MLB The Show 21 Franchise Discussion Thread

[countryboy]

Cardinals take 3 out of 4 from Cubs

The Cardinals continue to play winning baseball as they took 3 out of 4 from the Cubs and are 5-2 since the All-Star Break.

The Cardinals lost the series opener on Monday when Willson Contreras walked them off, but were able to bounce back and take the next three to move to within 5 games of the Brewers and a game of the Braves in the wildcard.

Nolan Arenado was a beast in the series collecting 10 hits in the series with 4 homeruns and 3 doubles. He racked up an impressive 13 RBI's in the series and saw his batting average get to .270.

The Cardinals weren't without their struggles as the bullpen continues to have inconsistent arms, most notable Tyler Webb and Ryan Helsley. Its expected the Cardinals will start targeting bullpen arms as the trade deadline quickly approaches.

The Cardinals will travel to Cincinnati for a 3 game weekend series against the Reds, then be off on Monday as they travel to Cleveland for a quick 2 game mid-week series with the Indians.

[Rocket32]

Been away from this thread and game for a bit but back at it....

Yankees Take 2 Of 3 From Blue Jays, Swept By Rays

After a sweep of the Rays at the Trop only a series ago, the Rays would return the favor with a 3 game sweep of their own at Yankee Stadium by scores of 9-8, 7-5, and 3-1. Games 1 and 2 would both feature heartbreaking extra innings losses, 1 in the 10th, and game 2 in the 13th. The baseball gods were with Tampa this series as Jordan Montgomery had to be scratched from his G1 start, and then Cole had to removed in the 2nd inning of G3 with a neck sprain.

Next Up: After being swept by the Rays we drop to 9-6, still leading the East by 1 game over the 9-8 Orioles. With a off day the team gets a much needed mental reset after a deflating 3 games before the 10-6 Atlanta Braves arrive for a brief 2 game set. Taillon Vs Morton, then Kluber vs Anderson.

News:

Yankees Sign 1B Edwin Encarnacion For 1Y 4.7M, Option Mike Ford To AAA
With Voit still out till May 11th and Yankees struggling to find consistent offense tied for 18th in runs scored, the Yankees have brought back a familiar face. This will be EE’s 2nd stint in pinstripes after being acquired as a rental back in June 2019. The question is, does Edwin have anything left in the tank for an age 38 season? His 2020 line for the White Sox wasn’t pretty, 157\250\377.

The once feared Blue Jays slugger has been staying ready hoping to land an MLB opportunity to continue his career and will be joining the team immediately. For now, Edwin will play 1B and could show up in a high spot in the lineup immediately with an ugly start from Torres.


Dodgers Walker Buehler Tears Labrum, OUT For Season
In a piece of injury news that shook the MLB world, the defending champion Dodgers have confirmed the worst.....Buehler will miss the rest of the season. Fortunately for LA, they are the only team that can almost shrug off losing an ace level arm, as they still have a deadly 1-5 of Kershaw, Bauer, Gonsolin, Urias, and May.

[decga]

Phillies came into Braves country & took 2 out of 3. Our series vs. each other is 3-3.

Game 1: Was a pitching duel featuring Fried(braves) 7.0IP,7H,2R,2ER.BB & 3K & Wheeler(Phils) 6.0IP,8H,1R,1ER,BB & 2K. Wheeler with the win 2-1. Both bullpens combined for 5 scoreless innings & a total of three hits.

Game 2: We won 4-3. Lead by Freeman & Acuna Jr. homers. First for both through 8 games. Unfortunately we couldn't get the youngin SP Anderson a win. He pitched another QS. 6.0IP,3ER & 7K.

Game 3: We got stomped 13-4.. The phils scored 9 unanswered runs in the last frames, after we tied the game up 4-4.. The Phillies made a two questionable moves PR for both Harper & Hoskins in crucial late moments in the game, but their replacements were instrumental in the win.

Take always in the series. Harper & Realmuto are pretty good. Lol. Realmuto went 5 for 10, 3R. He shut down around attempts at stealing bags. Gunning down Albies & Acuna Jr.

