Michael Busch had just landed at the Raleigh-Durham Airport, all set to return to his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, for the school’s annual baseball banquet. WiFi was not available on his flight. And when his connectivity returned, he saw a text from Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes, asking him to call.
Players often sense when they are getting traded. Busch, 26, had that sense. So did reliever Yency Almonte, who received a similar text while working out at the Dodgers’ training complex in Glendale, Ariz. It all happened so fast. And Busch’s appearance at UNC’s 15th annual First Pitch Dinner, in honor of his major-league debut last season, suddenly was in jeopardy.
The trade — Busch and Almonte to the Cubs for minor-league left-hander Jackson Ferris and outfielder Zyhir Hope — was announced on Jan. 11. The First Pitch Dinner was two days later, right in the middle of Cubs Con, a three-day convention in Chicago that brings together fans, players, legends and club officials.
“He was really worried. They needed him in Chicago,” North Carolina coach Scott Forbes said. “I think he was like, ‘I’m being featured at the First Pitch banquet.’ Right away I said, ‘Michael, the last thing you need to be worried about is the First Pitch banquet. You need to make your plans, get your flight and go to Chicago. You have a chance to be an everyday big leaguer. This should be a celebration.’”
Forbes considered Busch’s desire to honor his commitment a testament of the first baseman’s character. As Busch put it, “When I say I’m going to do something, I like to stick to my word and do it.” Busch, though, quickly came to realize Forbes was right. He spent the next day at North Carolina, spoke to the team, and answered players’ questions. The day after that, he flew to Chicago. He had packed a suit for the dinner. Instead, he used it for a red-carpet event at Cubs Con.
Busch, 26, understood the importance of attending the event and meeting as many new teammates and staff members as possible before heading to spring training. His comfort level with the Cubs certainly has not been an issue thus far. On Monday night, he tied a franchise record by hitting a home run in his fifth straight game. For the season, he is batting .317 with six homers and a 1.067 OPS, seizing the opportunity that was not available to him with the Dodgers, who chose him with the 31st overall pick in the 2019 draft.
As for the First Pitch Dinner, well, Busch never got to spend time with Colorado Rockies catcher Jacob Stallings, who was seven years ahead of him at UNC and the featured speaker at the event. Stallings said his initial flight was canceled, and he got in too late to see Busch. “We were supposed to be hanging out all weekend,” Stallings said in a text, adding a crying laughing emoji.
Forbes joked that Busch got “let off the hook” from speaking to more than 500 attendees. He also told his former player lightheartedly that because he missed the dinner, he will be required to be the featured speaker the next time he attends. Busch didn’t seem ready to entertain the thought, saying it was “a long ways away.” But the way he is hitting, he is going to merit the honor soon.
Ángel at it again
After missing more than half of last season with a back injury, umpire Ángel Hernández has returned to maddening form.
Working the plate Friday night, Hernández called out Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford on three consecutive pitches out of the strike zone. The last of those pitches was outside by 6.78 inches, the biggest miss in the history of Umpire Auditor, an X account that began in July 2014.
In his most recent plate job Tuesday night, Hernández enraged the Milwaukee Brewers by calling a balk on left-hander Wade Miley in the first inning. According to Ump Scorecards, he missed 21 calls on 202 taken pitches, an accuracy rate of 90 percent. The umpires in the other 13 games that night had an accuracy rate of 95 percent.
As always when Hernández becomes a center of attention, fans ask, “Why can’t the league just fire him?” First, umpires rarely are disciplined for lapses in on-field performance, and the Major League Baseball Umpires Association exists in part to advocate against such penalties. In addition, the league’s seven-year legal battle with Hernández ended only last August. The commissioner’s office probably fears that if it takes action against Hernández, he will sue the league again.
Hernández, 62, filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the league in 2017. A U.S. District Court granted the league a summary judgment in 2021, and a federal appeals court upheld that decision last August, refusing to reinstate Hernández’s case.
