harmony

https://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/2015/11/west_linn_51_sherwood_7_how_re.html?gift=ab8335d2-e29e-4d84-b28f-8f98c1dc5dc3

Adley Rutschman and the Diamondbacks' Tim Tawa have a history dating back to a high school football field in 2015: https://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/2015/11/west_linn_51_sherwood_7_how_re.html?gift=ab8335d2-e29e-4d84-b28f-8f98c1dc5dc3

This season Luis Castillo has posted 1.0 fWAR in 110.2 innings while Sean Manaea has posted 0.9 fWAR in 104.2 innings. Steamer and ZiPS project Castillo with rest-of-season WAR of 0.6 and 0.4 in 45 and 39 innings while projecting Manaea with ROS WAR of 0.5 and 0.3 WAR in 43 and 28 innings. Before the season the ZiPS three-year projections had Castillo with 1.9, 1.5 and 1.0 WAR in 2026-28 and Manaea with 1.1, 0.7 and 0.3 WAR in 2026-28: https://www.fangraphs.com/players/luis-castillo/15689/stats/pitching#zips-3-year-projections https://www.fangraphs.com/players/sean-manaea/15873/stats/pitching#zips-3-year-projections Castillo has a 2027 salary of $24.15 million with a 2028 vesting option for $25 million if Castillo pitches 180 innings in 2027 and passes a physical. Manaea, who is 10 months older than Castillo, has an average annual salary of $25 million under his three-year contract, but has a 2027 salary of only $19.2 million with a luxury tax assessment of $22 million: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/19022/sean-manaea This week Castillo struck out 10 over seven shutout innings as the first-place Chicago White Sox blanked the Cincinnati Reds: https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-castillo-has-season-high-10-strikeouts-in-white-sox-win-over-reds

In some respects Sean Manaea is the lefthanded Luis Castillo with a similar contract and age.

FWIW Sean Manaea is on a streak of four straight quality starts, posting an ERA of 2.16 over 25 innings.

Marcelo Mayer on Rafael Devers' influence in the Red Sox clubhouse: https://www.mlb.com/news/marcelo-mayer-excited-to-join-giants-after-trade-from-red-sox

Some Mariner fans have turned their immediate attention to prospect Boston Smith, who was acquired in the Luis Castillo trade. Smith hit five home runs in his first week with Double A Arkansas, giving the 23-year-old catcher 27 homers on the season.🙂 https://www.milb.com/news/boston-smith-takes-tl-player-of-the-week https://www.marinertalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11053&sid=597100700460e0ceadb9f964b19ad899

A sad, sad season indeed for the Seattle Mariners.🥲

On the Marcelo Mayer trade, Baseball Trade Values determines: Red Sox receive $9.4 million in value The Giants receive $27.9 million in value https://baseballtradevalues.com/trades/220476 BTV needed to update (and downgrade) Mayer's trade value.

The Red Sox almost certainly traded Marcelo Mayer for today's best offer. The issue for the front office may have been whether Mayer's trade value was likely to rise in the future. The trade suggests that the baseball execs were betting against an elevated future value.

A favorite Adley Rutschman video;

Seattle is unlikely to trade a package including George Kirby for anyone less than Mason Miller.

The Mariners reportedly are in the market for a right-handed bat but Randy Arizarena nevertheless may be available. However, the Red Sox and Mariners don’t match up well in a trade.

One-time No. 6 overall draft pick Jarred Kelenic keeps getting signed (although he’s currently searching for a home).

Even before this year's disappointing season, the ZiPS three-year projections gave Marcelo Mayer only 0.7 WAR in 90 games in 2026, 0.8 in 95 games in 2027 and 1.0 WAR in 99 games in 2028. https://www.fangraphs.com/players/marcelo-mayer/29668/stats/batting#zips-3-year-projections Mayer may be a glove-first utility infielder whom Red Sox fans hold in higher regard than many MLB front offices would.

Seattle reportedly had interest in Curtis Mead's right-handed bat but the Mariners were unlikely to trade starter Emerson Hancock for Mead. Compare the 2026 lines for Connelly Early and Hancock: CE 17 GS, 91.2 IP, 3.44 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 2.74 K/BB, 119 ERA+, 1.6 bWAR, 0.7 fWAR EH 19 GS, 105.1 IP, 3.16 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 3.73 K/BB, 125 ERA+, 2.4 bWAR, 1.6 fWAR Early is nearly three years younger than Hancock and has five more years of team control to Hancock's four years. Early is a left-hander but right-hander Hancock has avoided the injured list. Interesting comp.

Curtis Mead had been mentioned as a trade target for Seattle but the Mariners may become sellers shortly.

Seattle reportedly is in the market for a righthanded bat but the Mariners nevertheless might be willing to part with the expiring contract of their only 2026 All Star, the righthand-hitting Randy Arozarena. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfc-RBouqMM

That's hyperbole as the Red Sox won/loss record ranks 16th among the 30 teams since the start of the 2020 season, covering seven campaigns, including the 92-win season in 2021.

softlaw once started a new thread to berate this poster for suggesting that Will Middlebrooks could use more time in the minors.😁

Felnin Celesten and Luke Stevenson are curently with the Everett AquaSox of the High A Northwest League. MLB Prospects gives Celesten and Stevenson ETAs of 2028. https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/mariners/

Heathcliff Slocumb redux?😁😁😁

Would anyone trade reliever Garrett Whitock to the Mariners for two prospects -- shortstop Felnin Celesten and catcher Luke Stevenson -- as proposed by a Seattle podcaster? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdOOESluea4 ... at about 23:00. In his late May prospect list, Keith Law ranked the 20-year-old Celesten No. 17 overall and included the 21-year-old Stevenson among "other players who weren’t on my preseason top 100 ranking but are heading towards next winter’s list." https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7311086/2026/05/28/mlb-prospects-top-50-midseason-update/ Whitlock has a 2026 salary of $7.5 million with am $8.25 club option for 2027 and a $10.5 million club option for 2028.

This poster witnessed a Shugo Maki home run last year in Yokohama: https://npb.jp/bis/eng/2025/games/s2025040900135.html Kazuma Okamoto, the current Toronto third baseman, also homered in that game.

Evaluation of young players is tough ... and sometimes confusing. In 23 games at the MLB level, 20-year-old Colt Emerson has posted a 145 OPS+ (144 wRC+) in 84 plate appearances for 1.0 bWAR (0.8 fWAR). Emerson's six home runs would be on pace for 42 homers over a 162-game season. Nevertheless, Emerson's Baseball Savant page is highly discouraging for the small sample: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/colt-emerson-806068?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb The Red Sox will likely see Emerson this weekend in Seattle.