Thad Ward should be of interest to several teams come next month’s Rule 5 draft. Currently no. 15 on our Boston Red Sox prospect rankings with a 40+ FV, the 25-year-old right-hander wasn’t added to the club’s 40-man roster — a decision that left Eric Longenhagen “a tad surprised.” Our lead prospect analyst explained that Ward “looked good in the Arizona Fall League, locating 92-94 mph fastballs while mixing in two above-average breaking balls… [and] looks like a possible bulk relief fit right now.”

Three years ago, Ward looked to be well on his way to securing a spot in Boston’s starting rotation. When he was featured at FanGraphs in October 2019, the 2018 fifth-rounder out of the University of South Florida had recently been honored as the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year. According to then-Red Sox pitching analyst Brian Bannister, Ward was in possession of “a Chris Sale slider.”

But fate had its say. The 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic, and the following year, Ward underwent Tommy John surgery after making just two starts with Double-A Portland. By the time he returned to action this past July, he had essentially missed two-plus seasons. But while taking the mound again didn’t feel akin to jumping back on a bicycle for the righty, he did pitch well. In 51-and-a-third innings spread across four levels, Ward fanned 66 batters and allowed just 40 hits while logging a 2.88 ERA.

Ward discussed his comeback, including how his stuff compares to what it was pre-injury, during his stint in the Arizona Fall League.

———

David Laurila: You came back from Tommy John this year. Are you the same pitcher now that you were before going under the knife?

Thad Ward: “In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. I’ve matured a lot in terms of stuff I can’t control. I don’t get as upset over mistakes. That’s not to say my competitive edge has gone away, it’s more that I feel I’m channeling it in a better direction.” Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 1001

Hot Stove season is upon us and we are ready to start picking apart transactions, but not before we talk about the Kansas City Royals.

• To kick things off, David Laurila welcomes Joel Goldberg, broadcaster and reporter for the Royals. David didn’t put Bobby Witt Jr. on his AL Rookie of the Year ballot this year, but he and Joel discuss how the best is certainly yet to come for the young phenom. The pair also talk about the underrated Scott Barlow, top prospect Maikel Garcia, the promise of a new ballpark, and how Kansas City was Salvador Perez’s town before it belonged to Patrick Mahomes. We also get insight into Dayton Moore’s legacy now that he has left the organization and J.J. Picollo has become the new president of baseball ops. [3:53]
• In the second half, Ben Clemens is joined by Eric Longenhagen to talk about the early roster moving and shaking. The duo discuss glove-first center fielders who can’t hit enough for the majors, the Marlins struggling to develop players with a good approach at the plate, and Ben’s recent article about what would happen if pitching were a carnival game. Eric and Ben also banter about backstops, wonder how catchers who are good at framing will be valued going forward, framing vs. blocking, and if pop time is more important than accuracy when throwing to second base. [37:56]

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Intern – Baseball Research & Development (paid, multiple positions available)

Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Summary  Will work with the Baseball R&D, Baseball Systems Departments, and the entire Baseball Operations Department to deliver research and tools to improve decision making. The position requires a person who has intellectual curiosity, is a self-starter and can communicate technical and analytical concepts effectively to non-technical people. Being passionate about using data, analysis, and technology to improve decision making processes is also a key differentiator.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Other duties may be assigned.

• Work with Baseball R&D and Baseball Operations to understand analytical needs and implement best practices for meeting those needs
• Investigate emerging data sources and identify potential for predictive value and actionable insights to improve decision making
• Develop visualizations and other mechanisms for disseminating analytical results to Baseball Operations, including consideration for less technically and analytically inclined consumers
• Continually survey latest analytical methods and advancements in baseball research to apply cutting edge methods and data to problems
• Understand current decision processes and information systems and offer enhancements and improvements
• Additional requests for reports, visualizations and research projects during the year

Qualifications To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Understanding of basic statistical modeling techniques, including, but not limited to, linear regression, logistic regressions, machine learning, etc.

