As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Contreras begins rehab assignment:
Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras was off to an otherworldly start this year, slashing .280/.398/.551 (170 wRC+) in 31 games before he was struck in the arm by a swing of the bat from Mets DH J.D. Martinez. The incident left him with a fractured arm that was initially expected to cost him at least ten weeks, but the 32-year-old actually appears to be ahead of schedule. He resumed baseball activities earlier this month, just four weeks after his initial injury, and today (as noted by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Memphis with three at-bats out of the DH slot. When the veteran returns, he’ll be entering into a playoff race for the first time in his St. Louis tenure as the Cardinals have surged to second place in the NL Central with a 36-35 record in his absence after possessing a record of just 15-21 at the time of his injury.
2. Series Preview: Mariners @ Guardians
Neither the Mariners nor the Guardians were popular picks to win their divisions heading into the season, but both have substantial leads in mid-June. Seattle has surged ahead of both the Rangers and Astros to grab a commanding nine game lead in the AL West, while the Guardians’ 44-25 record is not only good for the AL Central lead but also the fifth-best record in baseball this year. They’re up five games over the second-place Royals and 5.5 games over the third-place Twins. Now, the two surprise contenders are set to meet in Cleveland for a three-game set in what could be a preview of a playoff matchup.
The series opens at 6:40pm local time this evening with a pair of right-handed youngsters on the mound when 25-year-old Bryce Miller (3.48 ERA) faces off against 26-year-old Triston McKenzie (4.10 ERA). The youthful pitching matchups will continue tomorrow when 24-year-old Bryan Woo (1.07 ERA through six starts) takes on 25-year-old Tanner Bibee (3.94 ERA), and the series will wrap up on Thursday with veteran Luis Castillo (3.32 ERA) taking on 25-year-old lefty Logan Allen (5.30 ERA). The Guardians will be looking to cool off the Mariners in this series, as Seattle has won seven of their last eight games, while Cleveland has gone just 4-4 over that same timeframe, including dropping three of their last four contests.
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
The injury bug has struck a number of clubs recently, with Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Kyle Bradish, Michael Harris II, and Anthony Rizzo all facing extended absences. If you have any questions about how those players’ absences will be handled by their clubs, or perhaps questions that look ahead to the July 30 trade deadline or the upcoming offseason, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will host a live chat with readers today at 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, and that same link will allow you to join in on the chat once it begins or read the transcript after it is completed.
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