The Moonshot: Managers on the hot seat, Wild Card sleepers and Mike Trout's legacy
Well, we believe in exit velocity, bat flips, launch angles, stealing home, the hanging curveball, Big League Chew, sausage races, and that unwritten rules of any kind are self-indulgent, overrated crap. We believe Greg Maddux was an actual wizard. We believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment protecting minor league baseball and that pitch framing is both an art and a science. We believe in the sweet spot, making WARP not war, letting your closer chase a two-inning save, and we believe love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.
Injuries may have cost Mike Trout a chance to hit a slew of epic milestones — 600 home runs, 3,000 hits and more. Assuming the Angels mercifully find a trade for him, where would you most like to see him finish his career, healthy and happy?
Terrence Jordan: As a Mets fan, I don’t ever want good things to happen to the Phillies, but that’s the obvious choice. Trout grew up a Phils fan in southern New Jersey, and he’s good friends with Bryce Harper. Angels owner Arte Moreno got nothing for Shohei Ohtani, and I’m inclined at this point to believe that his decision-making is driven entirely to spite his own fanbase for consistently and loudly telling him to sell the team. It seems that he’d rather have Trout be an Angel on the injured list than reach milestones elsewhere. Here’s hoping Trout is freed from this toxic relationship at some point.
Zach Pressnell: The obvious answer here is the Phillies. With Trout growing up a Phillies, Eagles and an overall Philadelphia fan, that’s the kind of reward that he deserves after the torture he’s been through with the Angels. Pairing Harper next to Trout would be like pairing Lebron with Kevin Durant. It’s the true baseball player's dream to see these two superstars hitting three and four in a lineup, riding off into the sunset with the World Series victories they deserve.
Zachary Rotman: As much as I’d like to be a contrarian here, the only answer realistically is the Phillies. As Terrence and Zach note, Trout grew up a Phillies fan. They have the talent and resources to win not only now, but consistently for a long time. Best of all, they could use an upgrade in the outfield. Trout would actually be a major upgrade for this team. A Trout trade likely won’t ever happen for so many reasons, but the only realistic landing spot for him is probably the Phillies.
Robert Murray: I’m going to be unoriginal here and say the Phillies. Trout playing in Philadelphia, in a city that he has so many ties to, would be incredible and a storybook ending to his career. But how likely is that? The chances are slim. He has an extensive recent injury history, is one of the highest-paid players in baseball, and also has a no-trade clause. While he would surely accept a trade to Philadelphia, would Angels owner Arte Moreno even trade Trout in the first place? Doubtful.
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Which likely Wild Card team in the AL and NL is the scariest possible contender?
Terrence Jordan: The Yankees have found their groove again post-All-Star Break, and though I still expect the Orioles to secure the American League East division crown, the Bronx Bombers are going to be a tough out. The rotation is deep, the bullpen is one of the best in the league, and few opposing pitchers are going to want to face Aaron Judge and Juan Soto in October. In the National League, the Padres are looking more dangerous by the day. Dylan Cease has found his dominant form again, and the acquisition of Tanner Scott at the deadline shows that once again, this team is all. Jurickson Profar has had a career year, and he’s just one of seven Padres with double-digit homers.
Zach Pressnell: Man, it’s something about the Padres that I just can’t get over. Dylan Cease was my preseason pick to win the NL Cy Young and he looks more and more like the guy I expected him to be as the days go by. Their lineup is loaded with talent ranging from Tatis and Machado to Bogaerts, Arraez, Profar and Cronenworth. They went all in to add Tanner Scott at the deadline, which surprised me considering they already have one of the best closers in the game in Robert Suarez. Having Scott and Suarez at the backend of games basically cuts it down to 7 inning games for San Diego.
Zachary Rotman: As scary as the San Diego Padres are, I’m going to go with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The defending National League champions got off to a slow start to this season, but have been red-hot for a while now and are currently 62-52 as of this writing, tied for the first Wild Card spot in the NL (and four games back of the Dodgers in the NL West). They’re 10 games over .500 despite Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez combining for four starts, Jordan Montgomery posting a 6.37 ERA, Corbin Carroll having a sub-.700 OPS, and their bullpen struggling. Now, Rodriguez is back, Kelly is about to be back, Montgomery looked better his last time out, Carroll is heating up, and their bullpen improved with the trades they made. They proved they could win in October last season and now, on paper, their roster is scarier and is rounding into form at the perfect time.
Robert Murray: I’m going to go with whoever doesn’t win the American League East. If the Yankees win it, the Orioles and the talented young roster are going to be a tough out. If the Orioles win it, who will want to face an Aaron Judge-led Yankees team? The answer: no one. Because either club is talented enough, and has the star power, to beat anyone.
Who is the next MLB manager to be fired and what will be the breaking point that leads to their dismissal?
Terrence Jordan: Just as Job was made to suffer in the Bible, so too has Pedro Grifol shouldered the burden of being the manager of the White Sox. Chicago is fresh off of losing 21 straight, so sometime soon, the pain will have to stop. Grifol will be the scapegoat for the White Sox’s historic run of putrescence, but he’s far from the only problem. This is a bad team with little hope of turning things around any time soon. Only the bravest need apply to replace him.
Zach Pressnell: I feel like the easy answer here is Pedro Grifol of the White Sox. Chicago is on a historically bad pace this season and some of the fault has to come back on the manager. But I want to stray away from the obvious answer and go with Oli Marmol of the Cardinals. St. Louis is all in with their aging lineup and veteran rotation. The front office pushed all their chips to the middle and if they fall out of the postseason race, Marmol’s seat will be as hot as could be. I don’t see him managing the Cardinals beyond this season.
Zachary Rotman: The answer is Pedro Grifol of the Chicago White Sox, but just to be a contrarian, I’m going to go with Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Change in some capacity has to be coming for the Jays after the season they just had. If they won’t fire Ross Atkins, the GM, then it feels likely that Schneider will go. It’s not all his fault that the Jays have underperformed the way that they have, but someone is going to take the fall. Schneider is the easy one.
Robert Murray: The obvious answer here is Pedro Grifol. I fully anticipate the White Sox having a new manager in 2025 and am truly surprised that they haven’t made the decision to move on from Grifol already.
Robert Murray MLB rumors notebook:
- Free-agent pitcher Rich Hill is throwing for interested teams in Waltham, MA on Friday, according to a source.
- After trading for Amed Rosario, the Dodgers still do not have a long-term answer at shortstop. Many baseball people believe they could be primed to make a run at Brewers star Willy Adames.
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