Stephen Vogt has missed two games, now, with an illness. I hope he’s ok, that seems odd.
Bench coach and acting manager Tony Arnerich offered a crazy quote to Paul Hoynes when asked about moving Steven Kwan out of the leadoff spot:
Tony, Tone, Anthony… you JUST took the bat out of Kwan’s hands down two runs against a terrible relief pitcher who was on the ropes and made him sacrifice bunt. You clearly do not trust him. Having him bat lower in the order for the purpose of relieving pressure as he tries to figure things out is not a lack of trust. I don’t see any reason Kwan couldn’t go back to leadoff, and this is not at all an unusual move, even for veteran players, when things are going very poorly. 178 plate appearances and he has a 68 wRC+ in 2026. Dating back to June 1st of 2025, his wRC+ is 77 with a .292 xwOBA. A .292 xwOBA being actualized would still make him a below average hitter, around 85 wRC+. Something is amiss and something will have to change for him to fix it. Asking him to bunt more will not be that change.
Brayan Rocchio was asked about being a double-play partner with Travis Bazzana:
Bazzana adorably apologized to an umpire after getting an ABS challenge incorrect:
AROUND MLB:
No other AL Central teams played yesterday, but the Tampa Bay Rays are the best team in baseball right now, which is crazy.