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May your 4th be filled with hot dogs and fireworks and friends and family and reflecting on how we can try to continue working on this country and help it to better fulfill its potential quality. We can do so much better for each other than we have done before.
- Drew Smyly (oblique) will make his first rehab start tonight in South Bend, where you can expect him to be on a 50-ish pitch limit like Marcus Stroman was last night in Iowa. Given the nature of his injury and given his much longer absence, it’s also safe to assume that Smyly will need several starts in rehab before he returns to the big leagues. Because a healthy Smyly could have significant commercial value, the Chicago Cubs will do everything they can to ensure he’s absolutely operational before bringing him back. The goal is at least a few healthy starts before August 2nd. Everything else is a bonus.
- Alfonso Rivas was on base three times yesterday and has achieved .326/.375/.395/117 wRC+ since returning to the big leagues. Maybe emphasize more contact and discipline instead of power? It’s not exactly what you expect or look for in a first baseman, but sometimes you just have to be who you are. Ultimately, Rivas won’t take a .433 BABIP, so even as this version of himself, he would need to walk a lot more (6.3%), hit even less (27.1%), or hit for more power (.070 ISO), to stay productive.
- The amazing thing is, last year the nerds among us were talking about how Patrick Wisdom would manage to keep the K% under the (still swanky) 35%, he would be awesome. And that’s exactly what he did:
A look at how Patrick Wisdom is rolling K% and wOBA this season. Has really limited the ongoing droughts since mid-May. pic.twitter.com/MJ9cuE9FHM
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 3, 2022
- Jason Heyward is still resting his knee but has not received an MRI (AP). Nick Madrigal and Frank Schwindel are expected to take BP from Daniel Norris tomorrow as all three are in rehab.
- I hate seeing this for Xander Bogaerts, but – intentionally or accidentally – he covers a whole lot of the base:
Xander Bogaerts needed 7 stitches after being spiked by Chicago’s Willson Contreras on Sunday. Rays is likely to miss Boston’s SS this week. pic.twitter.com/hbwhzP829B
— Danny Russell (@d_russ) July 4, 2022
- Bogaerts said after the game he knew that Willson Contreras didn’t spike him on purpose, and he also says he didn’t try to block the base on purpose. Just an unfortunate thing that happened.
- James Triantos homered AGAIN:
- That’s three straight games of one homer for the Cubs infield prospect, who has hit .326/.396/.651 over the past two weeks while hitting four of his five homers this season. Just a hot track, or have he and the Cubs figured out how to help him gain more power? Triantos is playing this full season at just 19 so you wouldn’t necessarily produce a lot of energy but these last two weeks have certainly been enticing. Do you combine Triantos’ ability to hit the ball on a line with some opportunistic power? That would be quite a bat.
- The Giants — 8.5 behind in the NL West but just 2.0 behind in wild card racing — have lost starter Anthony DeSclafani for the remainder of the season:
Anthony DeSclafani said his July 12 surgery will place the peroneal tendon in his right ankle. A recovery period of 4-5 months is expected which will knock him out for the rest of the season.
— Maria I Guardado (@mi_guardado) July 4, 2022
- Jackson Frazier with another Longdinger (Iowa numbers are still pretty bad overall, but it’s a start):
- Hey, an old friend reached an important milestone:
- Riggleman, 69, was the manager of the Chicago Cubs from 1995 to 1999 and has also been the manager of the Padres, Mariners, Nationals, Reds and now the Pioneer League’s Billings Mustangs. He’s won 726 games as a big league manager, and he’s only been with the Mustangs this season, so he’s either won about 800 games this year, or they’re including every game he’s ever been in…
- Craig Kimbrel took a rocket off his back and then proceeded to blow another save for the Dodgers. He appears to be doing just fine, but makes you wonder how long the Dodgers have before they consider a move in the closer role. It’s a bit sad to be honest (but something something, David Robertson trades something up).
Dave Roberts said the scans on Craig Kimbrel’s back were negative. Will be out for a few days.
When asked about Kimbrel’s future role, Roberts said he was “not even considering a move.”
“He deserves it.”
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 3, 2022
Isaac Paredes + Harold Ramirez combined for the Rays this year:
.295/.346/.508 17 HR 148 wRC+ 3 WAR
They both got them just before opening day for… well, I quite like Meadows. But he has 0 HR so far. This is all very strange to me. pic.twitter.com/mvG1zHcCvD
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) July 4, 2022
- Jacob deGrom’s first rehab outing looked pretty deGrom-esque as he touched 100mph and beat everyone:
- An interesting – suggestive? – Signing for the Bulls:
- I only laughed for a minute, tears in my eyes:
