MLB Rumors: Angels make historic call-up in last-ditch effort for playoff push
The Los Angeles Angels planted their flag for one last push for the playoffs at the MLB Trade Deadline by not only electing to keep Shohei Ohtani, but aggressively try to upgrade the roster, most notably landing Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox. Unfortunately, things haven't worked in their favor.
Since the All-Star break, the Angels are just 15-16 and have won only four of their last 10 games. With other wild card contenders in the American League surging, the Halos have now fallen seven games out of that race and are a dismal 12.5 games back in the AL West.
Now it's time for a last gasp for their playoff lives.
On Friday, the Angels reportedly called up first baseman Nolan Schanuel to the big-league club from the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas. What's notable about that, though — and might give a whiff of desperation — is that Schanuel was drafted just under six weeks ago out of Florida Atlantic.
As ESPN's Jeff Passan noted, Schanuel has played only 21 games in the minors since being drafted, but an on-base rate over .500 is impressive and mimics what he did for FAU in college as well, posting an OPS just a hair under 1.500 for the Owls.
Even still, this is a near-unprecedented call-up for a recent draftee. But it shows how direly the Angels are trying to make it to the playoffs and, by proxy, give the franchise any chance of holding onto Shohei Ohtani this offseason.
MLB Rumors: Absurd Gerrit Cole trade proposal is last thing Yankees need
Sometimes when it comes to local radio shows, guys just start talking. That's how you end up with an idea like the New York Yankees trading Gerrit Cole.
Evan Roberts of WFAN in New York recently proposed that the Yankees should trade the current AL Cy Young leader this offseason. His reasoning was that New York could replenish its farm system with a king's ransom of prospect from any potential buyers. Further, he added that all the Yankees are doing right now "with Gerrit Cole is wasting him".
As noted by Thomas Carrannante of Yanks Go Yard, Roberts is a Mets fan, an organization that just traded away Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer at the deadline. So perhaps that's coloring this take in a way. But Carrannante also pointed out that Cole had a no-trade clause and an opt-out clause after next season, both of which could diminish his trade value.
More important than any of that, though, the Yankees have been severely mismanaged by Brian Cashman and the like from the front office. This team was built haphazardly with top-heavy stars and inadequate filling of the margins. Taking away one of those stars is not the answer, especially if the trade wouldn't yield the haul of prospects that a pitcher of Cole's caliber should.
In reality, this is just noise into the void. But it deserves to be pointed out how truly terrible of an idea this is for the Yankees. Yes, they could lose him at some point in the near future — but the hope is that changes will come and turn things around so they aren't "wasting" him, to use Roberts' words.
MLB Rumors: Aaron Nola named top Cardinals target for 2024 retooling
Perhaps the worst-kept secret in baseball — largely thanks to John Mozeliak making it public on several occasions — is that the St. Louis Cardinals have torn down their roster in the midst of a disappointing 2023 season but plan to rebuild and retool a contender for the 2024 campaign. And that all starts with building out the pitching staff.
Logan Gilbert has been oft-mentioned as a trade target for the Cardinals this offseason and that could still be the case. But when it comes to free agency, one of the analysts covering the team believes he's uncovered what should be the top target of St. Louis: Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola.
Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is banging the drum for the Cardinals to be in heavy pursuit of Nola, noting that, as Mozeliak's refrain is a need to add three pitchers, Nola fits the bill. And though he knows it'll be costly, he rightly asserts that's the necessary evil of the place that St. Louis is currently in.
But wouldn't he be expensive? Of course! Great pitching costs more every single season. Prices for baseball's most vital need do not drop. The Cardinals will be back in seller's camp a season from now if they don't fill the pitching talent hole that has opened up beneath them. Figuring out what has derailed pitching development is another task entirely. Both are critical to this team's future success, but young arms, even with suddenly fixed instruction, are not helping Nolan Arenado and the Cardinals contend in 2024. Nola could.
Nola has indeed been in the midst of a down year by the 30-year-old's standards with a 4.58 ERA, though he does have a 1.15 WHIP. But given that he's been a Cy Young candidate more often than not over the past six seasons, this feels like a blip on the radar given his overall consistency — especially with a sub-4.00 xERA, indicating he's been unlucky this season.
Make no mistake, Nola is going to be one of the more coveted free agency pitching options this winter. But the Cardinals have no choice but to play that game — and perhaps Frederickson is right in that the longtime Phillie is exactly what the Redbirds need as a cornerstone of a rebuilt rotation.