• Proficiency with an analytical software platform required (for example R or Mathematica)

• Proficiency with SQL and SQL databases required
• Proficiency with data scripting language or ETL environment (Python, PERL, SSIS, etc.) desired

Education and/or Experience
Bachelor’s degree (B.S./B.A.) or current pursuit of bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Operations Research, or related field from four-year college or university. Advanced degree or current pursuit of advanced degree in one of the areas mentioned above or a related field is desirable.

Work Hours 
Business hours are Monday – Friday 9 am – 5pm, however, additional hours may be required on weekends, evenings and some holidays.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Intern – Minor League Technology Operations (paid, multiple positions available)

Summary  Assist members of the baseball operations staff with all technology needs at Brewers minor league affiliates. This internship will run from early March through the end of September with the possibility of work into October.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Other duties may be assigned.

• Troubleshoot the team Hawkeye cameras when instructed by coordinator, tech ops..
• Log home game data via Hawkeye’s BSK software.
• Import game data into the BATS Video System accurately tracking pitch type, location, and result. Upload this data to the Brewers system so that remote and front office staff can review video.
• Complete special projects as assigned from Coordinator – Tech Operations and front office.
• Complete pro scouting reports on assigned players.
• Operate Edgertronic Camera and Trackman Portable system for each bullpen before games
• Communicate with Coordinator – Technology Operations regarding any technology troubleshooting issues.
• Partner with coaches to produce advance scouting reports that clearly and accurately report data on the upcoming opponents. Present this data to players when necessary.
• Operate approved technology including, but not limited to, Uplift, Blast, Trackman, Rapsodo, and HitTrax when necessary to track player on field work prior to games
• Implement organizational technology best practices and educate coaches and players on the process and benefits of technology use.

Qualifications To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Qualified applicants must be motivated, well-organized, detail-oriented, be able to work independently and on a deadline.
• Exceptional organization skills and the ability to relate well with individuals with diverse backgrounds is also required.
• A background in scouting is preferred, as well as experience in baseball operations

Education and/or Experience
Candidates must be currently enrolled or have recently graduated from an accredited college or university pursuing a degree or certification in a related field.

Computer Skills  
To perform the job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of Microsoft office software including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, and Internet Explorer. Additional preferred computer skills include proficiency in BATS (Baseball Analysis and Tracking System).

Language Skills 
Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos. Ability to write simple correspondence. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization. Spanish speaking preferred.

Mathematical Skills 
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Reasoning Ability 
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions. Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly exposed to outside weather conditions, which may include heat, cold and various forms of precipitation. The employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Work Hours 
Hours vary according to the game and event schedule.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tuesday’s 40-man roster deadline led to the usual squall of transaction activity, with teams turning over portions of their rosters in an effort to make room for the incoming crop of young rookies. Often, teams with an overflow of viable big leaguers will try to get back what they can for some of those players via trade, but because we’re talking about guys straddling the line between major league viability and Triple-A, those trades tend not to be big enough to warrant an entire post. Over the next few days, I’ll endeavor to cover and analyze the moves made by each team, division by division. Readers can view this as the start of list season, as the players covered in this miniseries tend to be prospects who will get big league time in the next year. I’ll spend more time discussing players who I think need scouting updates or who I haven’t written about in the past. If you want additional detail on some of the more famous names you find below, pop over to The Board for a more thorough report.

The Future Value grades littered throughout these posts may be different than those on the 2022 in-season prospect lists on The Board to reflect my updated opinions, and may be subject to change during the offseason. New to my thinking on this subject and wondering what the FVs mean? Here’s a quick rundown. Note that because we’re talking about close-to-the-majors prospects across this entire exercise, the time and risk component is less present here and these FVs are what I think the players are right now. Read the rest of this entry »

The following article is part of my ongoing look at the candidates on the 2023 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot. Originally written for the 2013 election at SI.com, it has been expanded and updated. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, use the tool above. An introduction to JAWS can be found here.

Don Mattingly was the golden child of the Great Yankees Dark Age. He debuted in September 1982, the year after the team finished a stretch of four World Series appearances in six seasons, and retired in 1995 after finally reaching the postseason — a year too early for the franchise’s run of six pennants and four titles in eight years under Joe Torre.

