ReportWire

Tag: padres

  • Taking measure of playoff teams with the most work to do this offseason

    [ad_1]

    (Photo credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images)

    The baseball offseason waits for no one.

    Opt-outs, managerial hirings and free agent filings are the talk of the day a mere five nights after one of the greatest Game 7s of all-time.

    Here’s our look at the tasks ahead of the 12 teams who made the playoffs this season, leading off with the teams with the most to do through the run-it-back-mode Tigers:

    San Diego Padres: They finally hired a manager in Craig Stammen (really), but the Padres still have an unsettled ownership situation and pitchers Dylan Cease, Michael King and Robert Suarez all headed for free agency. Oh and Yu Darvish just underwent elbow surgery and will miss next season. Everything is in play, from A.J. Preller pulling a bunch of rabbits out of his hat again to beginning a teardown.

    Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies haven’t won a postseason round since 2023 and 30-somethings Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto are both free agents. But Philadelphia unearthed an ace this season in Cristopher Sanchez and the go-for-it Dave Dombrowski is more likely to sign Schwarber, Realmuto and a high-end No. 2 pitcher (Cease or King?) and worry about the future in the future.

    Toronto Blue Jays: The Jays suffered the most agonizing near-miss in World Series history thanks largely to an older rotation (135 starts were made by pitchers 30 years or older) as well as a resurgent year by 36-year-old George Springer and a surprise breakout by Ernie Clement. A full year of Trey Yesavage will be a big boost, but they’ll still need to fortify the rotation and hope Clement can handle a full-time role if Bo Bichette exits.

    Cleveland Guardians: The Guardians again have great pitching and nobody to protect likely Hall of Famer Jose Ramirez. CJ Kayfus and Chase DeLauter look like keepers, but Cleveland needs to trade for a proven bat – someone such as Taylor Ward or Jeff McNeil – to deepen the lineup.

    Milwaukee Brewers: The team that manages to get better even after trading star pitchers is likely to try that again with Freddy Peralta entering his walk year…and barely miss a beat thanks to the 2026 versions of Isaac Collins, Caleb Durbin and Quinn Priester, all of whom emerged from anonymity to help Milwaukee win a team-record 97 games. So at this point, none of us should advise the Brewers.

    New York Yankees: Fundamentals continue to undo the Yankees, who wasted terrific performances by Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and budding ace Cam Schlittler. They could do a lot worse than poaching Bichette to begin overturning the middle of their infield. Retaining Bellinger, a born for New York star who thrives around the diamond, is a must.

    Cincinnati Reds: With a flame-throwing rotation overseen by a Hall of Fame-bound manager, the Reds are two-thirds of the way to serious contention. Alas, they don’t spend much money and Elly De La Cruz was the only position player to register a WAR better than 3.0. They’ll have to be creative, but former All-Stars such as McNeil and Adolis Garcia could be available via trade.

    Chicago Cubs: This would be a great time for the Cubs to act like a big-market team again. But they already parted ways with Shota Imanaga and have never seemed likely to sign Kyle Tucker long-term. That said, the everyday lineup sans Tucker remains impressive and there might be a bargain to be found for the rotation in Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly.

    Detroit Tigers: The Tigers might as well go for it in what may be their last year with Tarik Skubal. Amongst a bevy of young position players, only Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter look like potential difference-makers. Free agent hitters hate Detroit and the Tigers don’t play in that end of the water. So why not see if the Arizona Diamondbacks believe it’s time to divorce Ketel Marte?

    –By Jerry BeachBoston Red Sox: Craig Breslow unloaded Rafael Devers and locked up a spate of homegrown position players, so the Red Sox are positioned to contend until John Henry starts pinching pennies again. Dealing from their depth of young big leaguers and prospects for a starting pitcher (Peralta or Sandy Alcantara?) to slot in behind Garrett Crochet might lift Boston to the top of the AL East.Seattle Mariners: The Mariners are in a weird spot in that they didn’t win it all, yet they don’t feel one or two players away because of their terrific pitching and a lineup filled with in-their-prime stars. Re-signing trade deadline star Josh Naylor and running it back should be enough to win a division in transition.Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers got fewer than 2.0 regular season WAR for spending more than $250 million last off-season on Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, Hyeseong Kim, Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates…and won the World Series again anyway. So they should just sign everyone while they still can in this last winter before the lockout. (But especially Tucker, who could add some relative youth to an older lineup)

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Dodger Stadium fans toss balls and trash on field

    Dodger Stadium fans toss balls and trash on field

    [ad_1]

