San Diego Padres Archives - US Sports News

Patrick Mahomes Jokes About Learning Knuckleball After Warm-Up Video Goes Viral

Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes appears to be taking notes from America’s favorite pastime this offseason.

On Wednesday at Chiefs minicamp, a video of Mahomes winding up like a baseball pitcher and throwing a football à la knuckleball went viral, with many fans commenting on the star quarterback’s pitching form. Shortly after, Mahomes posted about the video and named a surprising source of inspiration for his baseball warmup antics: San Diego Padres’ Matt Waldron.

Mahomes wrote on X, “I’m trying to learn the knuckleball the Waldron dude from the padres throws”

I’m trying to learn the knuckleball the Waldron dude from the padres throws 😂😂😂 https://t.co/W7GeJv37yR
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 12, 2024

Waldron has accumulated a 3.76 ERA in 13 starts for the Padres and, as MLB’s Brent Maguire pointed out, is the only true knuckleballer in the MLB right now, throwing the pitch at a 37.6% clip.

Waldron, a Chiefs fan and Nebraska native, recently caught wind of Mahomes’s comments and felt honored.

“It's kind of crazy. Like I'm living in a different universe,” Waldron said.

Mahomes’s roots in baseball already run deep as his father, Pat Mahomes, was a reliever for the Minnesota Twins in 1992 and went on to pitch for five more teams in his 11-season MLB career. Mahomes never played baseball professionally but did play shortstop for his Tyler, Texas team in the 2010 Junior League World Series.

8 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Rounding the Bases: MLB Straight Up Picks for Every Game Today (Bet Dodgers as Road Underdogs)

Saturday's MLB slate is headlined by the battle between the two favorites to win the World Series, the Dodgers against the Yankees in the Bronx.

The World Series preview in June takes center stage as all of Major League Baseball is in action on Saturday. Lucky for you, we have commentary on how to bet every game!

Keep reading to find out how we view each game on the Saturday slate.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Pick: Mets (+150)

There’s some variance baked into this game with it being played in London as part of MLB’s London Series.

With a short center field fence and the wind projected to be blowing out at London Stadium, this can be a short outing for the likes of Ranger Suarez, who is driving most of the opening odds in this game.

Pick: Twins (-120)

Simeon Woods Richardson continues to thrive for the Twins in his first full season with the club, posting a 3.04 ERA while showcasing excellent control, posting a walk rate of only six percent. The Minnesota starter will match up against Pirates opener Carmen Mlodzinski, who will put a ton of pressure on the Pittsburgh below average bullpen.

With the pitching edge, including a better pen, I’ll take the Twins as short road favorites.

Pick: Nationals (+120)

MacKenzie Gore has been outstanding this season, striking out a career best 27.3% of batters with a career low 3.57 ERA.

The former Padres prized prospect is starting to see perform like it and now draws a Braves team that is struggling without Ronald Acuna Jr, who tore his ACL and is out for the year. Atlanta is hitting only .211 in June.

Pick: Athletics (+135)

The Blue Jays remain a non starter for me as a road favorite, even against the lowly A’s.

Kevin Gausman has been overvalued all season, and Toronto is only 6-6 in his 12 starts. The right hander has an ERA of 4.60 while his xERA is far worse at 5.26, per MLBStatcast. He is striking out only 22% of batters, the lowest rate since 2018, and remains a worthy fade.

Pick: Brewers (-165)

Freddy Peralta has been outstanding this season, striking out nearly a third of the batters he has faced while keeping his walk rate below eight percent, about the big league average.

It’ll be tough sledding for the Tigers lineup that is bottom third in Major League Baseball in OPS while the Brewers are far better at generating run support for its pitching staff, fourth in the same metric.

Pick: Royals (+115)

The Royals rallied to win 10-9 on Friday, and the team remains a great bet at home, 23-10 at Kauffman Stadium this season.

Kansas City will have a stiff test against Luis Castillo, but the Royals ability to generate power is notable considering Castillo has allowed a barrel percentage in the 28th percentile this season, per MLBStatcast, and allows a high fly ball rate of over 60%.

Pick: Rays (+115)

Both starters have missed time this season, with different results, but I’m betting on it going in a different direction on Saturday.

