On the heels of a day littered with surprising transactions, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Waiver Wire Madness:
Yesterday saw multiple teams put quality players on waivers in somewhat surprising moves. The White Sox placed right-hander Mike Clevinger on waivers, while the Yankees and Tigers did the same with center fielder Harrison Bader and right-hander Jose Cisnero, respectively. The Angels shook things up the most by waiving right-hander Lucas Giolito, outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk, and relievers Matt Moore, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dominic Leone.
Teams will get the opportunity to pluck each of these players off waivers for nothing but the remaining money on their contracts in reverse order of the standings. Teams out of contention who get some of the first cracks at the players in question, like the A’s and Royals, are unlikely to add salary to their books for pure rentals when they have no hope of a playoff run. That leaves contenders lower on the waiver priority order like the Marlins, Reds, Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Giants and Twins most likely to add these players, though it’s possible a team like the Padres lower in the standings with a willingness to add salary could look to add some of these players in hopes of making a miracle run in the season’s final month.
If anyone from this the group goes unclaimed, their former team does not have to outright them to a minor league affiliate; the player can simply be retained on the Major League roster and continue playing out the season. The club could also choose to outright any of those players to a minor league affiliate, at which point they’d be able to reject the assignment in favor of free agency and retain their full salary (as is the right of all players with five-plus years of Major League service). Any player who does so and signs with a new team prior to 11:59pm ET on Aug. 31 would be eligible for his new club’s postseason roster.
2. Braves starter to make MLB debut:
The Braves are planning to hand the ball to right-hander Darius Vines for tonight’s start against the Rockies in Colorado. Vines, 25, will make his major league debut upon taking the mound this evening. A seventh-round pick in the 2019 draft, Vines put up solid numbers in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons but battled shoulder inflammation earlier this year. In the minors this season, Vines owns a 2.70 ERA across nine starts (43 1/3 innings) including a 2.86 ERA in five starts (28 1/3 innings) at the Triple-A level. Vines is already on the active roster, so no corresponding moves related to Vines will be necessary prior to today’s game.
3. Milestones approach for Harper, McCutchen:
There’s a race to reach the 300 home run milestone in Pennsylvania, as both Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper and Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen sit at 299 for their careers. 157 players in major league history have hit 300 home runs in their career, and both players will tie Hall of Famer Chuck Klein, who played for both the Phillies and Pirates as well as the Cubs during the 1930s, on the career home run leaderboard upon slugging No. 300. McCutchen is batting .249/.368/.389 with 12 home runs in the 15th season of his big league career, while Harper is slashing .309/.402/.497 with 14 homers during his 12th major league season.