Mariners Moose Tracks, 8/30/23: Andrés Muñoz, Josh Donaldson, and the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim)
The Angels have hit the eject button.
Hello everyone! Let’s get into the latest from around baseball.
In Mariners news...
- Every Julio Rodríguez fun fact is turning into the same fun fact, but boy is that fact fun.
Entering August, Julio Rodríguez was tied for 14th in hits in the AL.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 29, 2023
As of Tuesday, Rodríguez leads the AL in hits.
According to @EliasSports, since 1900, Rodríguez would be just the 3rd player to lead his league in hits after trailing the leader by 35 at any point in season. pic.twitter.com/l6vRQZYbc3
- Daniel Kramer spoke to Andrés Muñoz about how he tweaked his slider to find recent success.
- The Mariners have been great throughout the organization this year! The A’s, less so.
Organizational run differentials this season (across all levels) pic.twitter.com/70xHfu3KBR
— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) August 29, 2023
- Ever wanted to hit some golf balls at T-Mobile Park? Now is your chance! Upper Deck Golf is coming to the ballpark this fall.
Around the league...
- Just a few weeks after trading multiple top prospects to secure rental players for a playoff run, the Angels are reversing course — placing several everyday players including Lucas Giolito, Hunter Renfroe, and Randal Grichuk on waivers in the hopes that someone will claim their contracts and get the Angels under the luxury tax threshold.
- This is perhaps the craziest Shohei Ohtani stat, to me. But perhaps it really just says more about the instability of the Angels lineup and the number of players they’ve cycled through in the last few years.
Shohei Ohtani - career runs scored by who drove him in
— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) August 29, 2023
Himself - 171
Jared Walsh - 25
Anthony Rendon - 21
Mike Trout - 17
Taylor Ward - 17
No RBI - 15
Andrelton Simmons - 12
Luis Rengifo - 12
Albert Pujols - 11
Justin Upton - 11
- After multiple years of middling production and a personality that has turned even his own fans against him, Josh Donaldson has been released by the Yankees.
- Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman are both headed to the injured list, hampering one of the two teams that could realistically knock the Mariners out of the playoff picture (the other being the Red Sox).
- Speaking of the Sox, young stud outfielder Jarren Duran will undergo toe surgery, ending his season.
- The Rays have agreed to a major league contract with right-hander Chris Devenski.
- Well, the White Sox do not appear to be committed to a true top-down organizational reset.
The White Sox are likely to promote their next head of baseball operations from within, multiple people in the industry said today.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 29, 2023
Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn were dismissed one week ago today; @BNightengale has reported that Chris Getz is the top internal candidate.
- Speaking of the White Sox, this story keeps getting stranger.
As I reported on @ESPN1000 just now… the shooting at Guaranteed Rate Field during a #WhiteSox game was indeed an accidental discharge by one of the women “grazed” by the bullet. She reportedly snuck the gun in past metal detectors hiding it in the folds of her belly fat.
— Peggy Kusinski (@peggykusinski) August 29, 2023
- Baseball is back, baby!
Strong viewership numbers for the August 27 edition of #SundayNightBaseball on ESPN
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) August 29, 2023
⚾️ Atlanta Braves vs San Francisco Giants
⬆️ 50% from last year's comparable game
⬆️ Averaged 1,717,000 viewers
More: https://t.co/3TGQzGHEOL pic.twitter.com/XHHVtvB3hp
- Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs argues for the usefulness of xStats when looking at a player’s statistical profile.