Astros' Disturbing Announcement Gives Team MLB Lead in Unwanted Category
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
One of the great mysteries of this season has to be how the Houston Astros are doing what they are doing. After starting the year as a .500 team as late as May 12 when their record stood at 20-20, the Astros entered Friday's game at Daikin Park against the club formerly known as the Oakland Athletics with a five-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the American League West.
At 60-43, the Astros went into Friday tied with the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the fourth-best record in baseball.
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA - MARCH 10: Joe Espada #19 of the Houston Astros looks against the Toronto Blue Jays during a Grapefruit League spring training game at TD Ballpark on March 10, 2025 in Dunedin, Florida....
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA - MARCH 10: Joe Espada #19 of the Houston Astros looks against the Toronto Blue Jays during a Grapefruit League spring training game at TD Ballpark on March 10, 2025 in Dunedin, Florida. MoreWhat's so mysterious about a team playing well? In the Astros' case, the astonishing part is how they've been doing it despite being torn apart by injuries. And the Houston health situation only got worse on Friday when the Astros announced another addition to their injured list.
The Astros placed 28-year-old rookie southpaw starter Brandon Walter on the list, bringing the total number of Houston players on the IL to an MLB-leading 18.
Walter was in the midst of becoming one of the feel-good stories of the year. Drafted at the bottom of the 26th round by the Boston Red Sox in 2019, the 797th player taken overall — after undergoing Tommy John surgery in college at Delaware and missing the entire 2020 season due to the minor league shutdown caused by the COVID pandemic — the lefty vaulted up the rankings to become the Red Sox' No. 9 overall prospect by 2022.
The Red Sox called him up on June 22, 2023, but limited him to just 23 innings in nine games. Walter missed all of last season with a rotator cuff injury, but did not even get to finish the season on the Red Sox roster.
Boston abruptly designated him for assignment on July 31 and released him two days later.
More MLB: First-Place Astros Hit With Disappointing News on Playoff Hero Pitcher
Less than two weeks after that, Walter signed a minor league deal with the Astros.
Finally healthy, at least as far as his shoulder was concerned, Walter got the call to the big league club on on May 20 and has proven a steady addition to the starting rotation for a Houston club with seven other pitchers on the injured list.
In nine starts, Walter has posted a solid 3.35 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings.
Walter told MLB.com Astros beat reporter Brian McTaggart that his problem this time is not his shoulder, but his elbow.
An MRI, however, showed only "inflammation," the pitcher told McTaggart, which Walter called "pretty encouraging," adding that he did not expect to be on the shelf for a lengthy period.
More MLB: Astros Make Worrying Announcement That Could Alter Course of Season
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2025 AL MVP odds: Cal Raleigh is new betting favorite to win the award, ahead of Aaron Judge
Early in the Major League Baseball season, it seemed the American League MVP award was all but wrapped up. New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge — the reigning AL MVP award winner — was flirting with hitting .400 and one bettor had even wagered $2,000 at 175-1 odds at BetMGM that he would accomplish the feat. Even if that was highly unlikely, Judge was still as high as a -10000 favorite to win the AL MVP at BetMGM in early June, which equates to roughly a 99% implied probability. But as Judge cooled off (relatively), Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh caught fire and now leads the majors with 41 home runs. Raleigh is second in RBIs (86, one ahead of Judge) and thanks to Judge's flexor strain that landed him on the 10-day IL, Raleigh has improbably become the new favorite to win the AL MVP award at BetMGM, with -135 odds to Judge's +105. Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (40-1) has the next-best odds. Back in June, when Judge was -10000, Raleigh had 35-1 odds to win the award, or roughly a 3% chance. Due to those long-shot odds, some liability on Raleigh winning the AL MVP has piled up at BetMGM at the sportsbook. "It wouldn't be pretty for us," Halvor Egeland, trading strategy manager at BetMGM, said via text message on the prospects of Raleigh winning MVP. "Cal has a pretty decent liability with us. In the beginning of June, he was 50-1, so there was a good amount of time for bettors to get a nice big number on him." While there aren't any singular wagers with massive liability at BetMGM, small bets at big prices, including a few $100 wagers at big odds per Egeland, add up quickly. It will be a fascinating race to watch the rest of the season, especially if Judge can get back on the field soon.