A lefty-swinging first baseman with a sweet stroke, “Donnie Baseball” was both an outstanding hitter and a slick fielder at his peak. He made six straight All-Star teams from 1984 to ’89 and won a batting title, an MVP award, and nine Gold Gloves. Along the way, he battled with owner George Steinbrenner even while becoming the standard bearer of the pinstripes, the team captain, and something of a cultural icon. Alas, a back injury sapped his power, not only shortening his peak but also bringing his career to a premature end at age 34. At its root, the problem was that Mattingly was so driven to succeed that he overworked himself in the batting cage.

“Donnie was one of the hardest workers I had ever seen and played with. He would go in the cage before batting practice and take batting practice. And after batting practice was over, he’d take batting practice,” former teammate Ron Guidry said for a 2022 MLB Network documentary, Donnie Baseball (for which this scribe was also interviewed).

“I should have learned quicker to not to beat my body up, and if I did less, I could perform better,” said Mattingly for the same documentary.

Mattingly debuted on the 2001 Hall of Fame ballot, the last one before I began my own annual reviews, but it was quickly clear that he didn’t have the raw numbers or the support of enough voters to gain entry to Cooperstown. After receiving 28.2% his first time around, he dipped to 20.3% in 2002, spent most of the remainder of his 15-year run in the teens, and was in single digits by the end. What’s more, in two appearances on the Modern Baseball Era Committee ballot in 2018 and ’20, he failed to reach the threshold to have his actual share reported; at most, he received three of 16 votes (18.8%) in his last appearance.

At this point, Mattingly’s best hope for a Hall of Fame berth involves building on his managerial success, though even in that department he has a long way to go. After winning three division titles in five seasons with the Dodgers, he spent seven years toiling for the Marlins and is currently out of a job after stepping down from that job last month. He seems unlikely to be elected this time around, but his candidacy is nonetheless a welcome palate cleanser when compared to the likes of Rafael Palmeiro and Albert Belle. Read the rest of this entry »

When he was first featured at FanGraphs in October of last year, Edouard Julien was described as having a unique profile and a potentially bright future. A native of Quebec City whom the Minnesota Twins had taken in the 18th round of the 2019 draft out of Auburn University, the left-handed-hitting second baseman was coming off a season in which he led the minors with 110 walks while logging a .434 OBP. Augmenting his patient approach with promising power, he’d homered 18 times between the two A-ball levels.

An adjustment was nonetheless needed. Julien’s batting average had been a middling .267, and his 144 strikeouts and 28% K-rate were suggestive of a hitter who’d been guilty of taking too many hittable pitches. Eric Longenhagen addressed the issue this past March. Describing the now-23-year-old, our lead prospect analyst wrote: “Patient bordering on passive, Julien’s bat is what will carry him to the big leagues.” Read the rest of this entry »

It can be difficult to find the thing you didn’t realize you needed until you didn’t have it when it counted, or to offload it when you realized you had more of it than you could use. That thing, in this case: production from the catcher position.

Catchers are unlike infielders or outfielders, in that you can only one can play at a time. Or rather, two catchers can play at once, if one slides over to first base or DH, in which case the thing that makes them so special — the ability to slap on some plastic padding and soak up foul tips and 58-foot curveballs five nights a week — essentially goes to waste.

Consider Oakland’s situation; after developing Sean Murphy into one of the top catchers in the game, the A’s landed former top-10 pick Shea Langeliers in the Matt Olson trade. Langeliers reached the majors this year and hit fairly well, but not so well that he’s an ideal DH, which is where he made most of his starts on account of being blocked by Murphy.

Or how about the Blue Jays, who have not one but three starter-quality catchers? Alejandro Kirk emerged as a star in 2022, and Danny Jansen put up 2.6 WAR and a 140 wRC+ in just 72 games. That left Gabriel Moreno, one of the top prospects in baseball, even more blocked than Langeliers when he emerged as big league-ready late this season.

It makes sense, therefore, that trade rumors swirl around both Oakland and Toronto, as both teams could stand to cash in their surfeit of backstops for help elsewhere. Read the rest of this entry »

Minor League Pitching Coach

Primary Purpose
The Cleveland Guardians are currently seeking a Minor League pitching coach to join the Player Development Department. The ideal candidate will possess a passion for player and personal growth, experience integrating multiple information sources to create and implement pitching plans, and a thorough understanding of skill acquisition principles. Excellent applicants will demonstrate curiosity, creativity, and a drive to learn new concepts to problem solve. First and foremost, we are looking for great people!

