The Cycle, Issue 32: The Kids Are Alright

Taking stock of this year’s initial rookie crop, Nike’s uniform shenanigans begin in Boston, Arcia & Odor traded, Nats’ COVID starting nine, Tatis’s shoulder, Brewers’ vaccine PSA, and more . . .

This is a free issue of The Cycle. Free issues will happen on occasion, but they won’t be regular, and they won’t be frequent. To read every issue of The Cycle, which publishes three days a week and contains all the news and analysis you need to keep up with the 2021 Major League Baseball season, upgrade to a paid subscription here:

In this issue of The Cycle . . .

In anticipation of the return of Awards Watch, I take a look at the Rookie of the Year candidates who are already in the majors.

Also:

• Rooting for Laundry: The Nike shenanigans begin in Boston

• Newswire: All-Star Game lands in Denver, Brewers vaccinated

• Injured list: Tatis’s shoulder, the Nationals’ open the season with 9 on the COVID IL, A’s and Rays shelve multiple players, more

• Transaction Reactions: Orlando Arcia and Rougned Odor get traded

• The Cycle Book Club: Clubbie by Greg Larson

• Feedback

• Closing Credits

Programming Note: This week, instead of putting my third issue of the week out on Friday, I’m going to send it out Thursday morning. That’s because the majority of this week’s series change over on Thursday, rather than Friday. In subsequent weeks, when are more new series starting on Thursday than on Friday, the third issue of the week will come out on Thursday.

Awards Watch

The Rookie Class

It is my intention to bring back Awards Watch, my long-running column following the races for the three major Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards, in this space. However, that likely won’t resume in earnest until the end of April or early May, as it takes some time for even the early performance spikes to take shape.

The one race that has already begun to take shape, however, is the one for Rookie of the Year in each league. That is because, while all 780 active players are technically MVP candidates, and the roughly 390 pitchers on active rosters are all technically Cy Young candidates, the candidates for Rookie of the Year are limited to eligible rookies who are in the major leagues. By my count, that limits the field to fewer than 100 players currently on active rosters.

It’s certainly possible for a player who is now in the minor leagues to win the award. In 2019, eventual American League winner Yordan Alvarez didn’t reach the majors until June 9. In 2013, AL winner Wil Myers didn’t debut until June 13, and 1959 NL winner Willie McCovey famously didn’t debut until July 30 of that season.

Still, being in the majors from the start of the season, particularly with a starting job or in a high-leverage relief role, gives a rookie both a head start and a significant advantage over his late-arriving rivals. Jarred Kelenic, Wander Franco, and Bobby Witt Jr. may all be good enough to win the AL award with a half season of play, but they’re not here yet, so they’re not yet candidates.

As for those who are, I’m not going to list all 90-plus here but rather the candidates who are already in the majors and playing full time, or close to it. I’ll take them alphabetically, starting in the American League.

American League

Kohei Arihara, RHP, Rangers

This 28-year-old Nippon Professional Baseball veteran signed a two-year, $6.2 million contract with the Rangers in December and is expected to be a stalwart in Texas’s jerry-rigged rotation. He allowed three runs in five innings in his first start, walking no one, but also striking out just one batter.

Randy Arozarena, LF/RF, Rays

An early favorite in this race, the 26-year-old Arozarena is in his third major-league season, but had just 99 regular-season plate appearances in the major leagues prior to this year. However, he had another 91 in the postseason, and in those 190 big-league PAs, combined, he has hit .321/.405/.697 with 18 home runs.

Akil Baddoo, OF, Tigers

A Rule 5 pick out of the Twins’ organization, the 22-year-old Baddoo raked in Spring Training (.325/.460/.750 with five homers in 50 plate appearances) to make the Tigers’ roster, and is now raking in his opportunities during the regular season, such that the Tigers may be forced to make him a regular in the lineup. On the young season, he is 4-for-8 with two home runs including a grand slam on Monday and a walkoff single in Tuesday’s win over his former organization.

Garrett Crochet, LHP, White Sox

The 11th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Crochet, who will turn 22 in June, is one of two fireballers hoping to take the Devin Williams route to the Rookie of the Year as dominant members of the White Sox’s bullpen. Crochet is off to a good start with five strikeouts against just two baserunners in 3 1/3 scoreless innings, though his velocity has been down in the early going.

Bobby Dalbec, 1B, Red Sox

Dalbec, who will turn 26 in June, was a power sensation in Spring Training, slugging .787 with seven homers in 53 plate appearances, and he hit .263/.359/.600 with eight homers in 92 PAs in his first major-league opportunity last year. He’s off to a rough start this year, however, going 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in the Sox’s opening series and has sat in favor of Marwin González for the last two games.

Dane Dunning, RHP, Rangers

The primary return for Lance Lynn, the 26-year-old Dunning put up a solid showing in seven starts for the White Sox last year and, while he was supposed to be a tandem starter in the Rangers’ rotation, his strong debut against the Blue Jays Tuesday night (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K) and the struggles of the Rangers’ other starters could earn him a more conventional role.