Kyle Bradish of the Orioles has made six starts and has been pitching the best baseball of his career. He is striking out 32% of batters, way above his career average, while allowing a hard-hit percentage of only 25%, 99th percentile in the big leagues.

While it’s a fantastic start for a league average pitcher, regression will come for him soon.

I’ll try here, on the road against a Rays team that has pop in the lineup and a pitcher who has a high ceiling in Taj Bradley. The hard throwing right hander hasn’t had good results this season, his xERA is hovering around 7.00, but i believe he can outperform expectations given the Orioles have the third fewest walks on the year.

Pick: Reds (-120)

The Cubs’ skid has continued while the Reds have won six straight, so I’ll side with the hot home team.

It also helps that Chicago is bottom 10 in OPS against left handers this season as the team faces Reds’ starter Andrew Abbott.

Pick:Red Sox (-205)

Chicago snapped a 13 game skid on Friday, but I’m not counting on two wins in a row.

Pick: Rockies (+160)

Can Kyle Gibson justify this price tag? The veteran pitcher has a 3.69 ERA that is supported by a 4.99 xERA with a walk rate hovering around 10%.

For what it’s worth, Ryan Feltner pitches better on the road than at the hitter friendly Coors Field, so I can get behind him outperforming expectations.

Pick: Dodgers (+105)

The two best teams in baseball continue its weekend series, and I’ll side with the road underdog given the Yankees’ overall fitness with Juan Soto’s status in doubt for the foreseeable future.

If New York’s lineup isn’t at its best, it’ll be tough to keep up with the Dodgers, who have the highest OPS against left handed pitching this season.

Pick: Guardians (-160)

Cleveland is the far more talented side here and should have little issue snagging a road win.

Ben Lively’s strikeout rate is at a career high of 23% and the Guardians have the clear offensive edge, 11th in OPS against the Marlins, who check in 29th.

Pick: Diamondbacks (+125)

I’ll take Arizona to stay hot in June, winners of five of six, at an underdog price.

Ryne Nelson isn’t a strikeout-focused pitcher, only 14.9%, but he has limited his walks to only six percent, which is impactful against a Padres team that is reliant on drawing walks to get runners on base. Nelson’s ERA is also due to come down from his mark of 5.44, with an xERA of 4.77.

Pick: Astros (-165)

Angels starter Tyler Anderson has been among the best pitchers in baseball, but I expect a tough summer for the veteran left hander.

He has an ERA of 2.37, which is staggering to see given some of his other numbers, including a 16% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. Meanwhile, his xERA is 4.49, making him ripe for a few blow ups as the season continues.

I’ll count on Saturday against a Houston lineup that is top five in OPS against southpaws.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

7 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Every MLB Team’s World Series Odds Through First Two Months of 2024 Season

We're officially more than two months into the 2024 Major League Baseball season so it's time to take a step back and take a look at the futures markets.

What teams have underperformed? What teams are a surprising contender? Are there any teams we should bet on now or are there a few we should stay away from?

In this article, we're going to take a look at the latest World Series odds for all 32 teams. Let's dive into it. All odds listed in this article are via FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Dodgers, despite underperforming by their standards, are still set as the World Series favorites at +260, which is an implied probability of 27.78%. There's no denying the talent this roster has and they're still playing well enough to have a hefty lead on the NL West.

The New York Yankees have been the best team in baseball through the first two months. Their pitching has been sharp and their offense, specifically the play of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, has been unbelievable. If I were to pick one team to win it all at this point of the season, I'd pick the Yankees.

The Phillies have the best record in the National League at 44-19. They have a great chance to yet again go on a deep playoff run.

The injury bug has bitten the Braves, most notably Ronald Acuna Jr., who will miss the rest of the 2024 season. There's still plenty of time for them to rally and there's a reason they're still fourth on the odds list to win it all.

The Orioles are still well behind the Yankees in the AL East, but at 39-22, they'll be back in the playoffs once again.

The Seattle Mariners lead the AL West, but their offense needs to wake up if they want to be true World Series contenders in 2024.

The AL Central was supposed to be the worst division in baseball, but as of writing this article, four of the five teams are at .500 or above, including the Minnesota Twins at 33-29.

