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Ronny Mauricio is back, Ken (still) praises the Brewers’ pitching depth and we take an early look at this year’s trade deadline. Plus: We can confirm, Colton Cowser is not afraid of shrimp. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
Finally?: Ronny Mauricio’s early return
When last we saw Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio in the big leagues, he was 22 years old, and it was the end of the 2023 season. Ranked 87th on Keith Law’s top 100 prospects list that year (he had previously ranked as high as No. 32, back in 2021) his numbers in 26 games weren’t overwhelming, but the promise was still there — .248/.296/.347 (.643 OPS) with two home runs.
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Then came winter ball, and a torn ACL. His ranking fell to No. 94 on Law’s 2024 rankings (he rebounded slightly to 91st on this year’s list), and as he geared up for a return this year, it appeared the Mets were going to give him as much time as he needed to get fully healthy, allowing Mark Vientos and Brett Baty to hold down the third-base job in Queens.
There have been developments.
- First, Mauricio got off to a blazing start in his first 19 games across three minor-league levels this year, including a .515/.564/.818 (1.382) line in nine Triple-A games.
- Secondly, late Monday night, Vientos fell as he left the batter’s box, and grabbed his hamstring. He hit the IL yesterday, and Mauricio, now 24, was called up. He started at third base last night, going hitless in a 6-5 loss against the Dodgers.
As Will Sammon reports here, Mauricio could also see significant time at designated hitter, especially since he has only played back-to-back games on defense twice as he eases back into full-time game action.
More Mets-Dodgers: For the second night in a row, it went to extras: This time the Dodgers walked it off after Max Muncy’s redemption arc continued, with his second homer of the game tying it in the ninth.
More Keith Law: Law highlights the biggest risers and fallers from the newest top 50 prospect rankings.
Ken’s Notebook: Brewers operating under flexible pitching conditions
In my notes column last week, I wrote about the Brewers’ surprising number of starting-pitching options. And I warned, the moment a team thinks it has a surplus of pitching is generally the moment it starts to disappear.
Naturally, it took only four days for an issue to arise. Last night, pitching on his rehabilitation assignment at Triple A, Brandon Woodruff was struck on the right elbow by a 108.2 mph comebacker.
X-rays were negative, but MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reported Woodruff will undergo additional testing today in Milwaukee. Still, my original point stands: The Brewers are in a good spot with their starting pitching, and might even have enough depth to deal from strength at the trade deadline.
Wild, isn’t it?
- The Brewers had so many pitchers injured to open the season, they started journeyman right-hander Elvin Rodríguez in their home opener and predictably suffered an 11-1 defeat. Less than two months later, the Brewers are in almost the opposite position.
- Last week, they optioned right-hander Logan Henderson, who in his first four major-league starts produced a 35.8 percent strikeout rate, 7.4 percent walk rate and 1.71 ERA.
- The current rotation includes veterans Freddy Peralta, José Quintana and Aaron Civale, plus two up-and-comers, Chad Patrick and Quinn Priester, the latter of whom is pitching in a bulk role behind reliever DL Hall. Last year’s revelation, Tobias Myers, is at Triple A, along with Woodruff and the team’s top prospect, righty Jacob Misiorowski, who is throwing 100 mph.
Two months from now, the Brewers’ situation obviously might look quite different. And some of their starters need to be handled with care. Henderson, for example, threw only 81 1/3 innings last season, so it’s not as if the Brewers are going to stretch him to 150.
The team’s bullpen also has thrown the second-most innings in the majors, behind only the Dodgers. The recent returns of Hall and Aaron Ashby should help ease that burden. Piggy-backing starters would be another option.
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Still, the Brewers never are afraid to trade, even when in contention. Peralta is earning $8 million with an $8 million club option for next season. Civale is earning $8 million in his walk year. The Brewers conceivably could move one or both and replace them with cheaper alternatives. Peralta, with a 2.92 ERA in 13 starts, would be especially attractive.
