Three Myths That MLB Media is Telling You
Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports
The August 1 trade deadline is approaching, and MLB media has been churning out content to keep their audience interested. Thus, it is necessary to address three of the myths that MLB media is telling you and how they are plaguing fans’ perception of the league’s current landscape.
Shohei Ohtani will be traded to a team outside of California.
In the event Ohtani is traded, the Dodgers have the best pool of prospects that could be offered to the Angels. However, that is about as far as trade rumors for Ohtani to the Dodgers will go. It is embarrassing that the Angels have paired two of the best players of the twenty-first century and routinely miss the playoffs. If the team were to trade him up the road and he wins, the embarrassment would multiply and be unbearable. Optics matter, and the Angels would always be remembered as the younger sibling in Los Angeles if the Dodgers were to win a World Series with Ohtani.
The Padres prospect pool was depleted in the trade for Juan Soto and the team simply can’t afford to make a monstrous deal for Ohtani with so many existing holes on the roster.
Lastly, we land on the Giants, who have been starved for a megastar in the Bay Area since Barry Bonds’ awkward exit. After making a run at Aaron Judge last offseason and the odd Carlos Correa saga, it is clear President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi is looking to acquire a star.
The Giants have the prospects needed to make a deal for Ohtani happen: LHP Kyle Harrison (MLB.com’s #11 prospect), SS Marco Luciano (MLB.com’s #15 prospect), and OF Luis Matos (MLB.com’s #67 prospect), and LHP Carson Whisenhunt (MLB.com’s #93 prospect). Three Top-100 prospects would be enough to start the conversation; four might be enough to finish it. If not, the Giants could add some sprinkles and a cherry on top to seal the deal.
San Francisco needs Ohtani in the short- and long-term. He isn’t leaving California. If you are an A’s fan… keep scrolling.
Now here is the ultimate plot twist: Ohtani could stay in Anaheim and the rumors were just… rumors. Despite the topic's popularity on the internet and fans harassing their team to trade for the superstar, he might not get traded at all. Owner Arte Moreno has been historically reluctant to move on from Ohtani and Mike Trout when the team has a minimal chance to make the postseason, so it is not out-of-the-question that the team could opt to stand pat.
The Angels are 6-2 in their last eight games and only four games back on the final wild card spot. With a healthy Trout, the Angels are trending to have a greater-than-zero chance to make the postseason.
In this clip, watch a sports media outlet feed in the Ohtani hype with the clickbait title and content:
The A’s are the undisputed worst team in the MLB this season
On June 15, I published an article detailing why there is an argument to be made that the Royals were the MLB’s worst. Need I make the argument again, and contradictory to mainstream MLB media, the A’s are not the undisputed worst team in the MLB.
Fast forward over a month later and the Royals (28-73) have a win percentage 0.02% better than the A’s (28-74). The Royals are 2-8 in their last ten games and are on a five-game losing streak; the A’s are 3-7 in their last ten and are on a one-game losing “streak.” The margin here is awfully close for the title of “MLB’s Worst Team” and much closer than the media would like you to think.
Photo by Peter Aiken/USA TODAY Sports
Both teams will be selling ahead of next week’s August 1 trade deadline, and both have already started with A’s reliever Shintaro Fujinami being dealt to the Orioles and the Royals trading All-Star reliever Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers.
Expect the arms race to the bottom to ramp up in the coming week, weeks, and months. In the meantime, pay attention because the race is closer than you may think.
The Cincinnati Reds are legit.
This one might be a stinger but must be said nonetheless: the Reds are not legit… yet. The Reds are 1.5-games back of the division-leading Brewers and 0.5-game ahead for a wild card spot. Lurking behind them in the NL playoff hunts are hungry teams like the Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Giants. The Phillies should not be counted out either after making a World Series appearance last year. All of these teams will be buyers ahead of the trade deadline next week.
The NL Central is the second weakest division in the MLB and Milwaukee is pacing the division, not the Reds. In the last seven times the Reds and Brewers have faced off, Milwaukee won six. Oh, and the Brew Crew could be buyers at the deadline too. The Cubs should not be counted out either, who are 6-4 in their last ten games and sport the only positive run-differential in the division.
On the season, the pitching staff has been the weakness with a combined 4.72 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. Deadline additions are likely for the Reds and could bolster this rotation and bullpen, but a lot of help is needed from top to bottom. Will the small-market team make multiple acquisitions to plug holes when some of which may come with a steep price?
Also, let’s slow down the Elly De La Cruz hype-train because, as good as he is [and what he will be], he’s not a superstar. Fans, which is a condensed version of fanatics (the internet will provide a fine definition), want to be the first to have crowned a player with a luxurious title. Rarely does the media slow the hype down and rather feed into it. I’ll be the one to burst the bubble: in the last 15 days, De La Cruz is batting .103/.186/.256 with four hits to 17 strikeouts. Ouch.
Teammate and outfielder Will Benson has the same wins above replacement (WAR) as De La Cruz with 22 less at-bats with 0.8.
To be clear, De La Cruz has the tools to be elite, but is too inconsistent to be in the conversation right now. Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz received very similar fanfare to that of De La Cruz, but the media’s hype cooled long before his season-ending injury.
The Reds are young, talented, and have a very good chance to be in contention for the next couple years. However, making the postseason this year with so many quality and established teams behind them is far from a sure thing.