The Houston Astros don't look like the same contender they once were. Their metrics are still respectable and their offense has woken up in recent weeks. If there's one team that has got off to a slow start that I could see getting hot in the second half of the season, it's the Astros.

The Cleveland Guardians are eye-popping 40-21 as of writing this article. While that's impressive, I wouldn't be surprised if he saw some regression from this team in the second half of the season.

The Milwaukee Brewers lead the NL Central and have had one of the better offenses through the first two months of the season. They are a team to watch in the National League.

It's been a bad start to the season for the defending World Series champions. Their offense has been middling and their bullpen continues to cost them games. They need to find a way to turn the ship around or they're going to fail to make the playoffs.

The Kansas City Royals might be the single most surprising team in the Majors this season at 37-26. Not only has their record been good, but they have the metrics to back it up. Between strong offensive statistics and more than one Cy Young candidate in their rotation, the Royals could be a Cinderella story in 2024.

The Blue Jays may be the most disappointing team in the Majors. Despite looking like a talented squad on paper, their offense has been without teeth and their bullpen has been abysmal. On top of that, their rotation hasn't been nearly as good as it was last year. Time is running out for Toronto.

I feel sorry for Mets fans. It's been a disaster of a season and they're already 16.5 games back from the Phillies in the NL East.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

7 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Padres Announcer Destroys Ump Over Awful Call on Game-Ending Strike Out

Former MLB pitcher and San Diego Padres color commentator Mark Grant was absolutely livid at home-plate umpire Erich Bacchus during the Bally Sports San Diego broadcast of Thursday night's 4-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, after a foul-out from Luis Arraez and a flyout from Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar worked a walk, putting the tying run on base for Jake Cronenworth. With the hopes of a rally still alive, Cronenworth, with a 2-and-2 count, took a four-seam fastball at the letters, which Bacchus called strike three, ending the game to thunderous boos from an outraged crowd at Petco Park.

But their anger was nothing compared to Grant's, as the color commentator unloaded on Bacchus immediately after the called strike three.

"BRUTAL! HORRIBLE! TOOK THE BAT RIGHT OUT OF THE KID'S HANDS! WASN'T EVEN CLOSE! YOU GOTTA BE SHAVING ME!" - Padres color commentator Mark Grant after a brutal strike 3 call to end a 1-run game vs the D-Backs ⚾️ 🎙️👮‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/HT5447SD6v
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 7, 2024

"Brutal! Horrible! Took the bat right out of the kid's hands! Wasn't even close!" Grant exclaimed, as Padres manager Mike Shildt got in Bacchus's face and argued the call.

Then, Bally Sports San Diego showed a replay of the pitch, which landed up-and-away in the strike zone, prompting Grant to utter this classic line.

"You gotta be shaving me!"

Needless to say, Grant and Padres fans were less-than-thrilled with the call.

6 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Rounding the Bases: MLB Straight Up Picks for Every Game Today (Time to Buy Low on Pablo Lopez?)

Thursday is a travel day for a handful of teams in the big leagues, but we still have baseball starting in the afternoon.

With about a third of the season finished, it's time to look for some buy-low candidates and I have my eye on Twins' starter Pablo Lopez, who is due for a big uptick in production as the calendar flips to June. The matchup is daunting against the surging Yankees, but are the Twins live for an upset?

I have betting break downs for each game on the Thursday MLB card below!

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

The Orioles are the best-hitting team in baseball against left-handed pitching, making this is a tough ask for the Blue Jays, who will start Yusei Kikuchi on Thursday afternoon.

Yes, Kikuch has lowered his walk rate to a career-low of five percent, but he still allows hard contact at a 43% clip, ranking in the 19th percentile, per MLBStatcast, a ripe matchup for the Orioles loaded lineup.

After a rain out on Wednesday, we get a Thursday meeting between these two, and I’m looking to fade Royal starter Brady Singer.

Brady Singer has 2.63 ERA but is due a ton of regression with an xERA of 4.35.

Against a Guardians lineup that can put the ball in play at an elite level, 11th in OPS, I’ll back the home favorite.

Bryan Woo has looked the part in five starts this season, posting a 1.30 ERA as he continues to be stretched out. Woo is striking out fewer batters, down to 18% from 25% as a rookie, but is walking only two percent of hitters while limiting posting an elite blend of fastball and off-speed pitches to avoid blowup innings.