I asked an umpire if the other umps were embarrassed by Hernández’s repeated blunders, just as a member of another profession might cringe if a co-worker attracted negative attention for poor job performance. The umpire spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to be publicly identified as defending Hernández and then become a target of vitriol himself.
The ump’s first point was that Hernández’s mistakes are not much worse than those of other umpires, but more magnified because of his reputation — a debatable point. Then the ump spoke of how highly other umpires think of Hernández as a person, directing me to a recent Instagram post by umpire Ted Barrett, who retired after the 2022 season.
“I’ve seen a lot of negative posts about this man, thought it was time for me to share my perspective,” Barrett wrote. “He is one of the kindest men I have ever known … His mistakes are sent out to the world, but his kind deeds are done in private. The man is selfless.
“… I could write some of the things I have witnessed where Ángel was incredibly kind to someone. As a matter of fact, I could post one every day for the rest of my life and I wouldn’t come close to telling the whole story. I literally saw him save a desperate woman from doing something tragic. I literally have seen him give complete strangers clothes off his back. Since retiring I miss a few things about the job. Watching Ángel love on people is the thing I miss the most.”
I’m sure fans, players and others in baseball do not want to hear about Hernández’s attributes as a human being when he is so lacking as an umpire. I just thought it was an interesting perspective.
Dodgers’ Rojas: ‘I understand where I’m at’
OK, here is my favorite quote of the year thus far, as first mentioned in Wednesday’s edition of The Athletic’s free daily baseball newsletter, The Windup. It comes from Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas.
I asked Rojas recently about his reaction to the Dodgers turning to Mookie Betts at shortstop in spring training. The team, after all, won 100 games with Rojas as its primary shortstop last season after Gavin Lux blew out his knee in the spring.
Here is Rojas’ quote, edited slightly for length and clarity.
Rojas opened up about his feelings on his current role with the Dodgers. (Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today)
“I feel the organization has been really honest, transparent and up front. They explained to me the reason why they moved Mookie to short. Remember, when I came here last year, my role was going to be a utility guy, playing all over the field. We had a second baseman (Miguel Vargas) who had (not played much) second base before. Mookie was not ready to move to the infield yet. He was trying to switch positions during the year. He wasn’t completely adjusted to playing on the dirt. The organization felt comfortable plugging me in.
“Even though they acquired me to be a utility guy, they felt they needed a shortstop with a little bit of experience, to help Miguel Vargas with his transition. Now in this situation, they want Gavin Lux to be in the lineup (at second base). I totally understand. I’m at a point in my career where I understand where I’m at. I’m 35 years old. That’s why it was easier for me to digest what was going to happen.
“I feel like this an opportunity for me to start what I want to do after my career is over. Helping Mookie, creating that relationship with him as a teammate, I’m thinking about how I’m going to teach others, helping them with my experience. This is a great opportunity for me, not just only to focus on myself, but to focus on helping others.
“I don’t want to talk about it (his post-playing career) right now. It’s not going to happen so soon. But I know it’s going to happen. And it’s going to come in the next couple of years. God’s plans are always the best.
“I’ll always be ready to play shortstop, every single day. But there are others who are going to receive an opportunity, to show they can do the job. Gavin Lux’s bat is important for our lineup. I understand why they wanted to give him an opportunity. He was going to be the shortstop last year. He got the brutal injury. And that’s why I stepped up.”
Does it get any more professional than that? Rojas has started six games at shortstop thus far and two at third. Betts has started 15 games at short and six at second, Lux 14 games at second. The situation is fluid — Lux is batting only .148 with a .374 OPS. As Rojas said, he’ll be prepared for any role.
Scrambling for pitching, part one
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.
Freddy Peralta appears to be taking the next step to becoming an ace. But Wade Miley, who had a 3.26 ERA from 2021 to ‘23, is frequently injured. Colin Rea, while off to a good start, is a career journeyman. Joe Ross is pitching in the majors for the first time since 2021. DL Hall, acquired in the Burnes trade, is a work in progress who ultimately might be better suited for relief.