Tanner Houck, RHP, Red Sox

The 25th overall pick in 2017, Houck dominated in three starts last year and made his way back to the majors via Eduardo Rodríguez’s early injury this year. He struck out eight against just one walk in five innings in his 2021 debut on Saturday and could earn a permanent spot in the Boston rotation before his 25th birthday in late June.

Kyle Isbel, RF, Royals

A third-round pick in 2018, Isbel was not on my radar this spring, but he won the strong side of a right-field platoon in camp and is off to a strong start, going 3-for-5 in his major-league debut and 5-for-14 with a triple and a stolen base overall thus far. The 24-year-old is a career .284/.347/.455 hitter in the minors, but had never played above High-A prior to this year.

Michael Kopech, RHP, White Sox

While Crochet is expected to be used as more of a typical, high-leverage short reliever, Kopech appears ticketed for longer relief outings with an eye on a move to the rotation either later this year or in 2022. That means we could get a classic fireman season out of him, something on the order of 100 innings over 50 games. Already, he has eight strikeouts in four scoreless frames. Kopech, who made four starts for the White Sox in 2018, then missed 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and opted out of the 2020 season, will turn 25 at the end of the month.

Dean Kremer, RHP, Orioles

The Orioles have two rookies in their starting rotation. I don’t expect much out of either, but just having a starting job puts them in this initial group of contenders. The 25-year-old Kremer, who was acquired from the Dodgers in the Manny Machado trade, made four starts for the O’s last year with middling results, lots of strikeouts, and lots of walks. In his 2021 debut on Tuesday night, he struck out five and walked four in three innings while allowing three runs.

Nick Madrigal, 2B, White Sox

The 24-year-old Madrigal is both an undersized ninth-place hitter and the fourth-overall pick from the 2018 draft. He won’t hit for power, but he’ll hit for average, get on base, steal bases, and play good defense, which means voters will have too look a bit closer to see his full value, which doesn’t bode well for his candidacy, even if he does have a good season.

Yermín Mercedes, C/DH, White Sox

This 28-year-old fire-hydrant-shaped catcher could be the primary beneficiary of Eloy Jiménez’s injury. A .302/.366/.491 hitter in the minors, he got one plate appearance last year, then set a record this year by getting a hit in his first eight plate appearances of the season, effectively claiming the Sox’s vacated designated hitter job. He is now 13-for-23 (.585) on the season with three doubles and a homer.

Julian Merryweather, RHP, Blue Jays

The 29-year-old Merryweather is another rookie who has already greatly increased his potential in this race. A minor-league starter acquired from Cleveland in the Josh Donaldson trade in August 2018, Merryweather made the Jays’ bullpen this spring and, thanks to an extra-inning opener, turned heads with a dominant save against the Yankees, striking out Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gleyber Torres in order to preserve a 3–2 win and earn his first major-league save. He very nearly repeated the trick three days later in the ninth inning (two strikeouts, including Torres, again, in a perfect inning) and, with Kirby Yates out for the year following Tommy John surgery, appears to have stolen the Jays’ closer job from Jordan Romano

Casey Mize, RHP, Tigers

The top pick in the 2018 draft was lousy in his first major-league opportunity last year (seven starts, 6.99 ERA), and nearly pitched his way back to Triple-A in camp, but he finished strong, snuck back into the rotation thanks in part to Spencer Turnbull being sidelined due to COVID protocols, and turned in a respectable first start on Tuesday with four strikeouts against two walks in four innings, allowing just one run. He’ll turn 24 in May.

Ryan Mountcastle, LF/DH, Orioles

The rookie cutoff for hitters is 130 at-bats. Mountcastle had 126 at-bats last year, so he just sneaks back into the race after finishing eighth in last year’s voting for hitting .333/.386/.492. The 24-year-old former first-round pick will bounce between left field and designated hitter while hitting cleanup for Baltimore.

Tarik Skubal, LHP, Tigers

Like rotation-mate Mize, Skubal was lousy over seven starts last year, but earned another chance in camp this spring and got off to a respectable start in his 2021 debut. A former ninth-round pick, 24-year-old lefty doesn’t have Mize’s pedigree, but he out-pitched his more heralded teammate this spring.

Leody Taveras, CF, Rangers

Another speed-and-defense candidate, the 22-year-old Taveras appears to have won the bulk of the playing time in center once again, but he’ll have to hit at least a little to keep it. Thus far this year, he’s 1-for-16 with 11 strikeouts.

Taylor Trammell, LHP, Mariners

A first-round pick by the Reds in 2016, and a top-100 prospect thereafter, Trammell has been traded twice (to the Padres in the Trevor Bauer/Yasiel Puig three-way at the 2019 deadline and to the Mariners in last August’s Austin Nola swap), but he’s still just 23 and claimed a Mariners’ left-field job he was not supposed to take coming into camp. Another speed-and-defense player, Trammell is also off to a lousy start (1-for-13 with nine strikeouts, but four walks).

