National League notes
Arizona:
There’s been speculation in the industry on whether LHP Jordan Montgomery’s decision to leave agent Scott Boras would have an impact on any of his other clients. Montgomery signed a deal with the defending National League champions on March 26, two days before the 2024 season started. It was not seen as much of a win in Montgomery’s eyes, however. The move comes after this deal that Montgomery “won” was for just one year. It was for $25 million guaranteed this season, with a vesting option for next season that could amount to up to $25 million again, but many expected Montgomery to be able to land a long-term deal that was much more lucrative. Montgomery is set to make his season debut this week.
Atlanta: Fans were trying to run DH Marcell Ozuna out of town a year ago, imploring the front office to release him. These days? Ozuna is hitting .373 with seven homers, 21 RBI and a 1.19 OPS. Since May 1 last season, Ozuna had 46 homers and 119 RBI.
Chicago: LHP Ken Holtzman, a twotime All-Star and three-time World Series champion with the Oakland Athletics, has died at 78. Holtzman’s death was confirmed April 15 by the Cubs in a post on social media. Holtzman’s brother, Bob, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Holtzman was battling heart issues and was hospitalized for three weeks before dying. Holtzman played 15 seasons in the major leagues from 1965 to 1979, beginning and ending his career with the Cubs. Holtzman teamed with Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins to turn the Cubs from a 103-loss last-place squad in 1966 to playoff contenders over the next five seasons. During that span, Holtzman threw a pair of no-hitters.
Cincinnati: Maybe it’s worth asking three turns through the rotation: Do the Reds have the best pitching staff that nobody’s talking about? Graham Ashcraft pitched two outs deep into the sixth inning Sunday as the Reds finished off a sweep of the White Sox. With a mere 90% of the season left to play, the Reds rotation left Chicago – and the steaming rubble of the White Sox lineup – with a top-five starting rotation WAR in the majors, a 3.66 rotation ERA and an overall sub-4.00 staff ERA. That included a pitching-led first-ever three-game sweep of the White Sox by the Reds over the weekend in which the Reds outscored the Sox 27-5.
Colorado: Kris Bryant continues to worry the Rockies with his struggles. He was hitting just .149 with one home run and six RBI, while striking out 33% of the time. He also has five years remaining on his seven-year, $182 million contract . ... Entering the week, April 8 was the only time in 16 games this season the Rockies had scored first in a game.
Los Angeles: Major League Baseball is expected to quickly interview and clear Shohei Ohtani of any wrongdoing once the federal government’s investigation is complete. Ohtani appears to be guilty of only having a poor taste in friends and being naive to his finances. Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s interpreter, on the other hand, faces a potential lifetime ban from the sport. Mizuhara, who allegedly stole $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to cover gambling losses, surrendered to authorities and was ordered not to contact Ohtani while immediately undergoing gambling addiction treatment . ... Ohtani was thrilled to learn that he tied former slugger Hideki Matsui for the most homers by a Japanese-born major league player with his 175th career homer last week . ... Super utilityman Chris Taylor, 33, opened the season in a 1-for-32 skid (.031) with 17 strikeouts.
Miami: It’s hard to believe that Giancarlo Stanton has hit the most home runs in a Marlins uniform since 2017. He has been a Yankee since 2018. The next highest totals were Brian Anderson with 57 homers and Jazz Chisholm with 55.
Milwaukee: Odell Jones, who once threw a near no-hitter in a memorable 1988 game for the Brewers, has died at 71, according to longtime Pittsburgh Pirates writer John Perrotto. For one magical night with the Brewers on May 28, 1988, Jones was nearly unhittable. Facing Cleveland, Jones struck out Dave Clark for the first out of the ninth inning with a no-hitter intact, but future big-league manager Ron Washington singled on a 1-1 pitch. Future Brewer Julio Franco followed with a single against reliever Dan Plesac, but Plesac got the save in a 2-0 Brewers win. The 35-year-old Jones worked 81⁄3 innings and was visibly out of gas. He wasn’t supposed to start the game at all and was appointed as a spot starter. Jones was given a follow-up start but didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, and he was sent back to the bullpen as a long reliever thereafter.
