is right near his career norm, and his walk rate is actually up a tick. His exit velocity is near-equal to when he won the batting title last year. McNeil has had four seasons in which his batting average on balls in play was .335 or better, and in those years, he never hit lower than .311.
In 2021, McNeil hit .280 on balls in play and his slash line was .251/.319/.360. At this year’s break, his average on balls in play was .282 and his slash line was .253/.331/.328. Is the lack of extreme shifts actually hurting McNeil? And now is his overt frustration beginning to impact his results as well?
In the best of times, the versatility of LeMahieu and McNeil have been boons for the New York clubs. But that also was tied to high-end bat-to-ball production. Both have lost that elite level of results. Who do you got to get it back?
The first half ended with the Guardians having put the most players into the majors this year who signed their first contracts with the organization. The number was 59. But just as vital for them, they also led with the most players they originally signed making their debut this season at 11.
The AL Central is the majors’ worst division. The Guardians lead the division at 45-45 — because the pitching machine they have built continues to churn. In particular, Logan T. Allen, Tanner Bibbee and Gavin Williams have made their debuts this year. That trio made 29 first-half starts and combined to throw 157 innings with a 3.50 ERA.
That has been pretty vital with Aaron Civale, Triston McKenzie, Zach Plesac and Cal Quantrill impacted by injury and/or ineffectiveness.
Just a few tidbits I’m hearing as the trade deadline nears:
• The Phillies would love to add a righty bat who could play left field and perhaps some infield. If the Red Sox fell out of the race and made Adam Duvall available, he would be a target. Colorado will market Randal Grichuk.
Philadelphia continues to believe Bryce Harper will play some first base in the second half. In that situation, Kyle Schwarber could either DH or get a day off, especially against a lefty, and a righty-hitting outfielder could play left in that permutation. If the Phillies wanted a lefty hitter, they could summon former Yankee farmhand Jake Cave from Triple-A, where he has this hard-to-believe stat: 45 extra-base hits (29 doubles, 16 homers) in 54 minor league games.
• The Royals have received phone calls about starter Brady Singer and catcher/outfielder MJ Melendez. Both are having poor seasons and are unlikely to be traded because Kansas City will continue to treat them in the marketplace like high-end valuable pieces.
• Two executives from different teams raised the possibility of White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson being an intriguing deadline acquisition. He is in the midst of a brutal season, batting .223 with a MLB-low .522 OPS (among qualifiers) and the second-most plate appearances (290) without a homer.
But the executives independently made similar points: 1. Is it possible the losing with the White Sox is impacting his performance and he is a change-of-scenery candidate? 2. The White Sox have to seriously consider not picking up his $14 million 2024 option if he continues to play this poorly, meaning the time to try to get something in return for him is now. 3. An acquiring team would get a chance to see him play for a few months and gauge whether his performance improved enough to make picking up the $14 million option (there is a $1 million buyout) worthwhile.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was so good discussing Shohei Ohtani, I thought I would share it here.
He rhetorically handled a question by saying, “What makes him so talented, other than everything?”
On what Ohtani might get paid in free agency: “I know what it takes to be a hitter and how much work and preparation and the mindset, and then you have to do that and pitch every five days, I just don’t understand it. I don’t know how to put a number on that. So we’ll find out together what the number is [when Ohtani signs].”
What were his expectations when Ohtani came to MLB to both hit and pitch?
“It’s hard to even have thoughts or expectations because you’ve never seen it before,” Freeman said. “We all do [both pitch and hit] in high school. But he’s gonna do it in the big leagues? Then you see what he was doing in spring training and you see the arm and you see what he can do with the bat and you can write a million-word story on him, and it doesn’t even make sense because you don’t even know what to write. It’s incredible how he’s doing this. There’s really no words. I’ve been talking about Shohei at All-Star Games for four years and it’s the same answer: I don’t know how he does it, but I’m glad he’s here and I’m glad I get to watch it.”