Andrew Vaughn, LF/1B, White Sox

The third-overall pick in the 2019 draft, the 23-year-old Vaughn was supposed to be the White Sox designated hitter this year, then Jiménez got hurt and the Sox decided to try him in left field. Then Mercedes got hot and locked him there, which means his complete lack of experience at the position could limit his playing time and the difficulty of learning a new position could undermine his hitting. He is just 1-for-11 with five strikeouts thus far, though he has drawn three walks.

Bruce Zimmermann, LHP, Orioles

This 26-year-old lefty is the other rookie in the Orioles rotation. He has a four-pitch mix and a low-90s fastball and is unlikely to be a significant factor in this race.

National League

Adbert Alzolay, RHP, Cubs

This 26-year-old Venezuelan righty got major-league looks in each of the last two seasons, but finally made the Opening Day rotation this year with his rookie eligibility intact. Unfortunately, in his season debut against the Brewers Tuesday night, he gave up a pair of homers totaling four runs in five innings.

Ian Anderson, RHP, Braves

Anderson was both the pitching and National League answer to Randy Arozarena last year, a late-arriving sensation during the regular season (1.95 ERA in six starts) and a full-blown star in the postseason (0.96 ERA in four starts). Anderson finished seventh in last year’s NL Rookie of the Year voting, but retains his eligibility and is off to a good start with seven strikeouts in five innings and just one run allowed in his season debut. He’s an early favorite to win this award. He’ll turn 23 in May.

Dylan Carlson, OF, Cardinals

Carlson is comparable to Anderson in that he both got significant major-league exposure last year (119 plate appearances), impressed in the postseason (3-for-9 with a double, a stolen base, and four walks) and ranks just outside of the top 10 in my averaging of this year’s top-100 prospect lists. The difference is that the 22-year-old Carlson didn’t hit much during the regular season last year and is off to a slow start again this year (2-for-15, though both hits have been home runs).

Jazz Chisholm, 2B, Marlins

Bahamian 23-year-old Jasrado Hermis Arrington Chisholm, the team’s lone return for righty Zac Gallen at the 2019 deadline, won the Marlins’ second-base job in camp, died his hair Marlins blue, and has already collected a double, a triple, two walks, and two stolen bases on the young season.

José De León, RHP, Reds

A Dodgers’ prospect nearly a decade ago, De León was traded to the Rays for Logan Forsythe before the 2017 season, had Tommy John surgery in March 2018, and was bought by the Reds after the 2019 campaign. He has appeared in parts of four other seasons, but for a total of just 29 2/3 innings. Finally healthy at 28, he made the Reds’ Opening Day rotation thanks to injuries to Sonny Gray and Michael Lorenzen and impressed with nine strikeouts against just two walks and two runs in five innings in his debut Monday night.

Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pirates

Charlie’s son hurt his wrist diving back to first base on Saturday and is on the 10-day injured list, but the 24-year-old is such a strong contender I had to include him here. A superlative defender at third base, Hayes finished sixth in last year’s NL voting after hitting .376/.442/.682 in 95 plate appearances. That’s pure small-sample fluke, and wrist injuries can have a deleterious effect on a player’s hitting, but there’s still a great deal of optimism about his potential in this race.

Jonathan India, 2B, Reds

The fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft, India proved to be the Reds’ solution to their failure to acquire a shortstop this offseason by winning the second-base job and pushing Mike Moustakas back to third and Eugenio Suárez back to shortstop. It remains to be seen if Suárez can uphold his part of that defensive rearrangement, but the 24-year-old India is proving he belongs, going 9-for-19 (.474) in the early going and demonstrating his excellent athleticism and baseball intelligence at the keystone.

Ha-Seong Kim, IF, Padres

A star shortstop in the Korea Baseball Organization, Kim signed a four-year, $28 million deal with the Padres this winter, but had a lousy camp and appeared to be squeezed into a bench/utility job by San Diego’s talented roster. Then Fernando Tatis Jr. got hurt (see Injured List below) opening up the shortstop job for the 25-year-old Kim, at least for a little while.

Dom Nuñez, C, Rockies

The 26-year-old Nuñez is nothing special, but he has the strong side of the Rockies’ catching platoon, so he bears watching.

Cristian Pache, CF, Braves

Regarded as an elite centerfielder, the 22-year-old Pache still has a thing or two to prove with the bat. He’s off to a slow start (2-for-14 with six strikeouts), but the bar for success is lower for him given his abilities in the field.

Geraldo Perdomo, SS, Diamondbacks

The 21-year-old Perdomo is getting an ahead-of-schedule opportunity to play shortstop in the majors during Nick Ahmed’s absence, but seems likely to return to the minors once Ahmed is healthy and ready to return.

Trevor Rogers, LHP, Marlins

The 13th-overall pick in 2017, Rogers was far better than his results in seven starts last year (ERA: 6.11; FIP: 4.33; DRA: 3.47). He walked too many Cardinals in his 2021 debut (four in four innings against six strikeouts), but the potential is there for the 23-year-old lefty to be a factor in this race, perhaps more so than his more highly regarded would-be rotation-mate Sixto Sánchez, who is likely to miss all of April with inflammation behind his pitching shoulder.

