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The Tampa Bay Rays will promote infield prospect Curtis Mead for his big-league debut ahead of Friday’s series-opening contest against the Detroit Tigers, the team announced Friday. Mead will be taking the roster spot of left-handed ace Shane McClanahan, who was placed on the injured list on Thursday night because of forearm soreness.

Mead, 22, has batted .291/.379/.453 with three home runs this season in 46 Triple-A games. He missed nearly two months earlier in the summer because of a wrist injury. Since returning to the Durham Bulls lineup in late June, he’s hit .355/.460/.538 in 113 trips to the plate. It is worth noting that Mead has homered just once over those 24 games, though he has recorded 12 other extra-base hits.

Mead’s ball-tracking statistics include an 89.3 average exit velocity, a 12.3 degree launch angle, and a 16.4% barrel rate. He was ranked by CBS Sports over the offseason as the No. 1 prospect in the Rays system. Here’s what we wrote:

Mead, who originally signed with the Phillies out of Australia, was acquired in exchange for lefty reliever Cristopher Sanchez in November 2019. He’s since ascended thanks to an above-average offensive projection. Mead split last season between Double- and Triple-A, batting .298/.390/.532 with 13 home runs in 76 games. He hits the ball hard and often, and he walked more frequently in 2022 than he had in past years. Mead’s best defensive position is in the batter’s box, since he lacks the arm to be good at third base and the range to excel at second. The Rays may try to play him all over the place anyway, but make no mistake: his bat is the selling point.

Mead has primarily played third base since coming back from injury.

The San Diego Padres announced on Friday that left-hander Cole Hamels and righty Craig Stammen had been placed on the voluntarily retired list.

Hamels, 39, signed a minor-league pact with the Padres in February with an eye on making his way back to the majors for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2021. He never appeared in an official game with the San Diego organization.

Hamels’ final big-league appearance came with the Atlanta Braves during the 2020 season. He finishes his career having pitched in 423 games and accumulating a 3.43 ERA (123 ERA+) and a 3.34 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He made four All-Star Games and played a pivotal run in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2008 World Series title, winning the Most Valuable Player Award designation in both the National League Championship and the World Series itself.

In addition to that time with the Phillies and Braves, Hamels also suited up as a member of the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. He signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 but, as with the Padres, never appeared in an official game with the organization.

Stammen, 39, had not pitched this season after suffering a torn capsule and strained subscapula in spring training. At the time, he suggested that without surgery his ailment could heal in four to six months’ time. Still, Stammen was not optimistic about making his way back onto the mound.

“Without saying that I’m done,” Stammen told the San Diego Union-Tribune in March, “it’s highly unlikely that I pitch again.”

Stammen appeared in 562 big-league games over a 13-year career. He amassed a 3.66 ERA (109 ERA+) and a 3.15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Stammen appeared in games as a member of the Washington Nationals and Padres and spent a minor-league season in the Cleveland Guardians farm system.

The Cleveland Guardians entered Friday 2 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. If the Guardians are to make up that ground over the season’s final two months, they’ll have to do it largely without first baseman Josh Naylor, who is expected to miss between three and six weeks after suffering a strained oblique, according to Mandy Bell of MLB.com.

Naylor, 26, had been one of the Guardians’ best hitters this season. In 96 games, he’d batted .306/.346/.500 (133 OPS+) with 15 home runs and 79 RBI. The only qualifying Guardians player with a higher OPS+ than Naylor this season is superstar third baseman José Ramírez. Steven Kwan, at 104, ranks third.

The Guardians recently traded Josh Bell at the deadline. Incoming prospect Kyle Manzardo remains sidelined with his own undisclosed injury, meaning that the Guardians may have to continue deploying David Fry at the cold corner with a rotating cast assuming DH responsibilities.

Naylor isn’t the only Guardians player slated to miss some time. Cleveland also placed young infielder Tyler Freeman on the injured list because of a strained shoulder. Freeman, 24, has hit .286/.344/.357 (97 OPS+) in 38 games.

In a pair of corresponding moves, the Guardians recalled infielder José Tena and obtained veteran outfielder Kole Calhoun from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations.

Tena, 22, will be making his big-league debut after appearing in just one game at the Triple-A level. In 81 prior games at Double-A, he batted .260/.353/.370 with four home runs and 16 stolen bases (on 23 attempts). Baseball America recently ranked Tena as the 13th best prospect in the Guardians farm system.