We are committed to creating an equitable interview process that recognizes the unique identities of all applicants and allows candidates to bring their best selves forward. If you are more comfortable with submitting your materials (ie. resume, other documents) in Spanish, please feel free to do so. In order to facilitate the review of applications, we encourage you to apply by 11/18. However, we will still be accepting applications after that date until the position is filled.

If you meet some of the qualifications above, we encourage you to apply or to reach out for more information. We know that some historically marginalized groups – including people of color, women, people from working class backgrounds, and people who identify as LGBTQ – may feel less likely to apply, even though they are qualified, unless they meet every requirement for a job. Therefore, we encourage you to reach out if you have questions about the role or your qualifications. We are happy to help you feel ready to apply!

Essential Responsibilities and Duties

• Integrate objective information into a detailed and comprehensive player development plan. 
• Create effective training environments based off individual player plans. 
• Collaborate with other Physical domains to effectively plan, implement and monitor a holistic player development plan. 
• Utilize internal tools, resources, and analytics to assess and adjust player plans. 
• Communicate development plans and progress with players and Player Development staff and Front Office throughout the year.
• Assist field staff with normal daily operations when necessary. 

Requirements

• Minimum of two years related experience and/or training required. Previous experience with a Major or Minor League Baseball organization or collegiate baseball program is a plus.
• Candidate is willing to potentially work at our development complex in Arizona year round. 
• Ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of people and backgrounds.
• Reads, speaks, comprehends, and communicates English proficiently in all communications.
• Interest in personal and professional development with a desire to be involved in internal continuing education opportunities. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office and Outlook. 

Preferred Experience
We are looking for a variety of skill sets. If you have demonstrated experience with any of the following, you may be who we are looking for to join our team.

• Fluency in Spanish is a plus but not required.
• Proficiency in SQL is a plus but not required.
• Experience working with Trackman, Edgertronic cameras, biomechanics data, and workload monitoring data. 
• Strength & conditioning experience is a plus but not required.

Standard Requirements

• All applicants for employment with the Cleveland Indians (Guardians) will need to comply with the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination Policy as a condition of employment.  Potential candidates for employment will be notified of the requirements of this policy prior to the start of employment.
• Represents the Cleveland Guardians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office.
• Ability to act according to the organizational values and service excellence at all times. 
• Ability to work with multicultural populations and have a commitment to fairness and equality. 
• Ability to work in a diverse and changing environment. 

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Minor League Hitting Coach

Primary Purpose
The Cleveland Guardians are currently seeking a Minor League hitting coach to join the Player Development Department. The ideal candidate will possess a passion for player and personal growth, experience integrating multiple information sources to create and implement development plans, and a thorough understanding of skill acquisition principles. Excellent applicants will demonstrate curiosity, creativity, and a drive to learn new concepts to problem solve. First and foremost, we are looking for great people!

We are committed to creating an equitable interview process that recognizes the unique identities of all applicants and allows candidates to bring their best selves forward. If you are more comfortable with submitting your materials (ie. resume, other documents) in Spanish, please feel free to do so. In order to facilitate the review of applications, we encourage you to apply by 11/18. However, we will still be accepting applications after that date until the position is filled.

If you meet some of the qualifications above, we encourage you to apply or to reach out for more information. We know that some historically marginalized groups – including people of color, women, people from working class backgrounds, and people who identify as LGBTQ – may feel less likely to apply, even though they are qualified, unless they meet every requirement for a job. Therefore, we encourage you to reach out if you have questions about the role or your qualifications. We are happy to help you feel ready to apply!

Essential Responsibilities and Duties

• Integrate objective information into a detailed and comprehensive player development plan. 
• Create effective training environments based off individual player plans. 
• Collaborate with other Physical domains to effectively plan, implement and monitor a holistic player development plan. 
• Utilize internal tools, resources, and analytics to assess and adjust player plans. 
• Communicate development plans and progress with players and Player Development staff and Front Office throughout the year.
• Assist field staff with normal daily operations when necessary. 