Taylor Widener, RHP, Diamondbacks

A 26-year-old former Yankee farmhand acquired in the three-team, February 2018 Steven Souza Jr./Brandon Drury trade, Widener claimed Zac Gallen’s vacated rotation spot and threw six scoreless frames in his first major-league start on Sunday, easily the best outing by any of the Diamondbacks’ starters the first time through their rotation.

Justin Williams, OF, Cardinals

While Harrison Bader is on the IL, Williams is the strong side of a right-field platoon, which gives him an opportunity to stake a claim for more playing time after Bader returns. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old Williams has started off 0-for-10 with six strikeouts.

Rooting for Laundry

Nike’s uniform shenanigans begin in Boston

I don’t follow the NFL or NBA, but as a fan of uniforms, I’m vaguely aware of the shenanigans Nike has been up to since taking over as the official uniform supplier of those two leagues in 2012 and ’17, respectively. In both cases, the manufacturer has mandated special alternate uniforms across the league. In the NFL, the big item has been color-rush uniforms, which put each team in solid-colored jerseys, pants, and socks for special color-on-color games. In the NBA, it has been city-edition uniforms and earned-edition uniforms, the latter a uniform teams “earn” via their play, both of which often diverge entirely from a team’s standard color scheme, typography, and iconography.

Nike became Major League Baseball’s official uniform provider last year (in case you somehow missed the obtrusive swish on the upper left chest of every player), and it was just a matter of time before they started with those shenanigans in baseball. Well, that time has come. According to MLB.com’s Michael Clair, seven teams will wear what Nike is calling “City Connect” uniforms at some point this year, with the rest of the league to follow in subsequent seasons. Via Clair, here are the dates each team will be debuting their new city-connect alternate:

• April 17: Red Sox

• May 21: Marlins

• June 5: White Sox

• June 12: Cubs

• June 18: Diamondbacks

• July 9: Giants

• Late-August: Dodgers

The Red Sox uniform, tied to the Boston Marathon and Patriots Day (which is April 19 this year), has been unveiled. Here’s a look:

MLB @MLB

The perfect look for Patriots’ Day weekend in Boston. Seven teams will debut Nike City Connect uniforms this season, beginning with the @RedSox.

Sigh. So, that’s not a Red Sox uniform. On a purely aesthetic level, I actually love the cap. Baby blue and yellow are a great color combination (think the NFL’s Chargers), one which a major-league team (*cough*Rays*cough*) should adopt full time. I could do without the white outline on the B, but I love the yellow button, and the blue B outlined in yellow on a blue cap reminds me of the great 1936–38 Boston Bees caps. The Bees, however, were the Braves, not the Red Sox.

Those colors are apparently the Boston Marathon’s official colors, which is news to me. The jersey, right down to the racing-bib patch on the left sleeve (featuring the Boston area code) reminds me more of the Tour de France, the leader of which wears a yellow jersey, than the Boston Marathon, whose runners have no assigned clothes or color scheme. The socks, which have a clashing Red Sox logo on the calf (and possibly only on the right calf?), are pure garbage, of course, because Stance made them and, at least when it comes to MLB on-field hosiery, Stance only makes garbage.

That’s all secondary to the fact that this is not in the Red Sox’s colors, nor does it use the Red Sox’s typography or iconography. It is, therefore, not a Red Sox uniform. There’s not even a Red Sox patch on the sleeve. If the Red Sox weren’t wearing this at home, you would have no idea what team the White Sox (their opponents for the two days the Bosox are scheduled to wear this) were playing. Is it an exhibition game against a local college or high school team?

In an MLB context, these uniforms will make the Red Sox look like the Rays wearing Boston Bees/Braves throwback caps and paying tribute to the Tour de France. Even at Fenway Park, the Red Sox won’t look like the Red Sox on April 17 and 18. Thankfully, on Patriots Day itself, the Sox will wear their now-traditional Boston strong jerseys (though I can’t understand why they haven’t added a blue outline to “Boston” on those jerseys; they look like cheap knockoffs without it).

Buckle up, uniform fans. This is only going to get worse.

Newswire

All-Star Game and amateur draft to be held in Denver, Colorado

That’ll work. Denver was due for another All-Star Game soon. The only All-Star Game ever held at Coors Field came back in 1998. Twenty-one other parks have hosted since, including the Braves’ Turner Field in 2000. Dodger Stadium, which was supposed to host the game last year, will be the site of the 2022 All-Star Game and festivities. The only snag here is that, by 2022, seven of the last six All-Star Games will have been held at National League parks. Of particular note, Camden Yards hasn’t hosted the game since 1993, the new Yankee Stadium, now in its 13th season, has yet to host the game (though the Yankees did host the 2008 All-Star Game), and Tropicana Field has never hosted the game (though, I’m fine with that). Citizens Bank Park, the only NL stadium other than the Braves’ Truist Park never to host the All-Star Game, will host in 2026 on the occasion of the United States’ semiquincentennial.

