Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.
Today’s Headlines
Fernando Tatís Jr. will not be joining the Padres this season
MLB announced yesterday that Fernando Tatís Jr. will be suspended for 80 games for a violation of MLB’s PED policy. Tatís was very close to returning to the Padres, having healed from his offseason injury. However, Tatís was busted for using Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, to treat his case.
Fernando Tatis Jr. will be suspended for 80 games, MLB announced. The suspension will cover the remainder of this season and will render him ineligible for the postseason. It will continue into the beginning of next year. On the verge of returning, he's done for the year.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 12, 2022
The Major League Baseball Players Association issued the following statement on behalf of Fernando Tatis, Jr.: pic.twitter.com/gCNVcs0a5Y
— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) August 12, 2022
Tatís will not appeal the suspension and will begin serving his suspension right away, which will carry into next season. If we take him at his (or, rather, the MLBPA’s lawyers) word, Tatís was just caught in an unfortunate coincidence/mishap. But with his offseason injury, incurred from non-baseball activities, and this suspension, Tatís is getting into a worrying number of unfortunate mishaps.
The rational baseball fan in me believes Tatís has had a career’s worth of bad luck this season and will be right back to it next season, tearing up opposing pitching for a terrifying Padres lineup. The rational fan in me also worries that the Padres are ready to shift all the blame onto Tatís for his behavior when the Padres could be doing more to ensure he gets back on the field quickly.
The emotional fan in me worries that Tatís’ behavior is becoming a pattern, and I may not be the only one:
Preller: "I think we're hoping that from the offseason to now, that there would be some maturity. And obviously with the news today, it's more of a pattern and something we've got to dig a little bit more into. (1/2)
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) August 13, 2022
Some Uplifting News
Some guys spend their whole playing lives waiting to get the call to The Show. Some of them give up on that call after 5 or 6 years, some give up earlier, and some wait it out a little longer. But there are very few of those guys who wait for 10+ years to get that elusive call to the big leagues.
It’s very hard to wait around that long, since the minor leagues don’t pay very well, and teams will often cut bait with players before they’re hanging out in the minors for 10+ years. Sometimes, guys are cut from multiple teams before they eventually give up and stop waiting for that call to The Show. 99.999999 percent of baseball players take the hint and retire from professional baseball after getting cut again.
And then there’s Wynton Bernard. Bernard is an outfielder who languished in the minors for ten seasons. Bernard was drafted by the Padres in the 2012 MLB Draft and played in five different minor league systems, including the Friars, Tigers, Giants, Cubs, and Rockies. In between those stints, Bernard also played professionally in Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Australia. He hadn’t reached the majors with any of the organizations he played in, and had come agonizingly close multiple times. He reached Triple-A Toledo in 2016 with the Tigers and spent all of 2021 with the Rockies’ Triple-A Albuquerque, but never got that call to play with the big league club.
10 years after Draft Day, Bernard hadn’t given up on his dream of making it to the majors. Lo and behold:
Wynton Bernard has played in the minors for 10 years.
He was drafted in the 35th round, has been with five organizations, and even played in Australia to keep his career alive.
Today, the Colorado Rockies told him he was going up to the MLB.
His first phone call: his mom. pic.twitter.com/St9tmY5Ffl
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 13, 2022
You might be a robot if you’re not crying.
Oh, you want more Wynton Bernard content? Here you go:
First hit✅
First stolen base✅
First run✅What a debut night, @SaintBerny36! pic.twitter.com/zDT2datiFd
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 13, 2022
LFG!
Is Mike Elias a Master Rebuilder?
And with a noble army at the helm, This Master Builder will thwart the American League and save the realm, and be the greatest, most interesting, most important person of all times. All this is true, because it rhymes. – Vitruvius
Is Mike Elias the Master Builder? It sure seems that way, given the current standings in the American League Wild Card race:
With today's win, the Baltimore Orioles are alone in the 3rd Wild Card spot.
They've moved into 3rd place in the AL East and have the highest win% in the American League since the All Star Break (.650)
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) August 13, 2022
Some of us may recall that the Orioles were downright terrible last year, winning just 52 games and losing an abysmal 110, for a winning percentage of .321. And yet, the Orioles have gone from downright terrible to competing (and holding) a Wild Card spot in August. Granted, the Orioles hold only a half-game lead over the Minnesota Twins for that final Wild Card spot, but the Orioles have already rocketed past their win total from last season and have incredible vibes this season.
Who knows how long this will last? The Orioles dealt away several key contributors at the Trade Deadline, including real-life superhero Trey Mancini and closer Jorge López to the Astros and Twins, respectively. For the time being, though, Orioles fans (and other supporters of teams with good vibes) can soak this one up and enjoy it.
Aaron Judge Home Run Chase Update
Perhaps you’ve heard that Aaron Judge is good at baseball. Well, let this be a reminder to those of you who forgot:
Monster Mashing.
