Daily Briefing: Albert Pujols meets the inevitable; Jose Altuve's birthday gift

The FanGraphs Newsletter, May 7, 2021 [READ IN BROWSER]( By Jeffrey Bellone - May 7, 2021 🟢 THE END OF AN ERA The way the labor market works in baseball, free agents are often paid based on the achievements they have already accomplished, rather than on what they are expected to produce in the future. Since the CBA limits how much players can make early in their careers, it can create a situation where players are underpaid for their production when they are young, and overpaid as they grow old. At least that is the case for a superstar player like Albert Pujols, who the Angels somewhat shockingly designated for assignment on Thursday with one year remaining on the 10-year, $240 million contract he signed before his age-32 season. The future Hall-of-Famer was reportedly [upset he wasn't included in the lineup]( against a pitcher he had had success against in his career, particularly so because the decision reportedly came from the front office instead of manager Joe Maddon. Whatever happened to lead to his release, Pujols no longer had a place on an Angels roster that includes first baseman Jared Walsh and two-way star Shohei Ohtani. A future baseball observer, without the full benefit of context, will probably look back and wonder how the Angels made only one playoff appearance over the past 10 seasons despite having the two best players over the past 20 years on their team during that time. But Pujols was never the perennial MVP candidate in California as he was in St. Louis. When the Angels signed him, many expected an ending like the one that came yesterday. It was impossible to expect him to produce at a high level in his early 40s. Over the past two seasons, he has hit 11 home runs with a 76 wRC+. Pujols made a lot of money, as he should have, given he is one of the greatest players of the 21st Century. Unfortunately, the timing of his big contract made an unceremonious ending like yesterday's almost inevitable. ⚫️ WHAT ELSE HAPPENED? ▫️ Having spent three games being heckled by Yankees fans still angry over the Astros' 2017 sign-stealing scandal, Jose Altuve celebrated his 31st birthday by smacking a clutch three-run home run in the eighth inning off Yankees reliever Chad Green to put the Astros ahead 5-3 in a game they eventually won 7-4. ▫️ Mariners prospect Jarred Kelenic made his Triple-A debut yesterday (one that he [wishes he never had to make]( and he did not disappoint. [Ranked fourth]( on the FanGraphs' Top 100 prospect list, Kelenic displayed his game-changing power by hitting two home runs on Thursday night. 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]( YESTERDAY'S MOST PIVOTAL PLAY In a game that featured scoring in every inning except the ninth, the Red Sox defeated the Tigers 12-9 on Thursday. The pivotal play coming with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning when Christian Vazeuez singled home Rafeal Devers to tie the game at nine, before Boston benefited from an error and a wild pitch to take the final lead. SCORES (HOME TEAMS IN CAPS) RED SOX 12 Tigers 9 Rays 8 ANGELS 3 MARLINS 3 D-Backs 1 Braves 3 NATIONALS 2 Cleveland 4 ROYALS 0 PHILLIES 2 Brewers 0 Rangers 4 TWINS 3 (10) Mets 4 CARDINALS 1 Astros 7 YANKEES 4 Blue Jays 10 ATHLETICS 4 Track every game using our [LIVE SCOREBOARD](. [The Curious Case of the Cubs' Offensive Woes]( by [Sara Sanchez]( The 2021 team has substantially fewer hits than that 2004 club and home runs are unlikely to save a team that strikes out 26.9% of the time. You can see a sample of these not so superlative Cubs seasons along with their ultimate outcomes below (this table is sorted by fewest hits through 20 games), but the bottom line is this team’s early struggles offensively rival some of the most futile offenses in Cubs history. [READ MORE ]( 📝 RECENTLY PUBLISHED [Where Did the Homers Go?]( By Devan Fink [Phillies Prospect Ethan Lindow Is a Craftsman Who Learned From a Master]( by David Laurila [The Dodgers Are in Purgatory]( by RJ McDaniel [A Thursday Scouting Notebook - 5/6/2021]( by Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein [The Angels' Rotation Woes Have a Lot to Do With Their Defense]( by Jay Jaffe [Where Are Aaron Civale's Strikeouts?]