Dudes Rock: Colton Cowser is not afraid of shrimp
One of the best sentences I’ve ever gotten to write on The Athletic was: “Adrián Beltré prefers Tupperware over Drake.” That story came in the boring middle third of spring training, where everyone is willing to engage in some silliness.
When I saw this new contender for my favorite baseball headline, I suspected that mid-spring madness might have been partially to blame:
Cowser sets record straight on Henderson’s Topps autograph: ‘I’m not afraid of shrimp’
Kudos to Jake Rill of MLB.com for getting to the bottom of this. It started when it was discovered that Orioles star shortstop Gunnar Henderson had signed a Topps limited-release card with “Cowser is afraid of shrimp,” referring to his outfielder teammate.
And Rill confirmed yesterday, yes: It was definitely a product of spring madness. Those card signings happen during spring training, and the two had been on a fishing trip in Florida this spring. I’ll let Cowser take it from here:
“I’m not afraid of shrimp, by the way. I will grab the shrimp. One time, one jumped out of my hand and had to grab it off the ground and it took a little bit longer because it was in the crevice of the deck.”
This is the sort of silliness that injects the long baseball season with a little whimsy. Good job, everyone.
More Dudes Rock: Last year when Jeff Hoffman was an All-Star with the Phillies, someone stole him a street sign. When the Blue Jays visited Philadelphia this week, the sign was in his locker.
👀: Trade deadline primer
You know what they say: By the first of June, you should know what your team is. It’s not always true (I still think the Braves will recover), but it’s a good rule of thumb.
So as we begin to tentatively sort teams into “buyers” and “sellers,” we have a couple similar stories today:
One team I’m especially curious about is the Cardinals. They spent last offseason trying to get a head start on being sellers, but couldn’t quite line up the pieces to trade Nolan Arenado.
Surprise, surprise: They’re 33-27 and in second place in the NL Central. As of last night, Baseball Reference gave St. Louis a 53.9 percent chance to make the playoffs. So … how’s this gonna go?
We’ll know more after this brutal stretch of 28 games in 29 days. If they do implode, names like Arenado, Ryan Helsley, Miles Mikolas, Sonny Gray and others could really change the landscape of the sport come late July.
Handshakes and High Fives
Late last night, we got some more reporting from Evan Drellich on the federal investigation into the MLBPA and NFLPA. Among the developments: Union head Tony Clark and the MLBPA have each hired separate lawyers. We’ll have more on this tomorrow.
The Diamondbacks still haven’t announced the severity of Corbin Burnes’ injury, but they did place Burnes on the 15-day IL while he gets a second opinion.
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Meanwhile, in Minnesota … Pablo López will get an MRI today after leaving his start with “shoulder tightness” — but the team thinks it’s a lat strain and he’s likely to go on the IL.
Spencer Strider is back … but it might be a while before he’s back-back, you know?
The Yankees have lost a third baseman and a closer to the IL recently. Fortunately, they have a third baseman and a closer handy.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has gotten the bulk of the attention, but Seiya Suzuki has been a big part of the Cubs’ success this year, writes Patrick Mooney.
Is college baseball OK? After Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan had a full meltdown about a game’s start time, Wake Forest coach Tom Walter also had to make a public apology for using a homophobic slur during a game against the Tennessee Volunteers. And to a lesser degree, Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt also wasn’t at his most eloquent or graceful this week. Tighten it up, fellas.
Bryce Harper missed five games after being hit by a pitch. In his first at-bat back, he homered, obviously.
The Rockies beat the Marlins 3-2 last night, and — for the first time this season — won a series.
On the pods: Mariners GM Justin Hollander joined “Starkville” to talk about the Mariners’ strong start, Cal Raleigh’s otherworldly season, how hard it was to fire a good friend like Scott Servais and more.
Most-clicked in our last newsletter: This week’s Power Rankings, where we made the case for an All-Star from each team.
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(Photo: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)