Up next the first place Marlins(6-3) A four game series.82486abd-faed-443d-808b-06f6dd973e1c.jpeg43b1bffc-7715-43d8-88be-6c7ac8395fd2.jpeg4a92d881-f4b1-4cd7-8a8e-5369fd4a305a.jpeg

Sent from my LM-X210(G) using Operation Sports mobile app

[countryboy]

Cardinals activate Matt Carpenter off IL

The Cardinals have activated Matt Carpenter off of the 60 Day IL. Carpenter was on the IL due to a torn groin muscle.

Carpenter has been a surprise for the Cards this year hitting .291 with 9 homeruns and 26 RBI's before going on the IL.

Austin Dean has been optioned to Memphis to make room on the active roster.

[countryboy]

Cardinals acquire Hansel Robles from Twins

The Cardinals have taken another step to improving their bullpen as they acquired RHP Hansel Robles from the Twins in exchange for OF Austin Dean and C Tyler Heinemann.

The Cardinals continue to find the components to improve a bullpen that has far too many times cost the Cardinals a win, or at least an opportunity to win a ball game.

The 30 year old Robles will take the spot of Dakota Hudson who will be optioned to Springfield where he will join the rotation and try to work his way back. Robles has only pitched 10 innings this year for the Twins but he's only allowed one run in those 10 innings and earning 4 strikeouts. Robles will be a free agent after this season.

The Twins aren't getting top end prospects but they are getting Austin Dean who has the ability to stick on a 26 man roster as a 4th or 5th outfield, or possibly a DH. Dean played sparingly in the majors in St.Louis but did acquire a .257 average with 2 homeruns and 10 RBI's in his limited time. His glove is a bit of a liability which limited his appearances.

Tyler Heinemann will provide organizational depth for the Twins at the catcher position, something the Twins are lacking due to season ending injuries. Heinemann played often for St.Louis when Molina was on the IL and hit .220 with 4 homeruns and 17 RBI's. He a solid, dependable catcher who can be relied upon when needed.

The Cardinals may not be done with trades as the deadline looms near (4 days), but I wouldn't expect any blockbuster deals coming with them. Maybe another arm for the bullpen or possibly a 5th outfielder since Carlson is still in Memphis where he's struggling and Harrison Bader and Tyler O'Neill's bats are lacking production, but they more than make up for it in speed and fielding.

[Rocket32]

Yankee Losing Streak Continues, Drop To 9-10

Following a 3 game sweep from the Rays, we would drop the 2 game set to Atlanta 1-4 and 0-5. Then we hit the road for Cleveland where we’ve dropped 2 more. The team seemed ready to snap the skid in G1 up 3-2 in the 9th until another blown Chapman save followed by an Indians walkoff in the 10th sunk us again. Game 2 would be close with Cleveland up 3-2 in the 7th until they erupted with 7 runs to put the game out of reach for a 10-2 win, with an overall poor Yankees defensive effort in that 7th inning.


Promising Start For Edwin
In Encanarcion’s first 4 games he’s started with 4 hits, a HR, a double, and 2 walks.

Yankees To Move Aaron Hicks Out Of CF, Recall CF Greg Allen

Despite hitting well for most of this first month, it’s become more and more clear that Hicks does not belong in CF regularly. Hicks has a solid arm, but lacks the agility and glove to cover CF. Soft fly balls up the middle are generally going to fall for base hits. To make room for Allen, Clint Frazier has been optioned to AAA. Frazier has started off an ugly 2 for 27 and with Hicks moving to LF, Frazier will be pushed out for a bit.

The Yankees are expected to turn to a mix of Gardner and Allen in CF going forwards. The light hitting Allen brings an even stronger arm to CF then Hicks, elite level arm strength, while being much better in every other area in the field.

Gio Urshela Breaks Ankle Out 1-2 Months, Tyler Wade Recalled From AAA
Derek Dietrich is expected to fill in as a starter in the IF in the meantime.

Next:
2 more games @ Cleveland before another 4 game road series in Baltimore.
Game 3 and 4 matchups are set, Cole Vs McKenzie and Taillon Vs Bieber. Game 3 seems like the ideal chance to snap the losing streak and turn things around

[Detroit Tigers]

Cy's roster is out, it's beautiful, I've made hundreds of further little tweaks to ratings and player-likeness, gear, stances & deliveries, etc., to where this is gonna be my mainstay sports game franchise for the foreseeable future. And I do mean specifically that if carryover saves aren't reintroduced next year I'm not buying, because I'll be here on '21 with this franchise.

