Daily Briefing: Late Additions

The FanGraphs Newsletter, August 17, 2021 [READ IN BROWSER]( By Jeffrey Bellone - August 17, 2021 VETERAN HELP: The San Diego Padres signed veteran right-hander Jake Arrieta to a minor league contract on Monday. The 35-year-old is expected to start on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies. Arrieta was released last week by the Chicago Cubs after pitching to a 5-11 record with a 6.88 ERA and a 6.12 FIP. []( PITCHING DEPTH: Another NL West team looking for pitching depth, the Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly signing reliever Shane Greene to a big league deal. Greene was released by the Atlanta Braves after struggling this year over 19 games in which he pitched to an 8.47 ERA. The signing comes less than 24 hours after the Dodgers placed right-hander Cole Hamels on the 60-Day IL, ostensibly ending his season. []( DOUBLE TROUBLE: Kris Bryant mashed two home runs to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 7-4 victory over the New York Mets last night. Since being acquired at the trade deadline, Bryant has slashed .304/.361/.554 with three dingers and a 142 wRC+. The Giants maintained a four-game lead over the second-place Dodgers with the win. []( FIELD OF DREAMS: Days removed from the success of the 2021 Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa, multiple reports indicate the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds will play in the 2022 edition of the event. []( 📈 STAT OF THE DAY: Joey Votto [connected]( on his 2,000th hit last night. He has the fourth-most hits in the majors since his debut on September 4, 2007, trailing only Robinson Cano (2,149), Miguel Cabrera (2,140), and Nick Markakis (2,090). 🗣 QUOTABLE: "My very first major league hit [ball] doesn't exist anymore, it was chewed up and spit out by [my dog]," Votto told reporters after his latest accomplishment. "He loved it, by the way. If I'm honest with you, if he were still alive, I'd probably give him the 2,000th ball to chew up. I don't know, actually, I take that back. I don't know that that would be good for his gut. I probably wouldn't do that." []( This newsletter is made possible due to the generous support of our members. If you are reading this email or use FanGraphs in your daily baseball routine, please consider supporting us. [BECOME A FANGRAPHS MEMBER]( BRANDON CRAWFORD: Crawford has now accumulated 3.9 WAR this year, his best mark since putting up 5.2 WAR in the first year of his new contract extension back in 2016. He’s also pushed his career total up to 25.8 WAR, which is the fifth most for a shortstop in Giants franchise history. JONATHAN SCHOOP: As for Detroit and Schoop, many expected the infieler to be dealt at the trade deadline since his one-year deal was set to expire at the end of the season and the Tigers weren’t in line for a playoff spot despite their recent good play. Instead, they’ve elected to hold onto him and commit to him as a building block as they look to move out of their current rebuild. 👉 [Giants, Tigers Sign a Pair of Infielders to Extensions, by Jake Mailhot]( EUGENIO SUÁREZ: When Suárez makes contact but doesn’t hit a home run, there are no two ways about it: it’s an absolute disaster for the Reds. Honestly, disaster might be underselling it; 253 times this year, Suárez has put the ball in play. He’s batting .196 with a .192 wOBA on those balls. 👉 [Eugenio Suárez Needs More Power, by Ben Clemens]( 📚 RECENTLY PUBLISHED [Attempting to Predict Fernando Tatis Jr.'s Outfield Defense]( by Owen McGrattan [Andrew Kittredge, Matt Manning, and Tyler Wells on Learning and Developing Their Sliders]( by David Laurila [Looking at xK% and xBB% Using StatCast Zones]( by Joseph Wilkey [New AL Everyday Starters -- Aug 17, 2021]( by Mike Podhorzer [Roto Riteup: August 17, 2021]( by Justin Mason ⚾️ ROSTER REPORT For the latest roster information, please visit our [RosterResource]( pages. [Eight things we would change about MLB]( via ESPN [What Makes Gerrit Cole An Ace? – Pitcher Video Breakdown]( by Nick Pollack, Pitcher List [Sticky substance enforcement; behind a Field of Dreams entrance; Ichiro’s influence on Votto; more notes]( by Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic ($) [Jake Arrieta’s Career Shows The Limits Of Adjustments]( by Robert Arthur, Baseball Prospectus ($) [Tyler Gilbert’s Historic No-hitter Was Improbable in More Than One Way]( by Ben Lindbergh, The Ringer [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2021 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](