The Brewers have been vaccinated for COVID-19

Players are getting vaccinated, which is great news, primarily because anyone getting vaccinated is great news, but also because vaccinating players will prevent disruptions to the season such as the one that has bolloxed up the start of the Nationals’ season. Perhaps most importantly, players are public figures and can help fight vaccine hesitancy by both getting vaccinated and being public and outspoken about having done so, why they did so, and how safe and effective the vaccines are. The Brewers are currently the league leaders in this regard, as they got vaccinated as a team, getting the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and released a 30-second public service announcement to encourage vaccinations. The spot features Brent Suter, who caught the virus during the offseason, Keston Hiura, Freddy Peralta (speaking in Spanish), and Christian Yelich, and concludes with the tagline/hashtag “Let’s Crush Covid, Milwaukee” (#CrushCOVIDMke).

The Brewers won’t say if they have reached the 85 percent requirement to ease some of MLB’s COVID protocols (which I’m taking as a “no”), but this is still outstanding community leadership and an example the other 29 teams should follow.

Injured list

I didn’t clarify this on Monday, but my plan for this section in-season is to only include listings for players who have been placed on the injured list, not to chase every bump and bruise (thus the name change from “Aches and Pains”).

Fernando Tatis Jr.: slight tear in labrum in left shoulder

Tatis overextended his left shoulder on the follow through of a swing on Monday, suffered a partial and temporary separation, crumpled to the ground, and left the game in obvious pain. Separations in that shoulder are a chronic problem for Tatis, but a subsequent MRI revealed a “slight” labrum tear. The Padres say Tatis won’t require surgery and claim they are putting him on the IL “to be safe.” We all obviously want him to heal both quickly and fully, but I worry that those two things may be contradictory and just hope the Padres do the best thing for Tatis’s long-term health here.

Lefty-hitting centerfielder Brian O’Grady will take Tatis’s place on the roster. Ha-Seong Kim will fill in at shortstop in Tatis’s absence. The Padres now have 14 players on the injured list, including their starting shortstop (Tatis), catcher (Austin Nola), and centerfielder (Trent Grisham), their ace from a year ago (Dinelson Lamet), and two of the better relievers on last year’s team (righty Pierce Johnson and lefty Matt Strahm).

Nationals place nine players on COVID-19 injured list

In order to start their season, the Nationals had to place nine players on the COVID-19 injured list. That group includes both of their catchers, their starting first baseman, second baseman, left fielder, 40 percent of their starting rotation, and their closer. Here’s the full list of sidelined players and their replacements:

It is not known which of those players tested positive for COVID-19, which were merely exposed, and when any of them might return. It’s interesting to note, however, that, of the eight new faces on the Nationals’ intended Opening Day roster, six of them are now on the COVID IL, almost completely wiping out their offseason, at least for Opening Day. Only infielder Hernán Pérez and lefty Luis Avilán remain active among the team’s new additions.

Here’s the lineup the Nats ran out on Tuesday:

1. R – Victor Robles (CF)

2. R – Trea Turner (SS)

3. L – Juan Soto (RF)

4. R – Ryan Zimmerman (1B)

5. R – Starlin Castro (3B)

6. R – Hernán Pérez (2B)

7. L – Andrew Stevenson (LF)

8. R – Jonathan Lucroy (C)

9. R – Max Scherzer (P)

Daniel Hudson will close, and Erick Fedde and Austin Voth are the top candidates to take Corbin and Lester’s spots in the rotation following Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Joe Ross. The Nationals will play a double-header today to makeup their cancelled game with the Braves from Monday, with Fedde starting Game 1 and Strasburg the nightcap. The three cancelled games from their season-opening series against the Mets will be made up later in the year.

Rays RHP Chaz Roe: right shoulder strain (60-day IL)

Roe will be completely shut down for six weeks, after which he’ll be reevaluated and have to resume a throwing program. The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin thinks that means Roe could be out 12 weeks, which puts a potential return at the end of June. With Nick Anderson out through at least the All-Star break with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, and lefty Ryan Sherriff having stepped away from the game entirely, the depth of the Rays’ bullpen is being tested early. Chris Mazza, the 31-year-old righty with the low-90s sinker who was acquired from the Red Sox in February, will replace Roe in the ‘pen for now.

Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier: left quad strain

The ever-fragile Kiermaier is back on the IL. Manuel Margot will play center in his absence, making room for Austin Meadows in right. The biggest increase in playing time will likely go to Yandy Díaz, as Meadows’ deployment in the outfield opens up the designated hitter position.

Third baseman Kevin Padlo will replace Kiermaier on the roster. Still just 24, Padlo was acquired from the Rockies in the January 2016 move that sent Jake McGee and Germán Márquez to Colorado for Corey Dickerson. Padlo hit .265/.389/.538 with 21 homers and 12 stolen bases in 432 plate appearances split between Double- and Triple-A in 2019 and is a career .244/.359/.441 hitter in the minors. He has never appeared in the majors before.

Marlins RHP Elieser Hernández: right biceps inflammation

Hernández’s velocity was down a bit in his first start on Saturday, and he lasted just 2 1/3 innings before being pulled. The Marlins have yet to speculate as to how long he’ll be out, but with Sixto Sánchez dealing with inflammation in the back of his pitching shoulder, and an apparent innings limit, the Marlins’ young rotation, the team’s best feature, isn’t likely to be whole for a while. The team has called up 24-year-old righty Nick Neidert, who should get a chance to take Hernández’s place in the rotation.