With limited path to base runners, I struggle to see the A’s keeping up on Thursday.

Los Angeles is the second-best hitting team against lefties this season and draws a favorable matchup against Bailey Falter of the Pirates, who has seen his strikeout rate diminish to 15% this season.

Falter won’t be able to get around the vaunted bats of Los Angeles, and somebody is due for a big-hitting day against him with his xERA sitting far higher than his actual ERA (3.22 vs. 4.73).

I’ll take a stab at the Nationals as home underdogs on the premise of a summer drop-off from Reynaldo Lopez, the Braves starter.

Lopez has a 1.73 ERA, but his xERA is far higher at 3.72. He has been crushed by hard contact (42nd percentile) and his offspeed pitches are ineffective (17th percentile in terms of run value), and I believe the Nationals can have success. This is worth a flier on a home underdog.

Pablo Lopez’s numbers don’t indicate that he’s pitching at a high level, but he may be due for a big jump statistically based on his pitching. He has a 4.84 ERA despite posting a career-best walk rate. He has an xERA of 2.99 despite posting a 73rd percentile xBA, and I believe that he will turn it around soon.

I’ll fade the red-hot Yankees with a pitcher that is ripe to outperform expectations.

The Cubs slide in play continues, and this matchup doesn’t set up well for them as the team heads to Cincinnati to face the Reds with emerging arm Hunter Greene on the mound.

Chicago is 29th in OPS over the last 30 days while the Reds check in eighth. Further, Cubs’ starter Javier Assad may be due for a drop in play after a strong start to the year. He has a 2.27 ERA that is supported by a 3.72 xERA.

Sonny Gray has been on a tear this season. He has a 3.00 ERA while striking out a career-best 33.5% of batters. Even when hitters are putting the ball in play, it's soft contact (66th percentile in hard-hit percentage).

At home, the Cardinals should have little issue getting past the Rockies.

Tanner Houck is putting up All-Star numbers for Boston this season, posting a 1.85 ERA, and now faces the worst offense in Major League Baseball in Chicago, with the lowest OPS.

I’m not backing an upset given the lack of talent for the White Sox.

This is a fade of Randy Vasquez of the Padres, who has a 5.41 xERA and is walking nearly 10% of batters. This is problematic against the Diamondbacks, a team that is top 10 in walks this season and eighth in on-base percentage.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

5 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Daily Dinger: Best MLB Home Run Picks Today (Gunnar Henderson’s Prime to Go Yard)

With baseball all day, we all want to know who is going to crack one deep.

Lucky for you, I've canvassed the board for some advantageous matchups for hitters across Major League Baseball, including MVP candidate Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles.

In addition to Henderson, I'm eyeing two other hitters that are in line ofr home runs, find out who below!

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Gunnar Henderson

Henderson is seeking his 20th home run of the season, and I love it to come on Wednesday.

Ranking in the 95th percentile or better in xSLG, average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage, per MLBStatcast. Henderson is rightfully inside of +400 to go deep against Jose Berrios, who has allowed hard contact on more than 44% of balls put in play, which is in the 18th percentile.

15 of his 19 homers have come against righties, and Berrios' looming regression due to hard contact makes Henderson a prime candidate to go deep on Wednesday.

Jeimer Candelario

Candelario is swinging a sweet bat at the moment, hitting .368 over his last 19 at bats with a home run while slugging .579. He draws a favorable matchup against Dakota Hudson of the Rockies at the hitter friendly Coors Field.

Hudson is struggling this season, posting a 5.02 ERA that balloons at home to a 7.43 ERA in five starts while allowing two home runs.

Candelario is slugging .444 against righties, far higher than his .397 mark against lefties while mashing six of his seven homers against righties, I'll back him in a good spot on Wednesday afternoon in Colorado.

Jake Cronenworth

A lefty batter, Cronenworth is a dangerous hitter against right handed pitching, mashing all of his eight home runs against that side while slugging .528. He is a disciplined hitter who is barreling up nearly nine percent of balls in play, which is in the 63rd percentile.