Fox Sports
10 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Last Night in Baseball: Cal Raleigh Hits Homers 40, 41, Extending MLB Lead
There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves. Don't worry, we're here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn't have. Here are all the best moments from the weekend in Major League Baseball: Raleigh is first to 40, then hits another Cal Raleigh, 2025 Home Run Derby winner and MLB home run leader, was a little slow on the dinger front coming off of the All-Star break. The Mariners' catcher picked up his first long ball of the second "half" on July 22, however, and then over the weekend went deep two more times. The first shot came on Saturday, giving Raleigh his 40th blast of the year — he's the first player in 2025 to 40, and to this point still the only one at that point. Not satisfied with that lead, however, Big Dumper added to it on Sunday with another homer. With Aaron Judge hitting the IL with a flexor strain, this flurry of home runs and RBIs is not great for his Triple Crown chances, which were already going to be contentious given the season Raleigh is having. Of course, there's still over two months of said season left, so it's a little early to be declarative in that regard either way. Classic Scherzer The Blue Jays' bullpen might have wasted the effort by allowing seven runs after his exit, but there was plenty to be excited about in Max Scherzer's start on Sunday. He went seven innings on 96 pitches, striking out 11 Tigers against zero walks, while allowing three runs and three hits. If he's shaken the rust off enough to look like that, then Toronto's rotation just got a bigger boost than expected. Now, that's one start, and Scherzer is (1) 40 years old and (2) just got his ERA for the season under five with that outing. However, if he can even be that guy on occasion, if that kind of pitcher is still in there somewhere this late in his career, then that's good news for the Blue Jays. Hey, he had a 3.89 ERA with 214 strikeouts over 196 innings between 2023 and 2024 — he might have something left in the tank just like the Jays hoped he did back when they signed him this past offseason. Trout finally reaches 1,000 RBIs Mike Trout hit a career milestone on Sunday: after a few days of sitting at 999 RBIs, he picked up numbers 1,000 and 1,001 with one swing of the bat, a two-run shot off of Logan Gilbert. That home run was also the 397th for the Angels' slugger, so he's real close to another notable round number in his career. After Trout goes yard three more times, he'll be just the eighth player with this hyperspecific set of career numbers: at least 1,000 RBIs, 1,000 runs, 400 home runs, 300 doubles, 50 triples and 200 steals. The current group is Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Dave Winfield, Frank Robinson, Andre Dawson, Barry Bonds and Carlos Beltran. Pretty good company, and Trout's turning 34 next month — he's got plenty of time to try to work his way further up the ranks. A's sweep Astros. Wait, really? The Astros were very briefly on top of the world last week, but they've come crashing down since. They were tied for the best record in the American League with the Blue Jays when they woke up on Thursday morning, but then the big bad Athletics showed up on the schedule, and swept Houston. Not exactly the expected plans for the weekend, but the four consecutive losses now have the Astros at 60-46, four games up on the Mariners in the AL West but three games behind Toronto for the AL's top record. It was a bloodbath, too: the Astros lost 5-2 on Friday, but on Saturday they went down 15-3 thanks to allowing A's rookie Nick Kurtz to have a historic night at the plate , then were defeated 5-1 and 7-1 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The A's outscored the Astros 32-7 in four games, lopping 25 runs off of Houston's run differential for the season almost instantaneously and leaving it at +39. Meanwhile, the A's are still in the midst of a lost season – even after going +25 over four days, their run differential is at -121 – but it's at least one where they're playing much better of late, and seeing a rookie like Kurtz, who was drafted just last year fourth-overall, dominate like he has is a comfort when you put it next to their record. He's hitting .309/.378/.683 with 23 homers in 67 games, and if he can keep it up, he'll continue his streak — both amateur and professional — of never posting a full-season OPS below 1.000. He might be a good hitter. Rafaela reminds that he's not just an outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela is back to playing second base for the Red Sox with Marcelo Mayer on the 10-day IL, and you'd think he's been there the whole time rather than playing an excellent defensive outfield. Some guys just have all the instincts and athletic skill