New York: After a long-checkered history with substance abuse and runins with law enforcement, Gooden admittedly was not so sure he would ever be honored by the Mets franchise. After several years clean, Gooden finally saw his No. 16 raised to the rafters at Citi Field before the team’s game with the Royals on April 14. Gooden captivated the fan base from his first pitch as a teenager in 1984 when he struck out a career-high 276 batters, got stronger and added a Cy Young Award one year later and a World Series title the year after that. Gooden spent his first 11 of 19 MLB seasons with the Mets, where he sits second all time in wins (157) and strikeouts (1,875).
Philadelphia: Phillies RF Nick Castellanos, 32, is getting heavily booed with great consternation in Philadelphia. He badly struggled in the NLCS last season, hitting a homer in his first at-bat, and then ended the season hitless in his final 23 at-bats with 11 strikeouts. It’s been the same at the start of this season. He is hitting .190, striking out 16 times. He has been badly struggling to hit breaking balls.
Pittsburgh: The Pirates placed LHP Marco Gonzales on the 15-day injured list April 14 with a left forearm muscle strain. The Pirates recalled RHP Ryder Ryan from Class AAA Indianapolis to take the place of Gonzales, who has a 2.65 ERA without recording a decision in three starts this season, his first with Pittsburgh. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington confirmed right-hander Paul Skenes is not an option to be called up at this time. Skenes was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB draft out of LSU. “We don’t want to go from zero to 100 right away,” Cherington said. “Paul is so important to us long term, and we want to be thoughtful about that. We scheduled the early part of the season to try to make sure he’s hitting a total volume mark for 2024 that makes sense.”
St. Louis: The timing has been out of sync for Cardinals veterans Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt, 37, was hitting .193 with one extra-base hit and 19 strikeouts in his first 57 at-bats. Arenado, who turned 33 on April 16, was hitting .273 but slugging just .379, finally hitting his first home run last week since Aug. 19. Just two years ago, Goldschmidt and Arenado finished first and third in the MVP balloting. “It pisses me off when everyone talks about the age part,” Arenado said, “because we know physically we don’t feel that way. We’re really hard on ourselves and expect to do great things. And when you struggle, age is always talked about. Listen, I’ve gotten off to slow starts the last two years, and it’s frustrating. I don’t know what it is. When I was younger, I had a few years when I really got off to really good starts. And as I’ve gotten older, it’s always been a little harder to get going. Who knows why, but I feel just fine.”
San Diego: The easiest pitcher to scout these days may be Padres closer Robert Suárez. In his last three outings entering April 13, Suárez had thrown 45 pitches. All 45 have been fastballs. Yet he gave up just two hits in those 32⁄3 innings.
San Francisco: LHP Blake Snell allowed seven earned runs in four innings at Tampa Bay on April 14 and had given up 10 earned runs over seven innings this season. “It’s not often that you see him get (hit) hard,” San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said of Snell. “He’ll give up some walks and get nicked up a bit, but it’s rare that you see him get hit like that, and I think that’s just more him feeling his way out.” After three seasons with the Padres, Snell signed with the Giants on March 19 for two years, $62 million, truncating his time in spring training.
Washington: LHP Mitchell Parker, the No. 21 prospect in the organization per MLB Pipeline, was called up April 14 from Class AAA Rochester (N.Y.). Parker made one start for the Red Wings, allowing an unearned run in four innings. He went 9-7 with a 4.72 ERA last year, shuttling between Double-A and Triple-A, and was in the team’s major league camp during spring training. Parker fills the spot of injured RHP Josiah Gray (right elbow/forearm flexor strain) in the rotation.