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A six-year journey back to big-league ball comes to an end, everyone’s looking for pitching and we take an early look at upcoming free agents. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!
Albert Suárez returns to MLB after 2,000+ days
The last time Albert Suárez threw a pitch in the big leagues, his Giants batterymate was Nick Hundley, and he faced an Arizona lineup that included a pre-Cardinals Paul Goldschmidt and a pre-Red Sox J.D. Martinez.
Exactly 2,395 days passed between Suárez’s final pitch on Sept. 26, 2017 — a David Peralta fly ball — and a 94.8 mph fastball that Minnesota’s Edouard Julien swung through to start Monday’s game.
So what was he doing in that gap of more than six years? Playing baseball, of course.
He played in Venezuela, Triple A, Japan, Korea and Venezuela again, waiting for the chance that the Orioles finally gave him last September, signing him to a minor-league deal.
On Wednesday, the 34-year-old made good on the comeback, pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings, striking out four and walking none as the Orioles completed a sweep of the Twins.
If you’re wondering, that’s not the longest gap between big-league appearances. Paul Schreiber’s 22-year gap (1923 to 1945) is unlikely to ever be surpassed; it only happened because the Yankees were short on players due to WWII.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering: Albert is the older brother of Robert Suárez, the Padres’ closer who is in his third season in MLB.
Ken’s Notebook: Scrambling for pitching, a two-part story
Excerpts from my latest notes column:
Part 1
The Milwaukee Brewers’ 11-6 start is all the more impressive, considering the team lost manager Craig Counsell to the Cubs, traded ace right-hander Corbin Burnes and opened the season without closer Devin Williams, who is out until at least late May with two stress fractures in his back.
The question is how long the Brewers can make this last.
The Brewers are so young, they had 12 players appear on an Opening Day roster for the first time. By manager Pat Murphy’s count, seven of the organization’s top 15 pitchers are injured. Left fielder Christian Yelich, who replicated his 2018 MVP form in the early going, is on the injured list with a low back strain.
As is the case with many clubs, including those with greater resources, the Brewers seem likely to spend all season piecing together their pitching, both starting and relief. Bryse Wilson on Wednesday became their eighth starting pitcher in 17 games. That’s the most in the majors, and the list only figures to grow.
Part 2
The Cleveland Guardians are not unlike the Brewers, making an early stand under a first-year manager while patching together their rotation.
Shane Bieber made only two starts before requiring Tommy John surgery. Gavin Williams, coming off a 3.29 ERA in 16 starts as a rookie, is out with elbow inflammation. The Guardians’ bullpen has been a revelation, and trail only the Detroit Tigers’ ’pen in ERA and opponents’ OPS. The problem is the Cleveland relievers have thrown almost as many innings (75 1/3) as the starters (87 2/3).
Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen need to show more consistency. Carlos Carrasco is walking too many hitters, leading to abbreviated outings. Xzavion Curry pitched well in a spot start on Monday; Ben Lively returned from the injured list on Wednesday. Williams could be back in early May, Joey Cantillo in late May.
A house-of-cards collapse is possible with this rotation, but a front three of Bibee, McKenzie and Williams is not without promise. Offensively, the Guardians’ quest for harder contact is producing results; the team through Tuesday ranked fifth in the majors in runs per game. New manager Stephen Vogt is drawing raves from the front office for his flexibility in thought and desire to learn.
It won’t be easy for the Guardians to sustain their 12-6 start. The AL Central, with the emergence of the Tigers and Kansas City Royals, appears more competitive than in recent seasons. But if the Guardians stabilize their rotation, it could be an interesting summer in Cleveland.
How the Rangers’ draft philosophy has shifted
I made a mistake in yesterday’s Windup. Evan Carter was not the Texas Rangers’ first-round pick in 2020; he was drafted in the second round. On one hand, that’s inexcusable — I covered the Rangers from 2016 to 2022 — but on the other, would I have written this if 2020 were a real year?
The Rangers’ first-round pick in 2020 was Justin Foscue, who also debuted this year, meaning that when Jack Leiter starts against the Tigers later today, the Rangers will have seen debuts from five first-round picks this year. But my mistake allows me to revisit this fact: The Rangers have drafted much better in recent years.