Calhoun, 35, was eligible to be traded after the deadline because he hasn’t spent any time in the majors this season. In 58 games at the Triple-A level split between multiple organizations, he’s hit .297/.376/.530. It’s worth noting that Calhoun has not been an above-average hitter at the big-league level since 2020.

The Guardians will begin a three-game set against the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

Atlanta Braves left-hander Max Fried made his first start since May on Friday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs (GameTracker). He had previously missed close to three months because of a strained left forearm.

Fried showed little sign of rust against what had been a red-hot Cubs lineup. He fired off six shutout innings, holding Chicago to three hits and no walks. Fried also struck out eight batters and saw his fastball average 94.7 mph, or a full tick higher than his previous seasonal average. He generated nine whiffs on 33 swings, with four of those coming on his fastball variants.

8-strikeout gem for Max Fried.

Ace things. pic.twitter.com/DYYeQoebvk

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) August 4, 2023
Fried, 29, made five starts earlier in the year before going on the shelf. In 26 innings, he had accumulated a 2.08 ERA (221 ERA+) and a 4.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Fried, of course, finished second in National League Cy Young Award balloting last winter.

“I felt sharper than expected. Had a lot of nervous energy. Just was looking forward to this day for a long time,” Fried told reporters, including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Fried’s afternoon was made easier thanks to the run support provided by Atlanta’s lineup. The Braves were up 8-0 at the time of his departure, due almost entirely to a seven-run fourth inning that saw them launch back-to-back home runs and continue their recent mastery of Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks. That score would hold as the final.

I won’t lie; my brain is scrambled right now. Between conference realignment and private equity investments in programs, I feel as though I’ve been hit in the head repeatedly, and I don’t know where the next blow is coming from. So, I need something to grab hold of to find my bearings.

I need a Principle.

That principle is fading Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals as favorites. I don’t care that the Colorado Rockies stink just as badly, if not worse, than the Cardinals. It doesn’t matter. What matters is what’s right, and what’s right is not betting on Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals as favorites.

Wainwright is toast. He’s not in much better shape than the Pac-12 and enters the night with a 7.18 ERA. The Cardinals have gone 5-8 in his 13 starts, and Waino has allowed at least two runs in every game he’s pitched this season. In his last five starts, he has 10.89 ERA.

It’s bad.

Now, as I said, the Rockies aren’t what anybody would consider good. Their starter, Chris Flexen, is just about as bad as Wainwright. The primary difference is he strikes a few more hitters out and walks a bunch more but doesn’t allow nearly as much hard contact.

So, he’s not somebody you typically want to be betting on, but this is one of those cases where neither team deserves to be favored against anybody, so bet the underdog. The fact St. Louis is 26-36 when favored this year doesn’t hurt, either.

The San Diego Padres announced Friday that starting pitcher Joe Musgrove had an MRI on his right (pitching) shoulder that revealed inflammation in the capsule (via Dennis Lin). As a result, he’s been shut down from throwing for three weeks before the club makes a decision on how to proceed. Padres general manager A.J. Preller told reporters they hope Musgrove can make it back this season, but will move forward with his best interests (via Lin).

Given that there’s a mention about how the Padres “hope” Musgrove can come back, that means there’s a possibility that he’s done for the season. That’s a big blow to the Padres’ postseason hopes.

The Padres enter action Friday having won five of their last six to move to 54-55. That’s nine games out in the NL West, but it’s four out in the wild-card race. That’s within striking distance.

Musgrove, 30, started the season on the injured list and has made 17 starts since then, going 10-3 with a 3.05 ERA (132 ERA+), 1.14 WHIP and 97 strikeouts against 20 unintentional walks in 97 1/3 innings.

The rotation around Musgrove right now is Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Seth Lugo and Rich Hill. Michael Wacha has been on the injured list since the start of July with a shoulder injury. Ryan Weathers has been traded and Adrián Morejón is on the injured list. Nick Martinez has made five starts this season, but has settled into a bullpen role. If he’s not moving back into the rotation, the Padres could dip into the minors. Starters Matt Waldron and Jay Groome are on the 40-man roster.

The Padres host the Dodgers Friday night to open a four-game series. It’s a huge series for the Padres as they look to remain in the playoff race. The Musgrove news puts a damper on that a bit, but the best way to change the vibes is to go win some games.