Stock Up, Stock Down: Cardinals, Phillies, Red Sox, Diamondbacks

Stock Down: Michael Lorenzen

At the trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired pitcher Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers. He wasted little time in winning over the Phillies fans as he threw a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals on August 9 at Citizens Bank Park. Since then? Well, it’s not been good.

Tuesday night, the right-hander made his sixth start since throwing the no-hitter and he lasted just one-third of an inning against the Atlanta Braves. His line was as ugly as ugly can be for one-third of an inning.

He allowed just three hits, however, he gave four earned runs and walked three to continue his trouble following his win over the Nationals. Since that start in early August, he has struggled and allowed a whopping 27 earned runs.

After his outing against Washington, he was considered a steal at the trade deadline, but that has hardly been the case. Now the Phillies are faced with a decision on whether or not they are going to use him in the playoffs. Right now, it’s hard seeing them giving him the ball in the Wild Card round. They will get the series at home most likely and if they do give him the ball, he should be on a shorter leash than he was Tuesday night in Atlanta.

Stock Up: Arizona Diamondbacks

It has not been the greatest second half for the Arizona Diamondbacks since the All-Star Break. They have struggled and flirted around the line for the third and final Wild Card berth. When push came to shove this week, Torey Lovullo’s crew stepped up.

First, they swept the Chicago Cubs at home over the weekend and passed them for the second Wild Card spot behind Philadelphia. After the Cubs series, they swept the San Francisco Giants, who are fading fast on their own out of the wild card picture.

Against Chicago, they took a 6-0 lead into the top of the ninth and survived a four-run Cubs inning to win 6-4. Saturday, they won a wild 13-inning game, 7-6. Both teams scored one run in the 10th and 11th innings, neither team scored in the 12th and after the Cubs plated one in the 13th, the Diamondbacks scored two in the home half for the win. Sunday, they jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead on their way to a 6-2 win and sweep.

The case can be made that the Diamondbacks are a year ahead of schedule in terms of competing, but getting into the postseason would be a huge step for the organization which has spent a lot of seasons near the bottom of the National League West. They could be a dangerous team in October with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Stock Down: Boston Red Sox

Things are not good right now in Boston with the Red Sox and this happened a week ago, but the firing of general manager Chaim Bloom seems to be getting mixed reactions. Yes, most of the fanbase was happy to see him go, but still, it’s a questionable move by the ownership considering he did what he was brought in to do.

He traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020, he did not re-sign shortstop Xander Bogaerts and he left in free agency for the San Diego Padres. Those were the two biggest players that left town under his leadership. There is still the belief that he was told not to spend big, which he didn’t, and re-signing Betts or Bogaerts would have meant spending big, something ownership has not done since the 2018 World Series championship.

Last January, they locked up star third baseman Rafael Devers with a long-term contract, but it was more than likely handed out because of the backlash from the Winter Classic game at Fenway Park back in January when the Boston Bruins played John Henry’s Pittsburgh Pirates. Some fans let it known how they felt about the direction the Red Sox was heading in.

It’s widely known that Bloom and manager Alex Cora did not see eye to eye and it makes you think that ownership sided with Cora over Bloom heading into the offseason. It doesn’t mean Cora will be back in 2024, but it will be interesting to see who gets hired and how much money they will be able to spend. That will be the question.