MLB Trade Rumors and News: Matt Chapman done for season, Lance McCullers Jr. back in rotation

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• Matt Chapman will undergo season-ending hip surgery, a significantly different outcome from what was first look at as mild inflammation that wouldn’t land him on the IL. It should have been a red flag to everyone that something was wrong when the third baseman, who we now know was dealing with a strained hip, put up the worst strike out rate and batting average of his career. Chad Pinder is expected to take over at the hot corner.
• The Astros have activated Lance McCullers Jr., marking him as the team’s starter for Wednesday. McCullers Jr. landed on the IL on September 6th after dealing with nerve irritation in his neck. He’ll face the Rangers in his return to the mound.
• The Diamondbacks have designated Jake Lamb for assignment, marking the end of an era for the 6th round draft pick from 2012. An All-Star in 2017, Lambs career took a downward turn after battling shoulder issues later that year. He’d see a steep decline in his numbers, averaging a slash line of .199/.307/.330 and hitting only 12 homers since 2018 (!). Lamb was due to hit free agency this offseason anyway. My money is on Jerry Dipoto snatching up the 29-year old, because that’s quite the Jerry Dee thing to do, although the latest rumor is the Athletics are looking at him to help plug Chapman’s hole at third base.
• The Giants-Padres game on Friday was postponed after a positive COVID-19 test within Giants organization was registered. This is the first time an NL West team has been affected by the virus. While the teams continued their doubleheader for the second half of the weekend, it begs the question: is any of that being close to safe at all? And is some poor Giants player floating on an isolated barge in the middle of the bay right now? Lots to think about here.
• Pitcher injuries have become commonplace this season with big names and lesser ones dropping left and right with various ailments. Thursday night was no exception as Chris Paddack exited his start for the Padres with what turned out to be a sprained ankle. In addition to Paddack, Sean Doolittle, who has been the heart of the Nationals bullpen for a while and who had recently started to turn around a rough season, suffered an oblique injury at a time when the Nationals need to very quickly get their season on track if they want any hope of defending their title.
• While we see really high scoring games, heck...the Brewers scored 19 runs just yesterday. However, every once in a while, you see a score that makes you think that you accidentally looked up a football score and that is what happened last night. The Braves set the National Record last week when they put up 29 runs on the Marlins. Adam Duvall hit three home runs AGAIN, Acuna and Freeman both had huge nights...oh and Ozzie Albies returned to the lineup. He homered, too.
• Despite the fact that he was elected to a new four-year term last year, Minor League Baseball president Pat O’Conner announced Tuesday that he’ll be retiring after the season. This seems like bad news for the future of MiLB as we know it, as there’s a strong possibility that his position will be eliminated upon his departure as part of Rob Manfred’s “One Baseball” plan — one that would give the commissioner’s office much more authority over MiLB and calls for massive contraction in the minors. While O’Conner played a major role in the growth and development of Minor League Baseball, his legacy is tainted by the fact that he very publicly advocated against minor leaguers having a right to a living wage.
• Everyone thought that Aroldis Chapman was going to be punished after he seemingly threw a 101 mph fastball at Rays utilityman Mike Brosseau’s head the other night...and those people were right, although the severity of the punishment left something to be desired in the eyes of some. Chapman received a three game suspension while Yankees manager Aaron Boone and Rays manager Kevin Cash each received one game timeouts. All three men also received undisclosed fines.
• The trade deadline came and went last Monday, and the biggest move of the day was without question the Padres’ trade for Mike Clevinger. San Diego has very clearly made a huge play for a deep playoff run this year as they sent six players, a mix of MLB talent and prospects, to Cleveland for the talented young starter’s services.
• The Athletics find themselves in a strong position of their own in the race for the playoffs. In a move that seems like a peak Billy Beane move, they pulled the trigger on a buy-low opportunity when they added starter Mike Minor from the Rangers.
• Not many people would have pegged the Marlins as buyers at the trade deadline when the season started, but 2020 is a weird year and that is exactly what happened. They went and snagged Starling Marte from the Diamondbacks for a trio of prospects.
• The Mariners and Padres swapped breakout star Austin Nola and prospect Taylor Trammell as a part of a massive seven-player deal.
• The Cubs have acquired José Martínez from the Rays for two players to be named later, which is significantly more interesting and elusive than just one PTBNL. We love a good risk.
• San Diego did not come to play for this year’s trade deadline. The Padres have acquired Mitch Moreland from Red Sox for two of their higher level prospects.
• The Blue Jays acquired Taijuan Walker from the Mariners to kick off some of that sweet, sweet Trade Deadline excitement.
• There are some very real and serious discussions happening in this country right now, and one of those conversations is in regards to police conduct towards people of color. The recent shooting of Jacob Blake has brought this discussion back to the forefront and players across multiple sports took action recently, with multiple MLB teams postponing their games.
• Aaron Judge finally returned to the Yankees lineup against the Braves after dealing with a calf injury, but he quickly headed back. While running the bases, Judge aggravated his calf injury and was sent right back to the injured list.