Requirements

• Minimum of two years related experience and/or training required. Previous experience with a professional baseball/softball organization or collegiate baseball/softball program is a plus.
• Candidate is willing to potentially work year-round at our development complex in Arizona. 
• Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of people and backgrounds.
• Reads, speaks, comprehends, and communicates English proficiently in all communications.
• Interest in personal and professional development with a desire to be involved in internal continuing education opportunities. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office and Outlook. 

Preferred Experience
We are looking for a variety of skill sets. If you have demonstrated experience with any of the following, you may be who we are looking for to join our team.

• Fluency in Spanish is a plus but not required.
• Proficiency in SQL is a plus but not required.
• Experience working with Trackman, Edgertronic cameras, biomechanics data, and workload monitoring data. 
• Strength & conditioning experience is a plus but not required.
• Experience with mental performance/sports psychology is a plus but not required.

Standard Requirements

• All applicants for employment with the Cleveland Indians (Guardians) will need to comply with the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination Policy as a condition of employment.  Potential candidates for employment will be notified of the requirements of this policy prior to the start of employment.
• Represents the Cleveland Guardians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office.
• Ability to act according to the organizational values and service excellence at all times. 
• Ability to work with multicultural populations and have a commitment to fairness and equality. 
• Ability to work in a diverse and changing environment. 

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Cleveland Guardians.

Intern – Player Development Information

Location: US-AZ-Phoenix

Summary
The Intern – Player Development Information will focus on analyzing and disseminating various forms of player data and video for development purposes. This position will help support the department’s efforts both in preparing video and data visualization for player- and coach-facing delivery, as well as analyzing performance trends and communicating development opportunities for both internal and external players to PD leadership. Residence in Phoenix is required.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Other duties may be assigned.

• Support ad-hoc requests for reports, videos & visualizations, and research projects for player development.
• Create and deliver player feedback and optimization plans for minor leagues athletes, as well as select Major League coverage, as assigned.
• Per assigned player, research publicly available information (Twitter, external projections, online articles, etc.)
• Contribute to identifying data issues and testing application features in Milwaukee Brewers Baseball club systems.
• Monitor, identify and recommend new or emerging technologies that could enhance baseball performance or processes.

Qualifications To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Proficiency with video editing (Adobe Premier or similar) software required
• Proficiency with data visualization (Tableau or similar), SQL and SQL databases strongly preferred
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word required
• Extensive experience with advanced statistical concepts, particularly those relevant to sabermetric player evaluation techniques
• Strong language skills required including ability to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing with front office and field staff
• Must possess strong attention to detail and exhibit the capability to multi-task effectively

Education and/or Experience
Bachelor’s degree (B.S./B.A.) or current pursuit of bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research, or related field or equivalent professional experience. Advanced degree or current pursuit of advanced degree in one of the areas mentioned above or a related field is desirable

Computer Skills
To perform the job successfully, an individual should have knowledge of Microsoft office software including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, and Internet Explorer.

Language Skills
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

Mathematical Skills
Ability to apply advanced mathematical concepts such as exponents, logarithms, quadratic equations, and permutations. Ability to apply mathematical operations to such tasks as frequency distribution, determination of test reliability and validity, analysis of variance, correlation techniques, sampling theory, and factor analysis.

Reasoning Ability
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and /or move up to [25] pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly exposed to outside weather conditions, which may include heat, cold and various forms of precipitation. The employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Occasional travel to remote sites, including spring training sites, affiliate sites, conferences or other major league facilities may be required. Estimated travel time is less than 10%.

Travel Requirements
The employee must have the ability to operate a motor vehicle and to drive long distances to attend games. In addition, the employee is required to make selected trips by air and must be able to walk significant distances with luggage, board & deplane aircraft.

Work Hours
Business hours are Monday – Friday 9 am – 5pm, however, additional hours may be required on weekends, evenings and some holidays

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Blue Jays and Mariners have swung the biggest trade of the young offseason so far, as Seattle has acquired Teoscar Hernández from Toronto in exchange for reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect, Adam Macko.

