National League notes
Arizona: OF Corbin Carroll, last year’s NL Rookie of the Year, has badly struggled and was demoted in the lineup. He was hitting just .189 with a .531 OPS and only three extra-base hits entering the week. His .253 slugging percentage is his worst in a 24-game span. Still, scouts say they really haven’t noticed anything drastically different in his approach and say it’s foolish for anyone to be alarmed.
Atlanta: So, just how deep and talented is Atlanta? All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies went on the injured list with a broken toe and Atlanta still went 7-1 without him. Atlanta entered the week with baseball’s best record, 19-7, having played 20 games against four of last year’s postseason teams: the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Astros and Rangers. The Braves went 10-2 in those games, and those two losses were by a combined three runs . ... Remember when Marcell Ozuna’s four-year, $64 million contract looked like one of the worst in baseball, particularly after he hit .085 with a .397 OPS last April? Ozuna entered the week hitting .340 and ranked first in the majors in slugging percentage (.670) and second in OPS (1.086). Atlanta, which at one point couldn’t wait to be rid of his contract, now can’t wait to pick up that $16 million option in 2025.
Chicago: While Yoshinobu Yamamoto attracted one of the fiercest bidding wars in decades and free agent pitchers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery commanded the headlines, easily the best free agent pitching acquisition so far has been LHP Shota Imanaga of the Cubs. He has been phenomenal, going 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA, striking out 28 batters in 272⁄3 innings, yielding a .181 batting average. He’s the first starter since Dave Ferriss in 1945 to win at least four of his first five career games with a sub-1.00 ERA. Imanaga has a guaranteed $53 million over four years, paying him just $10 million this year and $13 million in 2025. Imanaga has an opt-out after the 2025 season, but the Cubs also have the right to give him a three-year, $57 million extension after 2025 . ... Kudos to MLB for making the schedule change two years ago where every team plays in a city at least once every two years. It’s ridiculous the Cubs had not played at Fenway Park since 2017 before last weekend.
Cincinnati: SS Elly De La Cruz, the most exciting young player in the game, is having an April to remember, hitting .281 with seven home runs and 18 stolen bases. At press time, he had more stolen bases than 16 entire MLB teams. The only player with at least seven homers and 17 stolen bases in a single month is Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who had seven homers and 20 stolen bases in May 1986.
Colorado: In need of offense, the Rockies were set to call up top outfield prospect Jordan Beck at press time, multiple outlets reported. Beck, 23, was a first-round draft pick (No. 38 overall) by the Rockies in 2022 and was set to make his major league debut. He was batting .307 with a .999 OPS in 25 games at Class AAA Albuquerque (N.M.), hitting five home runs with 28 RBI. Colorado was 20th in the major leagues with a .376 slugging percentage heading into in the week and 27th with 22 home runs. The Rockies were just 3-11 since April 13 and had yet to win consecutive games this season at press time.
Los Angeles: Shohei Ohtani, who’s projected to earn $65 million in endorsements this season, just signed a longterm contract with Rapsodo to be its new technology ambassador. No word on how much deferred money is involved with $68 million of his $70 million annual salary with the Dodgers deferred for 10 years.
Miami: The hits keep coming for the Marlins, who are now without four of their five starters with Jesus Luzardo now sidelined because of an elbow injury. They already are without ace Sandy Alcantara and prized prospect Eury Pérez, who underwent Tommy John surgery. And Braxton Garrett hasn’t pitched this season because of shoulder problems.
Milwaukee: Tough to see perhaps the end of the line for Brewers starter Wade Miley, who will undergo Tommy John surgery at 37. While he acknowledged before the diagnosis that he would definitely retire if he needed surgery, he says he’ll now delay making a decision until he’s recovered in 2025 or 2026.
