Today's MLB rumors roundup focuses on a possible trend with trade deadline sellers this year, the Tigers having an attractive pool of tradeable players, and an IL stint for a Dodgers player that could help him get back on track after a painful struggle so far in 2022.
Let's start by looking at that trend that could make it tough for teams looking to buy in 2023 to upgrade.
Could MLB trade deadline feature fewer sellers than previous years?
In Ken Rosenthal's latest column featuring several trade tidbits and breadcrumbs (subscription required), he revealed something about the Philadelphia Phillies that could just ring true for several teams and impact the overall landscape of the trade market this season.
Rosenthal featured some quotes from Phillies executive Dave Dombrowski, and mentioned briefly how their run last year serves as a great example for how the new playoff format makes it easy for teams to keep hope alive late in the season that they can compete in the postseason.
The Phillies aren't planning on selling because they think they can pull it together after a very slow first leg. It stands to reason that many other teams around the league might have that same attitude, especially after seeing what the Phillies were able to do last year as a Wild Card team.
One could argue that in previous years, the Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, and even Padres might be clear sellers at the deadline. Under the new format, perhaps those teams want to hold on if they have hope in their team's ability to turn it around.
Tigers relievers catching interest
Also included in Rosenthal's column was a tidbit on Tigers relievers. Rosenthal said that teams looking for relief pitching help are already eyeing Alex Lange, Will Vest and Jason Foley.
Each of that trio has a sub-3.00 ERA and a sub-1.1 WHIP.
Lange has served as a closer and racked up 10 saves this season, tied for 15th in the league. He's in the 95th percentile in K% and 91st percentile in chase rate, primarily thanks to a deadly curveball that has a 49.5 percent whiff rate and 32.1 percent putaway rate. His changeup is solid too, with a nearly 80 percent swing and miss rate, though its seldom used making up just 10 percent of his arsenal.
Vest has some impressive statcast showings as well, keeping his barrel rate incredibly low with a decently high chase and K rate. Problematic, though, is his hard hit percentage which falls in the bottom four percentile.
Finally, Foley has pitched the most innings of the trio while facing fewer batters than Foley. He strikes plenty out and walks few, with a 4.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio that is third-best on the Tigers roster (behind the absurdly high 13.0 of Alex Faedo and Tyler Alexander).
All three could be good additions for teams hoping to shore up their bullpens heading into the postseason. The Rangers, Rays, Mets, and Brewers all appear to be in need of bullpen help.
Dodgers struggling pitcher Noah Syndergaard goes to IL
The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a heck of a time getting Noah Syndergaard going in 2023. His 7.16 ERA and 1.446 WHIP simply aren't cutting it for a starter.
His most recent outing was a three-inning, seven-hit showing. This season, he's already had eight starts with five or more hits given up. He's had 12 homers hit off him this year, he had just 14 in 2022.
Clearly, Syndergaard is struggling, and a stint on the IL might be able to help him. While there is — as is necessary — an official reason for his IL stint, it's simply a blister on his right finger and it reads much more like a stint made up for Syndergaard to get back on track rather than a stint necessitated by the injury itself.
"We're going to sit down with him and try to figure out. Obviously, we can't continue at this pace of performance. There might be an opportunity to give him a reset to get this taken care of," Dave Roberts, Dodgers manager said about Syndergaard.
That doesn't exactly sound like the IL stint was something the Dodgers got forced into by a blister. The blister might be a convenient cover, but clearly, something is up here.
The Dodgers, two games behind the Diamondbacks, can only hope the 15-day stint can get Syndergaard back on his A-game.