A’s UT Chad Pinder: sprained left knee

A’s RHP Burch Smith: right groin strain

A’s LHP Reymin Guduan: sprained left thumb

Pinder suffered his injury in a collision with the Coliseum’s outfield wall on Sunday. Guduan hurt his thumb in a collision with Cody Bellinger at first base on Monday. Smith’s injury was less spectacular. The A’s used Pinder’s roster spot to add lefty A.J. Puk to their bullpen. Puk threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief in the A’s loss to the Dodgers on Monday. Righty Jordan Weems replaces Smith in the Oakland bullpen, and with Puk already effectively replacing Guduan, the A’s have used Guduan’s injury as a way to add lefty-hitting outfielder Seth Brown to restore balance to the roster.

Diamondbacks RHP Joakim Soria: left calf strain

This offseason, Arizona signed Tyler Clippard and Joakim Soria, two veteran righties who, combined, had appeared in 1,509 major league games prior to this year. They got one game out of Soria (four batters, two outs), and now both of those guys are on the IL. To replace Soria, the D’backs have called up righty Matt Peacock, a 27-year-old minor-league starter who has never pitched about Double-A, was not at the alternate training site last year, and appeared in just one Cactus League game this spring.

Orioles OF Austin Hays: right hamstring strain

Hays hurt his hamstring diving back into second base in Sunday’s game. The Orioles say his injury is minor and that Hays will return relatively promptly. Outfielder Ryan McKenna will take his place on the roster for now.

Transaction Reactions

Speaking of clarifying, this space will mostly be for moves that involve players switching organizations and being added to their new team’s 40-man roster. So, minor league deals, such as the Yankees’ reported signing of lefty Mike Montgomery, won’t be included. I also do not intend to catalogue all of the roster churn of seventh and eighth relievers being farmed out to Triple-A for a fresh arm. However, if there is a notable demotion or promotion, such as the Mariners calling up top prospect Jarred Kelenic (which hasn’t happened, just to be clear), that will find its way into the newsletter, be it here or on the Newswire.

Braves acquire SS Orlando Arcia from Brewers for RHPs Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka

The Brewers had reportedly been interested in trading Arcia for a while, but the timing of this move is quite surprising. Arcia lost his shortstop job to Luis Urías in camp, but still started three of the Brewers’ first four games this year (one at shortstop, two ahead of Travis Shaw at third base). Then again, Arcia went 1-for-9 in those games, and the Brewers lost all three.

Considered an elite shortstop prospect in the middle of the last decade, Arcia never figured out how to hit big-league pitching, batting .244/.293/.364 (72 OPS+) over parts of six seasons with the Brewers, and his fielding had declined in recent years such that, outside of an encouraging showing as a sophomore in 2017, he has been a roughly replacement-level player during the regular season. His saving grace has been his overall athleticism, enthusiasm, and a .295/.311/.568 batting line in 45 postseason plate appearances. Still just 26, Arcia arrives in Atlanta with two years of team control remaining (this and next) and what appears to be a future as a utility infielder.

For a debatable upgrade on Johan Camargo, the Braves help the Brewers with their bullpen depth, sending over the 26-year-old Weigel and 27-year-old Sobotka. Sobotka, who is now less likely to be confused for Mike Soroka but perhaps more likely to be the target of Wire-related jokes, is a mid-90s fastball/slider righty with the usual three-true-outcome tendencies. In 47 major-league innings, he has walked 30 and struck out 61, but his 4.12 career deserved run average is quite a bit better than his 5.36 ERA, so perhaps there’s some upside there. The 6-foot-6 Weigel is a minor-league starter who made his lone major-league appearance last year (it didn’t go well). He also throws in the mid 90s with a slider and changeup. Look for the Brewers to convert Weigel to relief full-time to see if they can unlock his potential, which does not appear evident from his work as a starter.

For now, Sobotka and Weigel will report to the alternate training camp, while veteran righty Brad Boxburger, who closed out Tuesday night’s win over the Cubs, will take Arcia’s spot on the Brewers’ active roster.

Yankees acquire 2B Rougned Odor from Rangers for OFs Josh Stowers and Antonio Cabello

Odor is headed for a shave and a significant overhauling of his swing and plate approach, I assume, because his career .289 on-base percentage doesn’t fit the Yankees’ way of doing things terribly well, though his natural talent and left-handed power does. Perhaps the Yankees think they can Gio-Urshela Odor, but Urshela, a career .225/.274/.315 hitter before he arrived in the Bronx, had just 499 major-league plate appearances prior to joining the Yankees, and the Yankees got him as a minor leaguer, with 100-plus minor-league PAs plus an offseason and Spring Training to work on revamping his hitting. The 27-year-old Odor has 3,434 career plate appearances in the majors under his belt and is headed directly for the active roster.