For the Mariners, the calculus for this trade is simple: immediate improvement on the offensive side of things by adding one of the 30 best hitters in baseball. The table below shows hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances since the start of the 2020 season, ranked by wRC+:

That 132 wRC+ comes with a 26.7% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. That shaky plate discipline and a BABIP that ran well above average (.345) made it unclear whether Hernández could sustain this success. But changes to his stance and leg lift unlocked a part of his swing that allowed him to make hard contact in the air more consistently. Once a hitter figures out how to do that and has a 96th percentile average exit velocity like he does, the odds are in their favor.

This trade signals a few things from the Mariners. The first is that long-time outfielder Mitch Haniger is unlikely to return. That’s not shocking, given that he wasn’t extended a qualifying offer and that he seems to have already hit his offensive peak. The second is that they are going all in to try to catch the defending World Series champion Astros. Hernández is not a long-term addition; he’s under contract for just the 2023 season. This is, essentially, a one-year rental to goose the offense.

Shipping Swanson away isn’t ideal for Seattle, given his fantastic performance this season: a 1.85 FIP in 53.2 innings. But the team’s usage of him in the postseason — he only threw one inning in five games of play — suggests that he’s seen as expendable, making him an easy choice to include in a trade for a top-30 hitter. After all, even if the Mariners love Swanson’s pedigree and stuff, it’s always worth trading middle relievers for productive hitters, even if they have only one more year of team control.

That said, I’m a firm believer in Swanson. His whiff rates on his four-seamer and splitter are both well above average, and he seems to have perfected how to use them to go with his above-average extension and straight over the top delivery. The Jays’ most glaring weakness was their bullpen, so if their goal was to improve it, then they have succeeded.

The bigger question mark in the deal is Macko. He topped out this year with 38.1 innings in High A, striking out just under 36% of the hitters he faced, but he also walked 12% of them. He was solid with a 3.77 FIP and 3.21 xFIP as well. That’s all well and good, but with minor league pitchers, it’s always important to get to the good stuff — literally. So I asked Eric Longenhagen, who is constantly sourced for information, for the goods on Macko, and lucky for us, Eric got a few looks at him in the Arizona Fall League. Check out the video below to get a better look of Macko’s stuff and mechanics.

Per Eric, Macko had some Jekyll and Hyde characteristics in Arizona, with his secondaries and command coming and going depending on the outing. That makes sense, given his walk rates. When he was on, his stuff was interesting. He has two breaking balls: a curve of the loopy ilk that comes in at the low-70s, and a slider that’s more of a mid-80s gyro spin-dominant kind. Macko tended to pitch backwards in the AFL with those two pitches, adding a running four-seamer at 93–94 mph and topping at 96 to finish hitters off in the top of the zone.

To me, the most interesting tidbit was that Macko has rather short arms and as a result can get down the mound to a low release point. That’s ideal for getting whiffs and popups on fastballs at the top of the zone. By the looks of it, the spin is pretty true as well. It might not be perfect, but Macko’s fingers stay over the ball very well, which goes right in line with the pitch playing up the zone. The curveball might not have great specs on its own, but when paired with this deceptive fastball, hitters struggle to hit it. It’s the classic pairing of high four-seamers and big depth curveballs below the zone.

When Macko has command of the slider, it flashes plus. During the regular season, he used that pitch nearly a quarter of the time, and the fastball just about half the time. The curve had about a 15% usage; he also featured a changeup sparingly. Per Eric, that pitch also flashed plus when he used it. I know this all sounds exciting, but it’s always important to remind yourself that the saying of “if the command is there” needs to be at the forefront of your mind. This big “if” is enough to put Macko in the 45+ FV tier, rather than at 50 or above. But given that the Jays’ system isn’t too deep anymore, that will put him easily in their top 10 when Eric updates it.

To recap, the Mariners get a fantastic hitter to slot right into the middle of their lineup, and the Jays get a quality reliever and intriguing pitching prospect. This trade is likely only a prelude to more moves from the Jays, though; there are rumblings all around suggesting that George Springer’s time in center field will soon come to a close, and it seems like there is another play to be made there. After all, you can’t move a 130 wRC+ hitter for only a middle reliever and expect your team to improve. This is all speculation, but there is almost certainly more to come.