Let’s take a look at some of the latest MLB news and notes, including tidbits from the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and Minnesota Twins.
St. Louis Cardinals news: Matthew Liberatore may have MLB’s quote of the year so far
On Wednesday night, the Cardinals got a boost from 23-year-old southpaw Matthew Liberatore, who paced St. Louis to a 3-0 win over the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers by allowing just three hits over 5.0 innings. In his first start of the season for St. Louis, Liberatore walked three and struck out six.
Liberatore was part of nine games (starting seven) for the Cardinals last season, but looked like a different person when he took the mound on Wednesday. His 20-pound gain over the offseason helped him not only add some extra velocity on his fastball (hitting 97.6 mph per Baseball Savant at its best), but also set him up for what could be one of the season’s best quotes.
“Can’t shoot a cannon out of a canoe.”
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 18, 2023
— #stlcards LHP Matthew Liberatore on the 20 lbs he gained this off-season overall and strength in his legs that is driving the maintained fastball velocity, (touched 98 mph).
Whatever the analogy, the Cardinals will take it as they continue their recent hot streak, going 8-2 over their last 10 games. Are they still contenders for the postseason? Here are three reasons why one of our authors think they are.
San Diego Padres news: Pedro Severino opts out
After an injury-riddled run with San Diego’s Triple-A team in El Paso (seeing the field in just four games since April 25), Severino has reportedly opted out of his minor league deal and is now a free agent.
The Padres could certainly use some help at catcher, a position where they rank 22nd among MLB teams with a minus-0.5 bWAR, but the 29-year-old Severino, who holds a career slash line of .235/.306/.371 in 370 career MLB games, won’t be the answer there.
MLB news: Minnesota Twins rising to the top of inept AL Central
Take a look at the latest MLB standings and you’ll see that the Twins are sitting at the top of the AL Central partly because of how they’ve played this season … and partly because the division continues to be head-shakingly bad.
At 24-20, Minnesota has gone 5-5 over its last 10 games … just like every other team in the division. The Twins, however, are the only AL Central squad to have a positive run differential (+42). The next closest to them are the 19-23 Cleveland Guardians with minus-33. Minnesota is also the only team in the division to have a winning record at home, going 14-8 at Target Field.