Rangers scouting director Kip Fagg has been with the team since 2009. From then through 2018, 19 Rangers first-round picks combined to play 934 games for Texas, accruing 14 bWAR. Subtract Joey Gallo, and it’s -0.3 bWAR in 366 games. Eleven never played a game for Texas, and five never made it to the big leagues at all.
“Some of those picks, especially high (picks) were not good,” Fagg told me via phone yesterday. “And that’s a reflection on me. But fortunately, (Texas) gave me a chance to stick around for a while and it’s gotten better.”
Indeed, it has. Josh Jung (drafted in 2019) and Wyatt Langford (2023) are already everyday players, Davis Wendzel (2019) and Justin Foscue (2020) have debuted, and Leiter (2021) and Kumar Rocker (2022) are (to varying degrees) on their way.
So, what changed?
Part of it is easy: the Rangers have had higher picks in recent years. Dillon Tate (fourth overall, 2015) was the only top-10 pick the Rangers had in Fagg’s first decade. From 2019 to now, all but Wendzel (No. 41) and Foscue (14) have come in the top 10. But there’s been a change in philosophy as well.
“We’ve gotten better at not listening to the noise,” Fagg explains. “Carter is a good example of that, for me. (He) wasn’t thought of as that kind of guy. But we did the work, felt really good about the kid. (We’re) just taking all the outside noise out of it and just taking the guys that are the best fit for the Texas Rangers.
“There’s a high standard that we’re trying to set for the guys that we want. Makeup-wise, ability-wise, off-the-field-wise, on the field, how they play the game, instincts. It’s a high bar … and we’re finding guys who clear that bar.”
Who are the top 100 upcoming free agents?
Roki Sasaki pitched for Team Japan during the WBC last year. (Sam Navarro / USA Today)
I know, it’s April. But let’s be good baseball citizens to our readers who are White Sox fans and have little else to look forward to for the next seven months or so.
Jim Bowden has done the early work, identifying his top 100 potential free agents of the upcoming class, including Juan Soto. These are subject to change — extensions and options could winnow the list — but here are three that grabbed my attention:
• RHP Roki Sasaki (Japan) — We don’t know if the Chiba Lotte Marines will actually post the 22-year-old WBC star, but given the 12-year, $325 million contract Yoshinobu Yamamoto got from the Dodgers, it would be mayhem if they did. Sasaki’s 1.90 ERA and 399 strikeouts (62 walks) in 302 2/3 career innings compares favorably to Yamamoto through the same age (2.41, 362 Ks, 96 BBs, 346 1/3 innings). By November, he’ll still be two years younger than Yamamoto was when he signed.
• 3B Alex Bregman (Astros) — The back and forth about the Astros offering Bregman an extension has thus far stayed planted on “nope,” though Bregman has said he is open to negotiating during the season. Bregman in another uniform would feel very strange, but if the Astros continue to falter, maybe he’s the first major piece to exit in a rebuild?
• C Elias Díaz (Rockies) — A first-time All-Star last year, Díaz is currently hitting .310 as a 33-year-old catcher. It would make all the sense in the world for the Rockies to trade him this year, but well … y’know. It’ll be interesting to see what the market is for a catcher of his age if he keeps this offensive production up.
Handshakes and High Fives
Tanner Houck pitched a complete-game shutout against the Guardians yesterday, and the time of game was 1:49. Per Baseball Reference, that’s the shortest …
- Nine-inning game since Armando Galarraga’s would-be perfecto on June 2, 2010 (1:44 — also against Cleveland)
- Red Sox game since April 22, 1999 (1:49)
- Nine-inning game at Fenway Park since May 24, 1975 (1:48)
For more on Houck’s masterful performance (and how he refused a move out of the rotation last season), read Jen McCaffrey’s account.
In an offseason that Mike Trout spent “pushing, pushing, pushing” the Angels to sign free agents, their biggest acquisition was reliever Robert Stephenson. He started the season on the IL. The team announced yesterday he will miss the entire year with an elbow injury.
Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie opted not to have Tommy John surgery last year. Was it the right call?
Keith Law ranks his top 50 prospects in this year’s draft.
Justin Verlander will make his season debut on Friday. Meanwhile, the Astros have to figure out the best way to utilize a $95 million closer who hasn’t had many games to close.
Diamond Sports is pushing forward on a restructuring plan. MLB seems skeptical.
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(Top photo: Tony Quinn / Sipa via AP Images)