    Fans threw baseballs in the direction of San Diego left fielder Jurickson Profar and then tossed trash that caused a lengthy delay before the Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-2 on Sunday night to even their NL Division Series at a game apiece.Yu Darvish limited the Dodgers’ powerful offense to one run and three hits over seven innings and Fernando Tatis Jr. went deep twice as the Padres tied the postseason record of six homers.Video above: These Are Baseball’s Most Valuable Teams This YearDavid Peralta and Jackson Merrill each hit two-run homers, and a hobbled Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Higashioka had solo shots.The delay in the middle of the seventh inning led to a 12-minute gap between pitches and occurred as two balls were thrown from the stands in the direction of Profar. He chased after one of them but a security officer got to it first. Trash was strewn on the warning track in right near the Padres bullpen.Dodgers security staff attempted to identify the fans who caused the trouble, and public address announcer Todd Leitz told the crowd: “We ask that you do not throw objects onto the field.”There was continuous booing by the sellout crowd of 54,119 — the largest at Dodger Stadium this season.Security rushed onto the field as Padres manager Mike Shildt and his team huddled in shallow left. They were joined by the umpiring crew. Security appeared to be trying to identify potential perpetrators in the crowd.Manny Machado gathered his Padres teammates in the dugout to boost them before the game resumed.The best-of-five series shifts to San Diego on Tuesday.

    LOS ANGELES —

    Fans threw baseballs in the direction of San Diego left fielder Jurickson Profar and then tossed trash that caused a lengthy delay before the Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-2 on Sunday night to even their NL Division Series at a game apiece.

    Yu Darvish limited the Dodgers’ powerful offense to one run and three hits over seven innings and Fernando Tatis Jr. went deep twice as the Padres tied the postseason record of six homers.

    Video above: These Are Baseball’s Most Valuable Teams This Year

    David Peralta and Jackson Merrill each hit two-run homers, and a hobbled Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Higashioka had solo shots.

    The delay in the middle of the seventh inning led to a 12-minute gap between pitches and occurred as two balls were thrown from the stands in the direction of Profar. He chased after one of them but a security officer got to it first. Trash was strewn on the warning track in right near the Padres bullpen.

    Dodgers security staff attempted to identify the fans who caused the trouble, and public address announcer Todd Leitz told the crowd: “We ask that you do not throw objects onto the field.”

    There was continuous booing by the sellout crowd of 54,119 — the largest at Dodger Stadium this season.

    Security rushed onto the field as Padres manager Mike Shildt and his team huddled in shallow left. They were joined by the umpiring crew. Security appeared to be trying to identify potential perpetrators in the crowd.

    Manny Machado gathered his Padres teammates in the dugout to boost them before the game resumed.

    The best-of-five series shifts to San Diego on Tuesday.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Tough break, indeed. Jake Cronenworth’s busted mitt keys Dodgers’ win over the Padres

    Tough break, indeed. Jake Cronenworth’s busted mitt keys Dodgers’ win over the Padres

    [ad_1]

    Was it AI? A magic trick? No, just literally the toughest break imaginable for the San Diego Padres.

    A groundball by the Dodgers’ Gavin Lux disappeared into Jake Cronenworth’s first baseman’s mitt … and came out the other side, trickling into right field while Teoscar Hernández scored the go-ahead run.

    A potential inning-ending double play instead became an error, the pivotal at-bat in a four-run eighth inning that keyed the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory in the regular-season opener at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

    Cronenworth’s mitt broke, the webbing unfathomably untied. He stared at it, he blinked, he shook his head, trying to grasp the betrayal. Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani followed with RBI singles and that was that.

    “It sucks,” Cronenworth said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

    Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated the obvious: “That was a fortunate break for us. You’ve got to take them when you get them.”

    Players figuratively have a hole in their glove quite often during spring training, and this game more closely resembled the Cactus League than the National League.

    The Padres used eight pitchers, and they issued nine walks while committing four pitch-clock violations.

    The Dodgers also were sloppy. They went 0 for 14 with runners on base until the RBI singles in the eighth inning. Starter Tyler Glasnow spiked numerous curveballs and botched a defensive play on a bunt. Ohtani failed to retouch second base while returning to first on a deep flyout by Freddie Freeman.

    Plate umpire Lance Barksdale wasn’t exactly in midseason form either. His strike zone was erratic and in the first inning was guilty of umpire interference when Padres catcher Luis Campusano elbowed him in the mask while trying to throw out Betts stealing second.

    “It’s opening day, obviously just getting back into the flow of things,” said Dodgers closer Evan Phillips, who retired the Padres in order in the ninth for a save.

    The teams will play again Thursday at 3 a.m. PT before returning to exhibition action at home. Opening day for the other 28 MLB teams is March 28.

    [ad_2]

    Steve Henson

    Source link