Over the past four seasons, Odor has hit .215/.279/.418 (77 OPS+). Per Baseball-Reference’s WAR, he was below replacement level in three of those four seasons. He has also never played a position other than second base in a regular-season major-league game. It would be quite a trick for the Yankees to get much value out of him. Odor was under contract to the Rangers through 2022 with a club option for 2023. Texas effectively ate that money ($27 million including the 2023 buyout) when they designated him for assignment. Per Jon Heyman, the Yankees will pay Odor the league minimum this year and (if he lasts that long) next. The Yankees designated infielder Thairo Estrada for assignment and optioned righty Michael King to make room for Odor.

Heading the other way, Stowers was the Mariners’ second-round pick in 2018 and is already on his third organization (the Yankees got him in the pair of deals that sent Sonny Gray to the Reds and Shed Long Jr. to the Mariners). A University of Louisville product, the righty-hitting centerfielder is already 24, has yet to play above A-ball, and was not at the Yankees’ alternate training site last year, so it’s unclear what the Rangers have in him. The same goes for Cabello, a short, right-handed-hitting Venezuelan 20-year-old who has yet to play above rookie ball. The Rangers appear to want to convert to catching, as they announced him as “OF-C Antonio Cabello” on twitter.

Pirates purchase RHP Kyle Keller from the Angels

A righty reliever who will turn 28 later this month, Keller throws a low- to mid-90s fastball and a curve, but struggles with his control. In 13 major-league innings, he has walked 10 men. He’ll head directly to the Pirates’ alternate training site.

Padres acquire RHP James Norwood from Cubs for RHP Dauris Valdez

A 27-year-old righty reliever, Norwood throws an upper-90s sinker, a splitter, and a slider. He, too, has control problems, with 14 walks in 22 career major-league innings, and will head directly to the Padres’ alternate training site. Valdez is a 25-year-old, 6-foot-8, non-roster righty reliever from the Dominican Republic. He topped out at Double-A in 2019, where his walks and strikeouts were plentiful, and did not play last year other than two appearances for Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Winter league.

Giants claimed OF Skye Bolt off waivers from the A’s

The fabulously named Skye Bolt is a 27-year-old switch-hitting centerfielder who went 1-for-10 in his only major-league opportunity, in 2019, and spent last year at the A’s alternate training site. He’s a career .249/.335/.426 hitter in the minors with speed and 15-homer power

Rays claim C Deivy Grullón off waivers from the Reds

Grullón has been a waiver-wire hot potato of late, going from the Phillies to the Red Sox in September, the Red Sox to the Reds in December, and now from the Reds to the Rays. The 25-year-old right-handed hitter has a career .253/.305/.405 line in the minors and is 2-for-12 in the majors, but he has some pop, hitting 21 home runs in each of his last two minor-league seasons and slugging .495 in 899 combined plate appearances in Double- and Triple-A.

The Cycle Book Club

Clubbie: A Minor League Baseball Memoir by Greg Larson

Clubbie is first-time author Greg Larson’s memoir of the two summers he spent as the clubhouse attendant for the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Cal Ripken-owned short-season A-ball affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, in 2012 and ’13. It is an extremely low-stakes memoir. Not much happens to Larson or the team. Several familiar major-leaguers pass through, particularly in the latter season, but they’re not major characters in the narrative. The Larson of the book is a kid fresh out of college just looking to scheme his way through a couple of years while he figures out what he really wants to do with his life. He has a long-distance girlfriend whom he takes for granted and makes no attempt to dissuade from her impression that he is an aimless layabout with a ratty mustache just trying to hang onto a childhood fantasy for another year or two.

That may not sound terribly appealing, but Larson is an engaging writer, and the book is a light, easy read, a perfect beach book for a baseball fan like myself, who would rather spend some time in the shoes of a minor-league clubbie than trying to sort out the various characters and plot twists of a novel. Larson succeeds in bringing the reader right into the IronBirds’ clubhouse, and the characters he does draw—primarily the trainer, managers, coaches, a front-office nemesis, the one or two no-name players he befriends, and his girlfriend—he draws well.

In the acknowledgements, Larson thanks someone for “helping me realize I was the main character of this story,” which betrays the fact that he didn’t originally conceive the book that way. The book benefits from that. You ride along with Larson, but he is, in truth, not the focus of the book. He does occasionally share a little too much about his relationship with his girlfriend, but you are observing the world of the IronBirds through Larson’s eyes, not observing Larson in the world of the IronBirds. Larson is technically the main character, but it can be argued that Larson himself prefers to shine the spotlight on IronBirds pitching coach Alan Mills, the long-time Orioles reliever who is the most entertaining character in the book.

Mills is the one guy in the IronBirds clubhouse who has lived the dream. He spent 12 years in the majors, pitched in two postseasons, was teammates with Ripken for nine years, and once cleaned Darryl Strawberry’s clock in the Yankee Stadium dugout. In Larson’s portrayal, Mills is gruff but warm, brusque but engaging. He teaches with tough love and pithy wisdom and calls everyone “Meat.” He’s the heart of the book.

