(PhatzRadio Sports / USA Today Sports) —- BALTIMORE — In the American League wild card race, where you’re only out of it if you want to be, four games can make a world of a difference. The Baltimore Orioles may have just learned that firsthand.
For a team mired by mediocrity for much of the season, the effects of consistent success could be pointed in a number of directions.
But the biggest impact sweeping four games from a wild card contender can have?
“It shuts up all the trade rumors, I know that,” says Orioles center fielder Adam Jones.
Such is life for a team on the bubble in the era since Major League Baseball instituted the wild card in 1994, and later expanded it to two clubs per league in 2012. And in this AL race, one series really can have drastic consequences.
The Orioles opened the second half getting swept by the Chicago Cubs, only to turn around and sweep four games from the Texas Rangers. The volatile seven-game sample only exacerbates the tension that surrounds teams mulling whether their season is sunk, and if it’s time to sell off assets.
“I don’t take offense to (the rumors), it just dies down when you win,” Jones said. “We become buyers and not sellers.”
Reality is a little more ambiguous than that.
Entering the series opener against the Rangers on July 17, the Orioles had the green light to move, at the least, their most prized relievers: left-hander Zach Britton and right-hander Brad Brach.
But the sweep did allow the Orioles to jump the Rangers in the wild card, placing them just 3 1/2 games out of the race. And for the first time all season, the Orioles’ pieces finally came together.
They entered the series with an AL-worst 5.19 ERA, and they are still stuck at the bottom of that category.
Yet over the course of a four-game series, the Orioles once again reached their potential at the plate, clubbing 10 home runs and scoring 34 runs.
Friday night, the trend continued, as they nearly erased all of a 5-0 deficit in losing 8-7 to the Houston Astros, the best team in the American League.
Is that the new normal for the Orioles? Not necessarily, although at the least, landing on the fringes of contention makes the notion of trading third baseman Manny Machado more far-fetched — especially for a fan base that has taken a long time to reinvigorate.
And while it may not eliminate rumors, it could certainly quiet them.
As it stands, the Orioles are just 4 1/2 games behind the wild card leading Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees – yet there’s five other teams that can make the same claim.are one of seven teams that can claim to be within six games
“… There’s a lot of sharing of rumors and people seem to like it and they like to talk about it,” said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. “Anytime somebody’s talking about baseball and not the upcoming college football season, I’m OK with that.
“You do look for the players a bit and if it’s affecting them, but I think it’s also kind of a captain obvious to them that that’s just this time of year.”
Obvious or not, there is one stark reality. For the teams stuck in the middle, the question becomes how much to sell, or how much to buy.
And that is where the Rangers come in. They’ve lost five of their first seven games of the second half — placing them 4 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for the second wild card, with five teams between them.
Granted, those inside the clubhouse may not see one bad week as a reason to shake things up.
“I’ve always — in the years I’ve that I’ve played this game — I don’t really believe that you need somebody else,” said shortstop Elvis Andrus, who invigorated the Rangers’ hopes with a home run and go-ahead single in a key 10-inning win at Tampa Bay on Friday.
“I think that everybody that’s here is capable of doing the right thing and help our team to win every single day. When you’ve got help it’s always amazing. It’s never bad to have a better team, but we have an amazing team.”
But amazing may be a generous characterization, the front office may think otherwise and the perils of being stuck on the wrong end of a series with the deadline approaching avoid no one.
Take Yu Darvish. Just hours after the Rangers lost their finale in Baltimore, Phatzradio Sports reported that Texas is now gauging what it could receive for its ace.
Darvish is an interesting case in that his approaching free agency could prevent the Rangers from receiving significant returns, but his ability to transition into the top of a contender’s rotation is a rare find, and thus enhances his value. He flashed that value Friday night, striking out 12 in eight innings of their 4-3 win over the wild card-leading Rays.
Either way, the fact that the Rangers are mulling Darvish’s fate provides one truth that can resonate throughout the majors. In the era of the wild card, mediocrity becomes a lot more perilous.
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FIVE MLB PROSPECTS THAT MAY NOT BE TRADED BUT WILL FACTOR IN OCTOBER
The trade deadline generates such hype and expectation every year that it’s easy to forget teams can often get just as big a boost from the midseason promotion of a prospect as they would from a new acquisition.