( by Paul Sporer [Catching Hyeon-Jong Yang's First Start and a Delightfully Entertaining Twins-Rangers Game]( by Brendan Gawlowski [Austin Meadows Is Figuring Things Out Again]( by Tony Wolfe [Roto Riteup: May 7, 2021]( by Justin Mason [Bullpen Report: May 7, 2021]( by Jason Martinez 🔑 SITE TIP THE BOARD: Everyone loves prospects and there's no better place to learn about them than by using [THE BOARD](. Find out which players are ranked in the Top 100, or which prospects are the best within a particular organization. There are links to scouting reports and video for several of the prospects. You can filter on position, scout grades, and even look back at historical reports. Find THE BOARD by hovering over the "Prospects" tab at the top of the site. 🎧 FANGRAPHS PODCASTS [EFFECTIVELY WILD EPISODE 1691: Adios, Albert]( Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about [Byron Buxton]( and the Twins, discuss the Angels designating [Albert Pujols]( for assignment, and answer listener emails about whether to accept a scenario where one’s team always finishes .500 but one also gets to enjoy the career of a generational player, pitchers accepting automatic strikeouts, the best way for catchers to call for appeals on check swings, and appreciating the community of baseball as much as or more so than the sport itself, plus a Stat Blast about [Glenn Davis]( and the most lopsided trades of all time. 🎧 [Beat the Shift Podcast]( Lineups Episode w/ Steve Gardner 🎧 [FanGraphs Audio]( Marly Rivera and Lars Anderson Swap Stories 🎧 [Chin Music, Episode 12]( Can You Do That Without Being Shot on Sight? 🎧 [The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 925]( John Seized the Means of Production 🔝 TOP PERFORMERS Some additional performances not noted above. 🔺 ZACK WHEELER (SP/PHI): 9 IP, 8 SO (15 swinging strikes), 0 BB, 3 H and 0 ER. 🔺 TAIJUAN WALKER (SP/NYM): 7 IP, 8 SO (8 swinging strikes), 0 BB, 1 H and 0 ER. 🔺 YORDAN ÁLVAREZ (DH/HOU): 3-4 (2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) 🔺 MARCUS SEMIEN (2B/TOR): 4-6 (1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI) Check out our [Live Daily Leaderboards]( to track each day's top performers in real-time. ⚾️ ROSTER REPORT ACTIVATED FROM INJURED LIST - Angels RP Félix Peńa, Dodgers RP Joe Kelly, Blue Jays SP Hyun Jin Ryu were all activated from the 10-Day IL. PLACED ON INJURED LIST - Tigers RP Derek Holland, Angels RP Chris Rodriguez, Dodgers RP Scott Alexander, Phillies RP JoJo Romero, Blue Jays RP David Phelps were all placed on the 10-Day IL; and Angels C Max Stassi was placed on 7-Day IL. - Mets SP Carlos Carrasco was transferred to the 60-Day IL. TRANSACTIONS - Angels 1B Albert Pujols was designated for assignment. For the latest roster information, please visit our [RosterResource]( pages. [Bring back Pujols? It would require him accepting bench job, and Cards admitting the obvious]( by Ben Frederickson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Could a Pujols-Cardinals reunion be in the works? I asked the Cardinals front office on Thursday, after the big news in California. No comment. They didn’t rush to shoot down the idea, like the White Sox did to USA Today. They didn’t wink or nudge, either. They abstained, at least for now. [Hitters Are Driving the Recent HBP Spike]( by Robert Arthur, Baseball Prospectus ($) Overpowering, poorly-located pitches aren’t to blame for the recent spike in HBPs. But plunkings are a two-part process: first the pitch has to be far enough inside for a batter to get hit; second, the hitter has to fail to dodge. It’s this latter step that seems to explain why HBPs are jumping. 📚 MORE READS: [Answering the Cole]( by Carlos Marcano, Pitcher List [Is Carson Kelly's offensive emergence real?]( by Randy Holt, Beyond the Box Score [Book excerpt:]( Season with Mom: Love, Loss, and the Ultimate Baseball Adventure]( by Katie Russell Newland, via The Athletic ($) [@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](