on the defensive side, however. Which Rafael reminded everyone of with this unassisted double play at second base against the Dodgers on Sunday: It looks impressive enough from that angle, but the zoomed-in slow-motion replay from another angle really adds to just how close the play was: That talk of his outfield defense isn't hyperbole, either: Rafaela was worth nearly two wins defensively by wins above replacement in 2024, and has already matched that in 2025 while leading in outfield assists with seven. That he can just slot in at second and look like he's a game-changer there, too, is wild. Schwarber had a defensive highlight, too Don't worry, it was befitting the Phillies' slugger. Kyle Schwarber might be known for his bat, and also let's say not known for his glove, but here he made it work. The ball took him down — likely revenge for the crimes Schwarber has committed against many a baseball — but in the end the out counted all the same. Cruz was cruising A week ago, we used this space to point out how fast Oneil Cruz was, when he rounded second and then casually headed home to score on a throwing error before the Tigers could figure out what was going on. He didn't need the trickery on Sunday, when he just straight-up outran the Diamondbacks' defensive effort by going first-to-home on a single. Cruz might be hitting .221 on the season, but he's got power (17 homers and .428 slugging despite that average), and he's got wheels (an MLB-leading 34 steals in 38 chances, plus plays like this one) to lean on. He's just fun to watch, even when the batting average isn't there. Imagine how could he could be if he could stick in even that .250 range or so? We're seeing double. Four triples! Saturday was a big day for triples in MLB, at least, for two players in particular. Jarren Duran had a pair of them against the Dodgers, in what ended up being a 4-2 win for Boston. And Michael Harris II had two of his own for the Braves against the Rangers. Though, Atlanta wasn't about to beat Texas in that one, dropping the game 6-5. MLB could use more triples. Duran seems to have no trouble hitting them — he led the majors with 14 in 2024, and has an AL-leading dozen this summer — while Corbin Carroll tied Duran a year ago and is the only player with more than him this year — but we could always use more. Sure, the tremendous ability of outfielders is part of why there's been a decline in these three-base beauties, but it's fine to want things. Healthy, even. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Cal Raleigh Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball recommended Item 1 of 2 Get more from the Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
CBS News
11 minutes ago
- CBS News
Jarren Duran trade no longer on table for Red Sox, according to report
Jarren Duran is expected to remain with the Boston Red Sox through Thursday's MLB trade deadline. Boston is no longer entertaining a trade for the speedy outfielder, according to a report by WEEI's Rob Bradford on Monday. With a plethora of talented outfielders on the roster and needs on the pitching staff, there have been rumblings of a Duran trade since top prospect Roman Anthony was called up in early June. But manager Alex Cora has done an excellent job juggling all of his options, and has found a nice balance with the group. A wrist injury to Marcelo Mayer last week has opened a path for Ceddanne Rafaela to play second base, which has allowed Duran to take over in center, Anthony to play left field, and Wilyer Abreu to remain in right field. The outfield logjam has been manageable, and has allowed Cora to work in days off for everyone. But with needs at the end of the rotation, in the bullpen, and for a right-handed bat at first base, Duran was seen as one of Boston's best trade chips ahead of Thursday evening's deadline. Though he was having a bit of a down season after his All-Star campaign in 2024, Duran is under team control for three more seasons, further upping his trade value on the market. Boston is now opting to keep Duran, according to Bradford, and will look to make upgrades through other avenues. Through 104 games this season, Duran is slashing .259/.326/.442 with 26 doubles, nine home runs, and an MLB-leading 12 triples, to go with 58 runs scored and 55 RBI. The Red Sox should be buyers at the deadline, with the team currently holding a half-game lead over the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers for the second AL Wild Card spot. The New York Yankees are the top Wild Card team in the American League, and own a one-game edge over Boston. The Red Sox took two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers at Fenway Park over the weekend, and begin a three-game series against the Twins in Minnesota Monday night. Boston has an off day on Thursday, with the trade deadline set for 6 p.m. Thursday night.