With the wind blowing out at Angel Stadium at about eight miles per hour, and a soft-tossing Jose Soriano set to start for the Halos, I like Cronenworth to crack his ninth dinger of the year.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

4 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Gambling on Baseball Remains the Ultimate MLB Crime

If the number is so big it has commas, they might be addicts. If it’s so small that there are numbers after the decimal point, they might be imbeciles.

Of the five players Major League Baseball disciplined on Tuesday for betting on baseball, only San Diego Padres utilityman Tucupita Marcano bet more than $1,000 on baseball. Philadelphia Phillies minor league infielder Jose Rodriguez bet $749.09. Padres minor league lefty Jay Groome bet $453.74. Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Andrew Saalfrank bet $445.87. Oakland A’s reliever Michael Kelly bet $99.22.

The three major leaguers were due to make approximately $750,000 this season. Marcano, who bet more than $150,000 on baseball in 2022 and ’23, including games in which his team played while he was on the injured list, is out of the sport for life, the first lifetime ban levied for betting on baseball since Pete Rose’s in 1989; the others, who bet on major league games as minor leaguers from 2020 to ’23, will sacrifice a season. None of the players are appealing their discipline. Officially they are being punished for violating Rule 21. Unofficially they are being declared too dumb to play baseball.

Only one Major League Baseball rule offers no do-overs. If you do drugs or commit theft or beat someone up, there are ways back into the sport. If you do any of those things with your DraftKings account open to a parlay that includes your team, it’s over for you.

It’s posted in gigantic font in every professional clubhouse: “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year.” And “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.” To be clear: They can bet on any other sport, so long as they do it legally. Just not baseball.

Players sit through interminable sessions in spring training, in multiple languages, in which they hear about the repercussions of betting on baseball. Seemingly every few weeks, Rose, a Hall of Fame talent who remains in exile for betting on Reds games in which he played and managed, resurfaces in the news insisting he has served his time. (Commissioner Rob Manfred has said he has no intention of reinstating Rose.) It would be impossible to be around the sport and not understand the consequences.

To be fair, it’s also impossible to be around the sport and not hear about gambling. Since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for legalized sports betting, the league has seemed at least as interested in catering to people who want to bet on games as to people who want to teach their kids to keep score. In 2018, Manfred named MGM the “Official Gaming Partner of Major League Baseball.” Last year, the league named FanDuel “a co-exclusive Official Sports Betting Partner of MLB.” We seem only weeks away from having broadcasters share betting lines on each pitch.

And addiction is a disease. Anyone who suffers from it deserves to get the help they need. But the players who are not addicted should simply be embarrassed.

There are worse crimes a person can commit against humanity. There are no worse crimes a person can commit against the sport. The entire enterprise rests on the public’s belief that the games are legitimate; the idea that people involved in the outcome might have goals other than winning chips away at the integrity of the sport. (It is in part for this reason that tanking so grates on fans.) And with the proliferation of prop bets, against which the league has strenuously lobbied with lawmakers, the possibilities have only multiplied. It’s a lot easier to track when someone is throwing games than when he is throwing one at bat.

Still, a lot of people are checking, some more nefarious than others. Even when a player is not betting on games in which he is playing, as seems to be the case here, it’s not hard to see the precariousness of his position. All five players insisted they had no inside information on the games on which they bet, and the league seems to have accepted that explanation. But when the losses start to climb past Groome’s $433.54, the danger only increases.

The starkest recent evidence of the risk came in the form of disgraced interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who until March worked as the interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. On Tuesday Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud and admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off his sports-gambling debts to an illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara has insisted he never bet on baseball, and no one has yet said differently. MLB announced that in light of the plea, it considers Ohtani to be a victim and its investigation into him is closed. The league seems to have avoided that particular nightmare.

Meanwhile, MLB investigators work closely with legal sports betting operators, and indeed it was from one of those that the league learned in March that accounts connected to professional players had made bets on baseball. Four of them will be eligible to play again next season. We will see how many teams want to employ them. For, in Kelly’s case, $9.92 at a time, these players may have thrown away their careers. (Kelly was found to have placed 10 bets on baseball.)

The league did not release the net gains or losses of Marcano and Rodríguez, except to say that Marcano lost 95.7% of his baseball bets. Groome lost $433.54. Saalfrank lost $274.44. Kelly won $28.30. They may have lost everything.

