{"id":601535,"date":"2026-04-13T16:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/601535\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T16:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:31:14","slug":"new-york-mlb-teams-in-early-trouble-plus-a-cy-young-worthy-reliever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/601535\/","title":{"rendered":"New York MLB teams in early trouble, plus a Cy Young-worthy reliever?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Windup Newsletter \u26be | This is The Athletic\u2019s MLB<\/a> newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

The Yankees and Mets are running parallel losing streaks, Mason Miller is shedding his human imperfections and Ken tells us about JJ Wetherholt\u2019s calmness. Plus: have we ever got a frozen yogurt story for you (no, really).\u00a0 I\u2019m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal \u2014 welcome to The Windup!<\/p>\n

Worries: New York, New York (deep sigh)<\/p>\n

They were just swept, bringing their losing streak to five games. Their star infielder has been\u00a0making questionable<\/a>\u00a0baseball decisions<\/a>. Their offense has been struggling. And now they have to face a hot L.A. team.<\/p>\n

You guessed it: we\u2019re talking about the Yankees \u2026 and also the Mets.<\/p>\n

The parallels are many, so here\u2019s one more: coinciding articles, ranking the concerns of each.<\/p>\n

Steve Cohen can afford failed gambles, but the Mets can\u2019t afford much else going wrong. They\u2019re 7-9 and in the cellar of a division that features not one but\u00a0two\u00a0teams (Marlins,\u00a0Nationals<\/a>) who are looking better than expected, and two others (Phillies, Braves) who are expected to contend for a division title.<\/p>\n

(Maybe the\u00a0arrival of Tommy Pham<\/a>\u00a0will help?)<\/p>\n

More unexpected starts:<\/p>\n

Ken\u2019s Notebook: Wetherholt gets jump on Cards\u2019 renaissance<\/p>\n

From my\u00a0most recent notes column<\/a>:<\/p>\n

When Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown compares rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt\u2019s makeup to that of All-Star catcher Will Smith, it\u2019s about as big a compliment as he can offer.<\/p>\n

Brown got to know Smith during his tenure with the Dodgers from 2018 to \u201822. And the thing that strikes him about Wetherholt is the same thing that struck him about Smith: The kid never panics.<\/p>\n

Cardinals reliever Ryne Stanek, a 10-year veteran, also had high praise for Wetherholt, saying, \u201cHe just acts like he\u2019s been here, in a good way. He isn\u2019t trying to make any moment too big. He\u2019s just playing his game.\u201d Stanek added, \u201cFor him to go out of his way to be a jerk, it just feels like it would be hard for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest story with the 8-7 Cardinals \u2014 and one of the biggest in baseball \u2014 is the awakening of right fielder Jordan Walker, who on Sunday hit his major-league leading seventh home run. After making mechanical adjustments to correct his bat path, better enabling him to elevate the ball, Walker says, \u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to do, and what I need to keep doing, is turn my brain off during my at-bats. All the work happens in the cage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wetherholt, like Walker, is 23, and also figures to be part of the Cardinals\u2019 renaissance, whenever it might occur. The Cardinals drafted him seventh overall out of West Virginia University in 2024, two places ahead of where the Pirates took shortstop Konnor Griffin, a high schooler from Mississippi. Wetherholt, listed at 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds, previously went undrafted out of Mars Area H.S. in western Pennsylvania, where his coach was Andy Bednar, the father of Yankees closer David Bednar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no looks,\u201d Wetherholt said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t that good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Sabins, a longtime West Virginia assistant who took over as head coach in June 2024, recalled Wetherholt as a lightly recruited, undersized second baseman for a Pittsburgh-area travel-ball team. Wetherholt played in men\u2019s leagues, college leagues, anywhere he could. Even then, he showed a unique ability to drive the ball to the opposite field.<\/p>\n

For the rest on Wetherholt \u2014\u00a0and notes on the Yankees, Dodgers, Guardians prospects and more \u2014\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Question: Cy Young-worthy reliever?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Mason Miller has done so far in 2026:<\/p>\n

Seven games, 7 1\/3 innings, 19 strikeouts, one walk, one hit, no runs for a 0.00 ERA and 0.273 WHIP.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s a small sample size. So why don\u2019t we take a look at Miller\u2019s line since being traded from the A\u2019s to the Padres at last year\u2019s deadline?<\/p>\n

