Under The Knife 9/1/23

Something New Under The Sun

Lucas Giolito wasn’t home in LA long. Along with several other players, Giolito got waived and picked up after the claiming period. Giolito, Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez went to Cleveland, a bit of a surprise, but the Guardians do need innings and to protect the arms of their young pitchers. After a quiet trade deadline, this is one way to do it and a cheaper one to boot. The quick nickname of “the Guardian Angels” should stick.

Let’s be clear: there’s a difference between waived and released, but it’s a technicality. Those claimed on waivers have their contracts intact. Almost all these players are on expiring deals, making those things essentially moot, and none of these have special clauses, buyouts, or other complications that might make a team avoid this. Really the biggest issue is that the team doesn’t get the same rights under a trade. They don’t see medicals, though the protection is that they themselves could release the player themselves without much cost. (I’m not sure if they could be waived twice.)

The bigger question is whether this is the new normal under the CBA. It wasn’t just the Angels doing it, though it’s clear they are trying to get under the tax limit when the all-in move busted. Harrison Bader went to the Reds as the Yankees were trying to make 40-man space, with the Reds also picking up Hunter Renfroe, upgrading two positions without cost to their minor leaguers.

MLB has always been a business, but this is one of the times where it’s made clear to everyone. It’s one of the few times when owners might have had issue with how it’s conducted, but so far, there’s been nothing public in terms of denouncing the moves or the intent by the Angels or any other team. Neither has there been discussion of changes to the rules - difficult to do, if not impossible under the CBA - or adjustments like changing the trade deadline, which might fall under Rob Manfred’s broad powers on rule changes.

If the Angels sneak under the tax threshold with no repercussions, aside from losing more and potentially losing Shohei Ohtani, we’ll see this again next year, but with the advantage of seeing it coming. I can’t say I like how it feels, but we’ll see how this one works out over the next month. For now, let’s get to the injuries:

WALKER BUEHLER, SP LAD (sprained elbow/rehab)

Walker Buehler is just more than a year out from his Tommy John surgery. His first rehab start comes Sunday at Triple-A Oklahoma City. How he does might determine how far the Dodgers go.

Yes, it’s that stark at this point for the Dodgers rotation. It’s not that there’s no depth, it’s that there’s very little at a point where any of the depth and one of the key members of the rotation are getting into workload areas they haven’t been, even before we get to the playoffs. This is clearly a team fighting to balance both the now and the future. A future with Buehler and Bobby Miller at the top, likely with Julio Urias right there, would give them three potential home-grown aces and only one at free agent rates.

Buehler has been throwing to batters for better than a month, but starting at Triple-A is a tell. This isn’t going to be a long rehab. While most are expecting three starts, I’ll be surprised if this goes past two. The Dodgers will want Buehler able to throw three or four innings in order to make him a good tandem, likely with Miller. There’s no coach of the year award that I know of, but there should be and if the Dodgers hold position, Mark Prior should win it.

JULIO RODRIGUEZ, OF SEA (inflamed foot)

Jerry DiPoto did a radio interview on Thursday saying that he expected Julio Rodriguez to return to the lineup over the weekend, also slipping out that there’s a “nerve issue” causing him to miss games. Given his hot streak and the tie atop the AL West, any games missed by Rodriguez are a big cost.