3 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

San Diego Padres Infielder Facing Lifetime Ban for Gambling, per Report

San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano is facing a lifetime ban for betting on baseball, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Lindsey Adler and Jared Diamond reported for the WSJ that Marcano is currently under investigation for gambling on baseball games while on the injured list for the Pittsburgh Pirates. There are also four other players reportedly under investigation for gambling while in the minor leagues.

The investigation is not yet complete but Marcano's punishment is being discussed by MLB and the MLBPA, including a lifetime ban. It marks the second major betting scandal in baseball this year after Shohei Ohtani's former translator, Ippei Mizuhara, was involved in a federal investigation concerning an illegal gambling operation.

Marcano began his career with the Padres in 2016, signing with the organization as an international free agent. He made his big league debut in 2021 for San Diego before he was traded in July of that year to Pittsburgh; Marcano was sent to the Pirates along with Jack Suwinski and Michell Miliano for Adam Frazier. He appeared in 49 games in 2022 and 75 games in 2023 for Pittsburgh, hitting .221 from the plate and recording 31 RBI over those two seasons.

In July of 2023 Marcano tore his ACL and was placed on the IL, which is when the alleged betting began to take place. He was waived in November and claimed by the Padres.

Per the Journal, the Pirates said they are "fully aware of the matter that's under investigation and are fully cooperating," but they will refrain from further comment at this time. The Padres said they're aware of an investigation "regarding a matter that occurred when the player in question was a member of another organization."

Marcano declined comment through a representative, as did MLB and the MLBPA.

4 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Marlins Exec Makes Blunt Statement After Trading Luis Arráez to Padres

Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix didn't mince words when reflecting on the trade he completed Friday night.

"We are unlikely to make the playoffs this year," Bendix bluntly said to reporters in a press conference.

Marlins President of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix responded to the Luis Arraez trade
(via @CraigMish) pic.twitter.com/Kc5sVyyU8E
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 4, 2024

The Marlins traded two-time batting champion Luis Arráez to the San Diego Padres in exchange for three prospects and reliever Woo-Suk Go.

Arraez was a staple in the Marlins' lineup since the team acquired him in a trade in January 2023, batting .343/.384/.450 across 180 games with Miami. He'll now join a Padres team attempting to keep up with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

The Marlins were one of baseball's most surprising stories last year, winning 84 games and making the playoffs as a wild-card team. But they got off to a horrendous start in 2024, dropping their first nine games and 16 of their first 20.

Entering Saturday's slate of games, the Marlins are 9–25 and in last place in the NL West, 13 1/2 games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies. Fangraphs currently gives the Marlins just a 0.5% chance to make the playoffs.

There's a long way to go in the regular season—128 games remain on the Marlins' schedule—but Bendix is right. Miami probably won't make the playoffs. It's why one of baseball's best contact hitters is now wearing brown and gold in San Diego.

4 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Prospect Learned He Was Part of Luis Arraez Trade While Standing on Second Base

Miami Marlins infielder Luis Arraez was reportedly traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for three prospects and a relief pitcher on Friday night. Well, one of the prospects, Nathan Martorella, a first baseman for the Padres' Double-A affiliate, the San Antonio Missions, learned that he was included in the deal in perhaps the most unexpected way possible.

Martorella, who had just lined a single to right field in the top of the third inning of the Missions' game against the Arkansas Travelers, advanced to second on a walk and was standing on second base when Missions manager Luke Montz emerged from the dugout and signaled for a pinch runner to replace a confused-looking Martorella.

Martorella and outfielder Jakob Marsee, who was also included in the Arraez deal, then said goodbye to their Missions teammates before jogging off the field to the clubhouse.

Nathan Martorella was on second base when he got traded to the Marlins
He and Jakob Marsee then said bye to teammates on the field during the third inning pic.twitter.com/bjN8qwkhlE
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 4, 2024

Kudos to Martorella and Marsee for making the best of the situation, and props to broadcaster Steven Davis for his outstanding call of the moment.

Along with Martorella and Marsee, the Padres also dealt outfield prospect Dillon Head and relief pitcher Woo Suk-Go to the Marlins for Arraez, a two-time National League batting champion.