That was the case last season when Andrew Benintendi came up from Class AA Portland (Maine) and earned a spot as the Boston Red Sox’s starting left fielder in the final two months of the season and the playoffs, and when catcher Willson Contreras became an integral part of the Chicago Cubs’ championship drive.
Two things to note about prospects in this class: They are so advanced and integral to a club’s future that they are more or less untouchable in trade talks. Yet they’re also talented enough that clubs may see fit to spring them on opponents in October to glean an unexpected advantage.
With that in mind, here are a few minor leaguers prospects who could make an impact in the second half of this season and possibly beyond:
Brent Honeywell, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays’ emergence as contenders for the AL East crown has put them on the market for pitching help, especially in the bullpen.
Tampa Bay has employed young starters in a relief role during playoff races in the past – David Price and Jeremy Hellickson come to mind – so calling up Honeywell to perform in that role would not break new ground.
Honeywell, 22, has been on a roll of late, earning MVP honors in the Futures Game and throwing 11 scoreless innings in two July starts for Class AAA Durham (N.C.). If the Rays wanted to keep him in the rotation, they could consider having him take the spot of lefty Blake Snell, who has a 5.79 ERA over his last three starts and 4.98 for the season.
Walker Buehler, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers: Right, as if the Dodgers needed any more help. Well, get used to it L.A. haters, because there’s plenty of talent in their farm system.
It took Buehler all of 16 games to climb from Class A to AAA, where he was recently promoted after striking out 64 in 49 innings at the AA level. He struggled in his debut Thursday, failing to retire a batter and giving up three runs, though Oklahoma City pitching coach Matt Hergers said Buehler “was throwing 101 mph and just missing.”
It was that fastball that earned the 22-year-old right-hander recognition as the Dodgers’ top prospect in Baseball America’s midseason rankings.
Los Angeles relied on farmhands like Ross Stripling and Brock Stewart last year when injuries hit the starters. The rotation is in better shape this time, but a power arm like Buehler’s could still prove irresistible down the stretch and into October. Provided, of course, his next outings with Oklahoma City go a bit smoother.
Erick Fedde, RHP, Washington Nationals: Edwin Jackson got the call when Joe Ross was lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery, and the nomadic veteran responded with seven innings of two-run ball in a victory.
But there’s a reason Jackson has pitched for 12 different major league teams. Consistency is not his calling card, so at one point the Nationals may be looking for a different fifth starter to round out their fine rotation.
Fedde, regarded as their No. 2 prospect, could be their best bet if he returns to the form he flashed last season, when he had a 3.12 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 121 innings at Class A and AA. Fedde, 24, didn’t fare as well when he moved up to Class AAA (5.57 ERA) and is now working his way back to a starter’s workload after spending time in the bullpen.
Francisco Mejia, C, Cleveland Indians: It’s not common for a contender to call up a catcher from Class AA in the middle of a season, especially not one who won’t turn 22 until October, so chances are the Indians will continue to exercise patience with Mejia.
But it will become increasingly tempting to call him up if their catching tandem of Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez continues to struggle at the plate. Indians catchers rank second from the bottom in the AL in batting average (.206) and OPS (.622) while combining for a mere seven home runs.
The switch-hitting Mejia put together an eye-popping 50-game hitting streak at two Class A levels last season and has adjusted to AA quite well this year, batting .320 with an .893 OPS. His receiving skills haven’t caught up to his hitting yet, but they keep improving. Is the offense/defense split worth the risk to the Indians? We may find out.
Colin Moran, 3B, Houston Astros: Carlos Correa’s thumb injury will provide some opportunities at shortstop for Alex Bregman – manager A.J. Hinch wants Marwin Gonzalez to continue playing in a utility role – and that may open the door for Moran.
The sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Miami Marlins, Moran did not initially show the power expected from his 6-4 frame and was traded to the Astros the next year. This season the pop in his bat has materialized, as Moran was batting .308 with 18 homers and a .916 OPS in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League when he was promoted after Correa went down.
Moran, 24, had 34 extra-base hits in 79 games, and even though he won’t play that many with the Astros, he could make an impact in Correa’s absence. He’s also versatile enough to play first base and some outfield.