So here we go ..... sorry no flashy graphics I'm gonna try to keep it short and to the point as a substitute ......


***

1. Tigers obtain SS Javy Baez from CHC for Matthew Boyd and Willi Castro.

This is my big splash move to honor my arrival into town. Hiya doin.'

2. Tigers sign Baez to 7-year, $184M deal

This is a bit of house-rule signing, the idea is to force my commitment to such a major move, and specifically to commit the money to the deal. Not messing around, not second-guessing, not trying to game anything. I believe in the idea behind this move, and I'm making it.

***

That's the headline. The details are that I'm playing out the entire spring, every pitch. There are genuine position and rotation battles all over the place on my 40-man it's rad af. No clue how it's all gonna shake out. I'll keep yalls posted.

Other notable signings:

RF Yoenis Cespedes: 1-year, $5M
2B/UTIL Yeyson Yrizarri: minor-league deal, currently on 40-man
RHP Pedro Strop: 2 years, $3.2M or maybe $2.4M I don't recall (gave him Boyd's #48)

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

[countryboy]

Cardinals acquire Max Scherzer from Nationals

The Cardinals got into the blockbuster sweepstakes on the final day of the trading period by acquiring Max Scherzer from the Nationals.

The deal:

Cardinals get:

SP - Max Scherzer

The Cardinals decided to improve their bullpen by improving their rotation. Its expected that either Wainwright or Mikolas will move to the bullpen to open up a rotational spot for Scherzer. Both Waino and Mikolas have pitched well of late so adding them to the pen, and depth as well to the rotation in event of injury, the Cardinals hope to have improved their bullpen to the point that they feel as though any lead is safe with any arm coming out of the bullpen.

Scherzer was an all star this year and is 11-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 132 innings of work. He's also struck out 143 batters in those innings.

And more than that, Scherzer is coming home. He was born in Chesterfield, MO.

Nationals get:


OF - Harrison Bader
RHP - Kyle Leahy (22 years old)
LHP - Evan Kruczynski (24 years old)
2B/If - Irving Lopez (24 years old)

Of course the first name that jumps out from the Cards side is Harrison Bader. Simply put, the Nats would not do a deal without Bader or Carlson involved. The Cardinals chose to unload Bader and keep the 22 year old Carlson around.

Bader has the glove, the range, and the speed to be an all-star if his bat will ever catch up. The Cardinals have waited and waited, but the time has come with the emergence of Connor Capel and even Justin Williams to make a move. The Cardinals have talent and prospects in the outfield so, while they would've loved to keep Bader, he was the "obvious" choice to be dealt amongst the pool that the Nats wanted.

Kyle Leahy is a 22 year old RHP who is a closer/relief pitcher that has tremendous upside. Leahy could easily be on the Nationals 26 man roster at the beginning of next season, possibly this season if they decide to see what he can do at the major league level. He has the tools to be a back end bullpen piece that helps close out games.

Evan Kruczynski is the other prime piece the Nats wanted in this deal. The left hander is 24 years old and made the jump from AA to AAA during the year and is 6-3 with a 1.98 ERA at Memphis. He has filthy stuff that, like Leahy, could land him on the Opening Day roster for the Nats next season.

Irving Lopez is 24 years old and a 2nd baseman that just needs reps to get better. The Nats wanted Nick Dunn, but the Cardinals refused to part with Dunn and Kruczynski, so the Nats took Lopez. Lopez is an average hitter right now at the AA level, but his defensive prowess is strong. If his bat gets better, and it has as the year has progressed, the Nats have their 2nd baseman of the future in Lopez.

This was apparently a deal the Cards and Nats discussed for some time as they tried to agree on all players involved and the Nats had to decide if they were going to pursue the playoffs strongly or sell this year. The decided after falling to 8 games out of the wildcard to trade Scherzer to improve for next year.

Hopefully this deal is one that will propel the Cardinals forward and into October. They are currently 5 games behind the Brewers in the Central and are tied with the Braves for the 2nd wildcard.

The hunt for October officially begins as the calendar flips to August.