Weekend Rumblings - News for September 7, 2024

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15:40

Denny Medley-Imagn Images

WE ARE SO BACK

David Lesky writes about how the Royals’ mindset could change now that they are in a sprint towards the post-season.

The point of a sprint to the finish is so many decisions made with more than just today in mind are no longer about more than just today. Again, it’s not a total reversal of strategy in making moves, but it is the idea of utilizing off days and an ability to change that chart above for the better every single day. Dairon Blanco pinch running in the middle innings might need to happen. Defensive replacements in the seventh instead of the ninth make sense during this stretch. The Royals don’t play more than six games in a row the rest of the season. You can still look big picture in many of the final 21 games, but there are probably three to six games in this stretch that will determine so much about the rest of 2024, and now is the time to take the throttle off and play them like playoff games.

Mike Petriello at MLB.com writes that Bobby Witt Jr. could have one of the best non-MVP seasons ever.

But because he does have that elite shortstop defense and value-adding baserunning, a metric like WAR absolutely adores him. It’s not hard to see why, really. With two more steals, Witt will have the 72nd 30-30 season in history (one of which already belongs to him, since he did it last year, too). It’ll be only the seventh to come from a player who primarily played shortstop that season, and again, Witt isn’t just playing shortstop. He’s excelling at it.

If Witt gets to 10.5 WAR, as is currently projected, it’ll simultaneously be “one of the 25 best seasons since the modern MVP Award was first established” and yet also “not the best season of 2024, because, you know, Judge.”

Preston Farr at Farm to Fountains writes about who the Royals could send to the Arizona Fall League.

Javier Vaz has had a strong season in 2024. His power output has cooled, posting just a .387 slugging percentage this season. His .117 ISO doesn’t fly off the chart, but he continued to do what he does best: make contact. Vaz again finished among the minor league’s very best in regard to whiff rate, strikeout rate, and K/BB. His slash line was worth a 122 wRC+, and he played great defensively. Most of his season was spent at second base, mixing around far less than he did a year ago. He’s played 82 games at second and 15 in left field so far in 2024. Playing in this year’s Fall League would be excellent exposure for Vaz, who could factor in for Kansas City as early as next season. Don’t be surprised if he’s one of the headliners among Royals participants this fall.

Are Adley Rustchman and Bobby Witt Jr. the best top two picks in a draft ever?

The Athletics claimed infielder CJ Alexander off waivers from the Royals.

The Royals designated catcher Austin Nola for assignment and outrighted him to Omaha.

Matt Chapman signs a six-year, $151 million extension to stay with the Giants.

The Mariners will retain top executive Jerry Dipoto.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman stubbornly sticks with outfielder Alex Verdugo.

How Emmanuel Clase became the best reliever in baseball.

What would the league look like if the White Sox didn’t exist this season?

Dodgers announcers think the radar gun was juiced for Angels pitcher Ben Joyce.

A minor leaguer challenges himself to sing the national anthem before the game.

X is banned in Brazil, so an Eagles reporter texted his wife to tweet out his coverage of the game down there.

The Chiefs/Ravens game set a record for TV ratings for an NFL kickoff game.