As the All Star break draws near, here are three things we’ll be keeping a eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Cowser to debut:
Orioles outfield prospect Colton Cowser is set to make his MLB debut during this evening’s game against the Yankees. Cowser, 23, is a consensus top-40 prospect in the sport who’s torn up Triple-A to the tune of a .330/.459/.537 slash line in 257 plate appearances at the level this season. A corresponding move will be necessary to clear space for Cowser on the club’s 40-man roster. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, who was the first to report the Cowser news, also indicated that the Orioles could make additional roster moves beyond the ones necessary to make way for Cowser. It’s possible those moves could add an additional arm to Baltimore’s bullpen, which is currently operating with just seven arms.
2. Rodriguez to return:
Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is poised to return to big league action this evening as he takes the mound against the A’s. After managing just 91 innings of work in his first season with Detroit, Rodriguez has been dominant in 2023. The lefty posted a phenomenal 2.13 ERA and 3.18 FIP over 11 starts before going on the injured list with a ruptured pulley in his left index finger at the end of May. Rodriguez’s return was preceded by that of fellow lefty Tarik Skubal, who struck out six and allowed nothing but a hit by pitch across four scoreless innings against the A’s last night.
Despite the club’s record of 37-47, the Tigers are only 5.5 games out in an extraordinarily weak AL Central division. With the rotation finally getting healthy and the trade deadline less than a month away, Detroit will need to determine quickly whether or not to listen to offers on Rodriguez, who can opt out of the final three years and $49MM on his contract and return to the open market after the 2023 season comes to a close.
3. Rendon IL decision incoming:
Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon left yesterday’s game against the Padres after fouling a pitch off his shin and was seen using crutches after the game. Initial x-rays came back negative and Rendon expects to know whether or not he’ll require a trip to the IL today, though he admitted last night that “it doesn’t look good.” In 183 plate appearances this season, Rendon has hit .236/.361/.318 with a roughly league average wRC+ of 97. While Rendon’s plate discipline numbers have been fantastic (13.7% walk rate against a strikeout rate of just 14.8%), he’s had a lot of trouble generating power as evidenced by his .081 ISO, which would be a career low if maintained over the course of the full season.
Should Rendon require an IL stint, it will be yet another blow to an Angels position player group that has lost Mike Trout, Gio Urshela, Brandon Drury, and Zach Neto in recent weeks while also playing the majority of the season without either half of their primary catching tandem of Logan O’Hoppe and Max Stassi. Angels fans are also surely waiting to hear more about the status of Shohei Ohtani, who exited yesterday’s game with a blister issue and indicated uncertainty over how the issue would impact his hitting in the last few games before the All-Star break.