New York: Pete Alonso blasted his way into the Mets history books April 27 against the Cardinals at Citi Field. The Mets first baseman reached out and clubbed an outside sinker from starter Sonny Gray over the wall in right-center field for the 200th home run of his career. The two-run shot helped Alonso become just the fourth Mets player in history to hit 200 home runs in his career, joining Darryl Strawberry (252), David Wright (242) and Mike Piazza (220). “It’s a really special moment,” Alonso said. “I know we were just trying to get back in the game there, and it felt really nice to connect and inch us a little closer. It was a really good swing, and I felt really good about it when it left the bat.”
Philadelphia: Bryson Stott acknowledged that the Phillies have a problem heading into this week’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. After winning four games in a row and 11 of their past 13, Stott said he and his Phillies teammates simply could not identify one primary reason for all of the success. Turns out, it’s a good problem. “Every day, every night, it’s a new pitcher shutting down an inning,” Stott said. “It’s a new hitter driving guys in. That’s what you need as a team, one through nine, and winning all types of different games. ... Learning how to win each type of game is huge.” The Phillies opened their final series of a 10-game road trip with a 5-2 record against the Reds and Padres as they enter the final three games before returning home. The Phillies were 9-4 on the road.
Pittsburgh: The Pirates have seen their bullpen struggle, completing only 9 of 17 save chances. Aroldis Chapman, 36, a free agent signing, has been shaky. In his latest outing before press time (April 26), he gave up a single and two walks. Chapman, however, escaped unscathed after third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes made a rally-killing play on a hot shot by Jorge Soler that appeared headed for the left-field corner. The scoreless inning lowered Chapman’s ERA to 6.00. “It looks like he’s just moving a little fast,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Chapman. “This guy is a veteran; he’s done it. It looks like he is rushing his delivery. It’s like he (goes) back to get more (at times) and we know he doesn’t have to go back to get more. It’s just slowing him down a little bit.”
St. Louis: RHP Kyel Gibson has been sharp in his last two outings. He held Milwaukee to one run in six innings on
April 19, then did the same against Arizona last week. Gibson settled down after the first three Diamondbacks batters reached base. That’s when Arizona scored its lone run off him. “I’m not going to say never, but I rarely ever pitch well angry,” he said. “I’ve got to kind of center myself and understand that when I pitch angry, I normally kind of overcook pitches and overthrow, and that’s not good for me. I’ve got to stay smooth, stay focused and clear-minded. For me, I need to read swings, read takes and remember my (scouting) report. If I’m thinking something else, I’ve got no chance.”
San Diego: OF Tommy Pham was asked by reporters his first day with the White Sox why he chose to sign there. Was it the opportunity to be an everyday player? Was it being able to live and play in beautiful Chicago? Nope. “Just came down to one,’’ he told reporters. “The economics.” He nearly signed with the Padres, but when they didn’t increase their offer, he signed a prorated $3 million deal with the White Sox that includes a $500,000 bonus if they trade him, as expected, at the July deadline. Don’t be surprised if the Padres try to deal for him ahead of the July 30 deadline . ... There are growing concerns about veterans Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove and their diminished velocity. Darvish, 37, who’s on the IL for the fifth time in the last four years, is 0-1 with a 4.18 ERA in five starts while Musgrove, 31, is 3-3 with a 6.94 ERA.
San Francisco: Considering that Giants starter Blake Snell (0-3, 11.57 ERA) is now out for several weeks with a strained adductor muscle, he’s going to need a sensational final four months if he still plans to opt out of his contract. He’s scheduled to earn $30 million in 2025.
Washington: Nick Senzel homered twice and drove in five runs as the visiting Washington Nationals rallied from a giant deficit to beat the Miami Marlins 12-9 April 28. The Marlins blew a 7-0 second-inning lead and lost their sixth straight game. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a grand slam that was part of the Marlins’ six-run first inning, but Senzel’s threerun homer in the fifth put the Nationals ahead for good at 9-7. “I don’t think we flinched . ... Everyone’s telling me I’m a home run hitter – I don’t feel like that,” Senzel said, according to The Washington Post. “I’ve just been trying to take advantage of the mistakes they give me and stay aggressive. When you stay aggressive, good things happen.”