Under Counsell, the Brewers had a way of figuring things out, and perhaps that trend will continue under Murphy. The players are young enough to ignore the odds against them, and talented enough to potentially remain a factor in the NL Central and wild-card races.
Scrambling for pitching, part two
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 the 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.
Steamrolling toward Sacramento
Only in this crazy sport could the game’s ultimate poverty franchise, the Oakland A’s, win a series from the defending World Series champions, the Texas Rangers. But it happened last week in Texas, and the Rangers were left buzzing about lefty JP Sears, who shut them out on one hit for 6 1/3 innings, and closer Mason Miller, who saved both A’s wins.
Sears, acquired from the New York Yankees in the Frankie Montas trade, pitched a team-high 172 1/3 innings last season, though his adjusted ERA was below league-average. Miller, the A’s third-round pick in 2021, missed nearly four months with a mild UCL strain, but is back to averaging 100.6 mph with his fastball.
Two other promising starters from the Montas trade, righty Luis Medina and lefty Ken Waldichuk, are on track to return from the 60-day injured list in late May. Veteran righty Paul Blackburn, who has a 1.08 ERA in four starts but is under club control for only one more season, looms as a potential trade candidate. J.T. Ginn, acquired in the Chris Bassitt trade, and Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes, who came with Langeliers in the Matt Olson deal, all could surface in the majors this season.
The Oakland lineup remains mostly Triple-A quality, with the notable exceptions of second baseman Zack Gelof and catcher Shea Langeliers, both of whom are off to slow starts. Outfielder JJ Bleday also could develop into an everyday player, but the A’s need to find a shortstop and third baseman, among other position players. Perhaps when they, ahem, start to spend, they will buy some hitters.
Walsh’s interesting choice
People might wonder why a player trying to revive his career would sign a minor-league deal with the defending World Series champions. Jared Walsh knew he would be blocked at first base by Nathaniel Lowe, but chose the Rangers anyway.
Walsh, 30, had a history with two Rangers coaches — bench coach Donnie Ecker, who was his hitting coach at Triple A with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018, and hitting coach Tim Hyers, who was an assistant with Walsh’s 13-and-under, Atlanta-area travel-ball team in 2006. Matt Olson also was on that team. Hyers said Olson and Walsh were the team’s two best pitchers.
“This place didn’t make the most sense,” Walsh said of the Rangers. “But from a hitting standpoint, I felt they could get me back on track.”
Walsh started 10-for-30 with three extra-base hits, but since then is 2-for-23 with none. Lowe, recovering from a right oblique strain, is currently on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Round Rock.
Around the horn
• Through 2021, Mike Trout batted .316 on fastballs, but those averages declined to .285 in ‘22 and .254 in ‘23. He was intent on succeeding against those pitches again, and he is doing just that, batting .293 with four homers and a .659 slugging percentage in 41 plate appearances ending in a fastball.
Trout’s performance against breaking balls – .318 batting average, three homers, .818 slugging in 22 at-bats – is even better. And maybe stop throwing him breaking balls for strikes? All three of Trout’s homers on breaking balls have been in the zone, and he is 6-for-14 on such pitches overall.
• Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, only 11 weeks removed from surgery to remove a sports hernia, did not record his first “barrel” — that is, a ball hit at least 98 mph at a specific launch angle — until Friday night.
Seager recorded two more barrels on Tuesday, an indication that he is getting his strength and stamina back. Last season Seager had 60 barrels and the fifth-highest barrel percentage among players with at least 400 plate appearances, behind only Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Yordan Alvarez and Ronald Acuña Jr.
• Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger said Jordan Montgomery’s decision to leave Scott Boras for the Wasserman Media Group led to him getting numerous calls from other agents trying to recruit him.
Bellinger, who could opt out of his three-year, $80 million deal at the end of the season, said he intends to stay with Boras.
“I’ve definitely gotten blown up. But I’ve confirmed multiple times that I’m definitely not leaving,” Bellinger said. “I’ve told Scott that. I had nothing but positive experiences through the whole process.”
(Top photo of Michael Busch: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
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