429 ft for @TheJudge44 👨⚖️ pic.twitter.com/bYYjyMOWTh
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 13, 2022
For those of you who stuck around through the Michael Kay commentary, you may have seen a graphic comparing Judge’s home run pace this season to another Yankee legend, Roger Maris. Baseball historians will note that Maris reset the record for most home runs in a single season back in 1961, passing some guy named Babe Ruth for the title. Maris held the title for over 35 years before Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa anabolically crushed Maris’ record, and then Barry Bonds showed the other guys who was boss in 2001, with a 73-homer season.
Judge is on pace to set the Yankee franchise record and hit almost 65 homers currently. It would be wonderful to see Judge, who as far as we know, isn’t using PEDs, go toe to toe with Sosa and McGwire’s records—which were set with some help from Mr. Anabolic Steroid—from the 1990s.
Best Moments from Friday
More Wynton Bernard Content
Here’s more WB content for those of us who eat that kind of inspirational story right up:
The game ended 30 minutes ago and Wynton Bernard is still out in the stands signing autographs after his big league debut 🥹 pic.twitter.com/EkWpwso10R
— Kelsey Wingert-Linch (@KelsWingert) August 13, 2022
Those autographed baseballs aren’t going to be worth a lot of money in the future, but I am sure that they will be worth a whole lot more as inspiration for those young fans.
Here’s where Bernard’s story gets even more incredible:
Just to add more to the incredible story that is Wynton Bernard… He and his family were on Family Feud years ago.
“That Wynton’s a nasty little fella!” – Direct Steve Harvey quote. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Oiwei3cumt
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) August 13, 2022
And, speaking of tear-jerking stories…
The knobs of Wynton Bernard’s bats have pictures of him & his mother and him & his late father. Such a special day for Bernard, who got emotional talking to the media today. He played 11 minor league seasons and finally got the call to The Show with the #Rockies. So deserved. pic.twitter.com/8PhwKJXWor
— Kelsey Wingert-Linch (@KelsWingert) August 12, 2022
The Many Shenanigans in Tampa Bay
Ouch!
night night pic.twitter.com/cQkY9NjMva
— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 13, 2022
Down goes Raymond! Down goes Raymond! Down goes Raymond!
Also out in Tampa Bay, we have Randy Arozarena almost throwing his bat at the baseball and sending it into the outfield seats at the Trop:
the swing or the catch? pic.twitter.com/2vxCLTQfTy
— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 13, 2022
And finally, in Tampa, we also have a position player pitching!
twice in 2 weeks for Yu Chang as a:
(•_•)
<) )╯POSITION
/
(•_•)
( (> PLAYER
/
(•_•)
<) )> PITCHING
/ pic.twitter.com/jvmIp5V3lL— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 13, 2022
SWAG SURFING
The Angels’ first-round draft pick in 2022, Zach Neto, was quoted as saying, “I’m a very swaggy player” in an interview from his draft day. I’d like to think that he took a lot of inspiration from Michael Harris II, who put on an absolute swag clinic yesterday:
Money Mike Harris bat flip. pic.twitter.com/TfQZZ6eIid
— Baseball GIFs (@gifs_baseball) August 13, 2022
Here’s the home run (111.2 mph off the bat, by the way) in all its glory:
They call him Money Mike for a reason!@Braves rookie Michael Harris II cranks a go-ahead two-run homer in the 8th: pic.twitter.com/vYh0lx8Qw6
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 13, 2022
That’s about as awesome a bat flip as you can get while playing in an empty LoanDepot Park in the middle of August. But the swag didn’t stop there!
Michael Harris II flashing his money wad. pic.twitter.com/9EJHvqXiRl
— Baseball GIFs (@gifs_baseball) August 13, 2022
Swag.
yessir
4-3 pic.twitter.com/Xy1psvMPan— Did The Braves Win? (@DidBravesWin2) August 13, 2022
Injuries
Michael Brantley is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder on Wednesday. Lance Mc Cullers Jr. will finally return to the Astros’ rotation tomorrow for a start against the A’s.
Jeff McNeil suffered a cut on the top of his right pinkie during Friday’s game, which forced him to leave the game. McNeil required “two or three stitches” after the game, with Luis Guillorme filling in for McNeil during Friday’s contest. Eduardo Escobar left Friday’s game as well, suffering from left side tightness. Mark Canha filled in for Escobar during the game.
Mike Trout participated in some soft toss drills and will do some field drills on Saturday, which is supposedly a significant step in his recovery plan. Michael Lorenzen is on track to return for the Halos this season as well, throwing bullpen sessions to prepare him for an early September return.
Tarik Skubal was placed on the 60-day IL yesterday, ending his season. There was some concern — although “nothing alarming” — regarding Skubal’s injury to his left arm, especially once the Tigers received imaging on his arm. It appears the Tigers are trying to be safe rather than sorry with the playoffs way out of their reach this year.
Articles You Should Read
Edward Cabrera is a Future Ace – Pitch Breakdown — Nick Pollack, PitcherList
The Phillies have that look, the fans can feel it, and the wins just keep coming — Matt Gelb, The Athletic
The AL Central Disgusts Me — Maitreyi Anantharaman, Defector
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)