For Larson, however, the heart of the book is found in the few moments when he gets to stop assembling budget buffets and laundering jock straps and participate in actual baseball activities. On one occasion, he warms up the IronBirds’ right fielder with a game of catch between innings because none of the pitchers in the bullpen can be bothered to do it. For them, it’s a chore. For him, it’s a dream come true, to step out onto that grass, under the lights, with a crowd in the stands, and play catch. On another occasion, the manager and one of the coaches get a bit tipsy after a game, invite Larson into the batting cage, and fix his swing in a matter of seconds. Later on, he gets to try his new swing out against Mills during on-field batting practice, though Mills makes a point to remind Larson just how far away he is from being able to hit actual professional pitching.

Larson communicates these moments, and all of those in between, beautifully. He is prone to overwriting a bit at the ends of the chapters and in the book’s closing passage. He has the chops to do it, but the change in tone is sudden and calls attention to itself. I could have done with less detail about the girlfriend, though he doesn’t spend much time on the relationship, and I would have like to have gotten to know some of the players a bit more. The 2013 team featured Trey Mancini, Mike Yastrzemski, Steven Brault, Hunter Harvey, Jimmy Yacabonis, and Donnie Hart, among others. They make their appearances, but most of those are on the field. Still, that absense makes clear the distance that exists between the clubbie and the players, particularly when the players are all fresh out of school and just passing through.

Larson’s author bio describes him as an “author, editor, and stand-up comedian” (note that he is not Greg Larsen, this is Larson with an “o”) but you wouldn’t guess the last from reading the book, even though there’s some mention of it in the beginning. He’s not going for laughs, he’s going for truth, down to the economic hardships of the players and the racists attitudes toward Latin players, but this isn’t some scandalous tell-all, either. It’s just a good, enjoyable read about the far-from-glamourous life of a minor-league baseball team and its fake-it-till-you-make-it clubbie. I always say the best baseball books are about the losers. Clubbie isn’t going to make anyone’s best list, but it succeeds via that philosophy and is a welcome addition to my library.

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Closing Credits

According to Larson, the two big jams in the 2013 IronBirds’ clubhouse were Miley Cyrus’s “We Can’t Stop” and Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness,” which . . . meh. I find 2010s pop so depressing. It’s no wonder everyone lost their minds over 2012’s “Call Me Maybe,” which isn’t even all that great (give me Carly Rae’s “I Really Like You,” instead).

I suppose I shouldn’t be such a grumpy old man. There were plenty of quality pop hits (and semi-hits) in those years: Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun,” Lorde’s “Royals,” Katy Perry’s “Roar,” Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” and “Mirrors,” Janelle Monáe’s “Electric Lady,” David Bowie’s “The Stars (Are Out Tonight),” “Gangnam Style,” the Frozen soundtrack. That said, combing through 2012–13’s big pop hits, the one that suits our purposes best today is fun.’s “We Are Young.”

The 2012 and ’13 IronBirds were young, as was their clubbie and future chronicler. This year’s major-league rookies are young (well, most of them; Hirokazu Sawamura is 33). All of them (the IronBirds, 2013’s Larson, this year’s rookies save Sawamura), were actually quite a bit younger than the members of fun.

When “We Are Young” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012, lead singer Nathaniel Ruess was 30. Guitarist Jack Antonoff was 28. Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost was 29. Producer Jeff Bhasker, who got a co-writing credit, was 38. The youngest person on the track is guest vocalist Janelle Monáe, who was 26 and got a featuring credit despite being largely wasted.

The song, which was inescapable at the time, so much so that I hesitated to use it here, has the melancholy uplift of a movie about the last days of some youthful endeavor, be it senior year of high school or college or the like.

Tonight, we are young

So, let’s set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun

At first glance, that reads like a celebratory chorus, but the fact that the moment is fleeting, that the potential may not be realized, is heavy in every line. Tonight we are young (but that won’t last). Let’s set the world on fire (because we haven’t done it yet). We can burn brighter than the sun (but will we?). We have so much potential, but brighter than the sun . . . that’s a lot. Not everyone gets there.

Of the 62 youngsters on the 2012 IronBirds, only five ever reached the majors, and those guys were mostly just passing through (Christian Walker for 22 games, Josh Hader for 8 1/3 innings, Kevin Gausman for two starts). Of the nearly 100 rookies on major-league rosters as the 2021 season starts, only a fraction of them will stick around, and only a fraction of those will become stars.

Fun. burned brighter than the sun with that one song, which also won the Grammy for Song of the Year, but that was where their story ended. “We Are Young” was on their second album, Some Nights. They never made another. Antonoff has since had a successful career as a songwriter, collaborating with Taylor Swift, St. Vincent, Lorde, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sara Bareilles, and Lana Del Rey, among others, and won three more Grammys, including as a producer and co-writer on Swift’s 2020 pandemic album, Folklore. Ruess and Dost have gone on to solo careers of little note. Dost’s Wikipedia page says he makes music for dogs.

In 2013, I had prime real estate in the Citi Field press box for the All-Star events and got to see Yoenis Cespedes win the Home Run Derby, Matt Harvey start for the National League, José Fernández make his All-Star debut, and Prince Fielder hit a triple. Time is relentless.

The Cycle will return tomorrow with a summary of this week’s series and a look ahead to the weekend’s action.

In the meantime: