Mike Johrendt Articles - Page 22

CLUTCH Summary: Even with Christian Yelich being out for a week of games, the Milwaukee Brewers showed they came to play. The National League Central is pretty stacked, and it is going to be a dog fight until the end of September to settle the divisional winner. Rookie Trent Grisham has opened a lot of eyes […]

CLUTCH Summary: Major news sweeping MLB is that the Boston Red Sox are willing to listen to trade offers for Mookie Betts in the offseason. The talented Betts is coming off a 2018 voyage that saw him win the American League MVP award. In theory, the Boston Red Sox can receive a major haul if […]

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, free-agent second baseman Joe Panik and the New York Mets have agreed upon a deal after he cleared waivers Friday afternoon. Being from New York, the former San Francisco Giant has found a place on a team that has been looking for second base coverage after Robinson Cano went […]

CLUTCH Summary: August is one of the mustiest months of the year, but it does signal Major League Baseball being closer to the playoffs. The American League is pretty stacked. The trade deadline is long gone, so we have a better idea of who is where and what teams are going to be good. That […]

CLUTCH SUMMARY: Having had one of the most consistent seasons in the National League Central, the St. Louis Cardinals have the pieces in place to win the division. Even with not making any big additions at the trade deadline, this team is built for the playoffs already. The keys to getting to the playoffs, then […]

CLUTCH SUMMARY: The Milwaukee Brewers are still in contention for the National League Central Division, but it’s a work in progress. To entertain the idea of winning the National League Central Division for the second consecutive season, the Milwaukee Brewers will need to tighten the ship. A Brewers central core of Christian Yelich can only […]

CLUTCH SUMMARY: The New York Mets traded for Marcus Stroman despite seemingly being out of playoff contention. Even if the move seems suspect, a potential buy-low, sell-high scenario exists. The Toronto Blue Jays are a bit of an afterthought in the deal, as everyone is concerned with how Marcus Stroman will fit with the New […]

Not a free agent until 2025 at the earliest, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looks to be the pride and joy of the Toronto Blue Jays. While not having a thing to play for this season besides their draft positioning, the team is working Vlad Jr. into their plans for the future as he is already rising […]

As everyone knows, Mike Trout is good at baseball. Fans know that, the Los Angeles Angels know that and his paycheck certainly shows how good he is at playing the sport of baseball. Known for his all-around play as well as being just a really good guy, Trout’s prowess at the plate is carried out […]

For a team coming off a World Series victory, the Boston Red Sox were expected to regress a bit in their 2019 campaign, as most championship winners in any sport tend to do. What was not expected was how much this team stumbled out of the gate, especially after how many of their key pieces […]

The Milwaukee Brewers have been talking with the Pittsburgh Pirates about trading for reliever Keone Kela, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic. Kela, who has only appeared in 17 games this season, seems to be a decently talked about commodity as the deadline draws closer. With not all that much movement occurring yet at […]

Earlier in the month of July, the National League Central was a muddied mess, full of five teams that all looked to be struggling equally while all having pipe dreams of a divisional title. Fast forward to the final days of the month ahead of the 2019 MLB Trade Deadline, and only three teams look […]

For the Chicago Cubs, their 2018 season ended in a very unceremonious way, losing their hold of the National League Central division in game 163 to the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, followed by a crushing extra-innings defeat at home against the Colorado Rockies. 2019 looks to be divisional title or bust for this team, […]

In a move to bolster the back of their starting rotation, the Philadelphia Phillies made a deal with the New York Mets to acquire left-handed starting pitcher Jason Vargas. Vargas marks the first large move the Mets have made in terms of sending away talent, as they shockingly traded for Toronto Blue Jays starter Marcus […]

Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting pitcher Robbie Ray may be in a new home before the 2019 MLB trade deadline passes, as teams like the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros are rumored to be interested in him, according to Jon Heyman. For a team that still currently sits in the Wild Card race, the Diamondbacks […]

Since the inception of the New York Mets in 1962, there have been 15 trades made between the Mets and their New York counterparts, the Yankees. 15 trades over 67 years is not a lot, but the line of conversation seems to have opened up more than usual before the 2019 trade deadline. The Mets, […]

Looking at adding a long-time divisional foe to their stable of pitchers, the Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly shown interest in acquiring starting pitcher Tanner Roark from the Cincinnati Reds, according to Jon Heyman. For the Phillies, this would represent bringing Roark back into the National League East, as he was a member of the Washington […]

Acting as a depth move for the playoff push, the Chicago Cubs acquired pitcher Derek Holland from the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations. Hopefully acting as a move that starts the process for the trade deadline to ramp up, the Cubs made a deal to shore up their pitching ranks while the Giants started […]

One year removed from making an appearance in the National League Championship Series, the Milwaukee Brewers have been struggling to make up any ground in the highly-contested NL Central division. Sitting in third place, behind the second-place St. Louis Cardinals and the division-leading Chicago Cubs, the Brew Crew are treading water as they fight to […]

Being a small-market starlet is difficult, but Whit Merrifield seems to have found his niche with the Kansas City Royals. With rumors running rampant for his eventual departure from the struggling American League Central basement dwellers last season, Merrifield made it through the deadline and was rewarded by the Royals, inking a team-friendly deal. Four […]

Coming into the 2019 MLB season, the Milwaukee Brewers faced the same problem that plagued them throughout the 2018 season, where they fell one game short of making the World Series: starting pitching. Last year’s breakthrough ace starter was Jhoulys Chacin, but his 2019 season has been anything but awesome. Making his first career All-Star […]

Even though inter-divisional trades are rare and hard to come by, the New York Yankees have yet to fit into any kind of mold ever expected of them, so it is pretty easy to tell that that will not change now. As the 2019 version of the MLB trade deadline quickly approaches, their greatest need […]

Trade season is upon us in the MLB, and with it brings the dream scenarios that every fan throws around. Wanting to get the best players while at the same time not giving up any talent in return, the trade deadline brings out the best of front offices all across the league, as franchises look […]

While it is always hard to predict the future, the sport of baseball tends to be on the easier end of being able to see what teams are going to look like in the near future. With contract structures, minor league systems, and the developing free-agent markets, teams are able to forecast what players are […]

All across the MLB, teams are focusing their drafting and developing efforts on shoring up the core of their team, emphasizing the quality of players up the middle. From catcher to pitcher, then from second baseman/shortstop to center field, teams are taking an up the middle approach to filling out their franchises. Looking at the […]

In a time where players all across the MLB seem to be understanding that the baseball that they are using is juiced, the actual league is not accepting the blame or coming clean on this topic. While baseballs are being smashed out of the park at a high rate, one that has never been seen […]

Just around two weeks until the 2019 MLB trade deadline is upon us, and things seem to be strangely quiet for this time of year. While there have been some smaller moves made that have started a trend towards a busier trade season, nothing huge has happened just quite yet. The Boston Red Sox have […]

Being a first-round draft pick in the sport of baseball puts a ton of pressure on a kid, sometimes one that is just coming out of high school and completely skipping the route of going to college, making it tough for that important step of development to occur. But for Gerrit Cole, going first overall […]

By showing its strength again by winning yet another All-Star game, the American League is gearing up for the second half of the 2019 MLB season, looking to make it three in a row for World Series championships. As it currently sits, there are eight teams that have an above .500 record, which is shaping […]

As the All-Star Break is closing up shop and the second half of the MLB season has already begun, teams across both the American and National leagues are gearing up for their run at making it into the postseason. While five teams from each league will ultimately earn a spot in the playoffs, not every […]

In the past, MLB fans have been privy to seeing front offices make deals during the All-Star break, catching players who may have even been playing in the game off guard. Rumors were running ablaze during last season’s All-Star game, which were mainly focused on which team was going to acquire All-Star Manny Machado from […]

The stage was bright, included some of the league’s best rookies and had everyone smashing juiced-up baseballs out of Progressive Field in Cleveland for the 2019 MLB Home Run Derby. Even with last year’s National League MVP, Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, having bowed out at the last minute due to an ailing back, […]

Unlike the National League, the American League seems to be more set it stone in regards to how the standings have worked themselves out. For the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins, the first half of their MLB seasons have all been very successful, to the point where they are leading their respective […]

With the ebb and flow of a 162 game MLB season having just crossed its halfway mark, both the National and American Leagues are sorting out their standings in an attempt to decipher who will be falling into the group of buyers and who will be selling off their talent before the trade deadline hits. […]

Every year, the MLB deals with missing out on players who deserve All-Star nominations, regardless of if they make the roster to be a starter or even a bench piece. Both leagues go through that process every single season, and the 2019 season is no different. The mid-summer classic is played in Cleveland, Ohio this […]

The beginning of July brought sadness to fans of the MLB everywhere, as Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs passed away at the age of 27 on July 1st. A starter for the Angels who pitched as recently as two days ago, Skaggs would have turned 28 years old on July 13. Skaggs made his […]

Undergoing a pretty disappointing season, the Boston Red Sox currently sit 11 games back (that is not a misprint) of the first-place New York Yankees and 7 back of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. Coming off of a very successful season that culminated in the BoSox winning the 2018 World Series over the Los Angeles […]

The good news is that before any gameplay on June 28th, the Chicago Cubs are sitting in first place in the National League Central division, having looked the part of a divisional winner so far as the last few days of June come to a close. The bad news? They only sit one game ahead […]

Currently positioned at the third-best team in the National League Central division as the end of June grows closer and closer, the St. Louis Cardinals are keeping their postseason chances close enough to still see for now – but not close enough to actually grasp. Having just found out that their fireballer closer Jordan Hicks […]