Twenty-nine games, 30 2\/3 innings, 64 strikeouts, 11 walks, eight hits, and two earned runs. That\u2019s a 0.59 ERA and a 0.620 WHIP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, as Jayson Stark pointed out in last week\u2019s\u00a0Weird & Wild column<\/a>, that doesn\u2019t count the postseason (eight outs, all strikeouts, no hits). And if you wanted to count the WBC, that would be an additional 12 outs (10 strikeouts, no hits).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a long enough streak for Dennis Lin to start saying the murmured parts out loud:\u00a0Is Miller a candidate to become the first reliever since Eric Gagne in 2003 to\u00a0win a Cy Young award<\/a>?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Doubtful. The 23-year gap already tells us how hard it is for a reliever to \u201cout-value\u201d the league\u2019s best starting pitcher. This is also the first year of a new BBWAA award to honor the league\u2019s best reliever.<\/p>\n

Miller is surely on pace to be the inaugural winner of\u00a0that\u00a0award. But if he keeps this up, he\u2019s going to make the Cy Young topic a hotly debated one in press boxes around the league.<\/p>\n

More Padres: In\u00a0this story<\/a> about the Padres starting Fernando Tatis Jr. at second base for the first time in his big-league career, Padres manager Craig Stammen had this to say: \u201cMaybe him concentrating on playing second base unlocks him at the plate, he stops thinking so much about it and just uses his natural talent to take over.\u201d<\/p>\n

In two starts at second base, Tatis is 5-for-9 with a walk in 10 plate appearances.<\/p>\n

Oddity: The great baseball froyo caper<\/p>\n

I want to take you back to the 2023 World Series. I was sitting in the press box with Sam Blum and Cody Stavenhagen when Sam pointed out to left field.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see that big Cr\u00e8mily ad out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course I did. I\u2019d watched plenty of games in Arizona and Anaheim that year. It was some new ice cream company, or something, right? Why?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a scam.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled up the website, which touted the product as a keto-friendly frozen yogurt company that used its profits to \u201cempower girls globally.\u201d One problem. There was nothing available for sale on the site. Why would you pay that much money to advertise in a big-league ballpark if you didn\u2019t have any product?<\/p>\n

Curious.<\/p>\n

Well, two and a half years later Blum and Stavenhagen have the answer to that question, with\u00a0this story on Cr\u00e8mily<\/a>, and the man at the center of the mess: Steven Delaportas, who has lawsuits and shady dealings in his past \u2026 and present. It\u2019s a wild ride that includes two MLB teams, a family farm in New York and Ko\u042fn.<\/p>\n

Yes, the band.<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, at time of writing, Cr\u00e8mily\u2019s\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0(1,950 followers) and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0(205) profiles are still up, if you wanna see the image they were projecting. But that website we visited back in 2023 is \u2026 well, it\u2019s probably\u00a0still\u00a0a scam, just a different kind: It\u2019s now what appears to be an Indonesian gambling site. (Sorry to my bosses at\u00a0The Athletic\u00a0if I endangered my work laptop by visiting the site, but I did grab a quick screen shot so none of\u00a0you\u00a0feel the need to go there out of curiosity.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Just some typical baseball newsletter material.<\/p>\n

Handshakes and High Fives<\/p>\n

Katie Woo and Will Sammon have\u00a0a great behind-the-scenes story<\/a>\u00a0on how the Dodgers were able to sign Edwin D\u00edaz (with the help of Kik\u00e9 Hernandez).<\/p>\n

The story of the weekend: The unveiling of the Ichiro statue in Seattle\u00a0went comically wrong<\/a>. (Kudos to the Mariners social team for\u00a0a good joke<\/a>.) Fortunately, the statue was fixed within hours.<\/p>\n

Andy Pages might have the least star power in the Dodgers\u2019 lineup. He\u2019s also been\u00a0their best hitter this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What a great story by Mitch Bannon: Before Ernie Clement was a postseason hero for the Blue Jays, he was just a college kid whose\u00a0infectious joy worked for his team<\/a>\u00a0(and occasionally against him).<\/p>\n

The White Sox are\u00a0calling up LHP Noah Schultz<\/a>, who is expected to make his MLB debut on Tuesday against the Rays. The 22-year-old was ranked No. 95 on\u00a0Keith Law\u2019s Top 100 prospects list<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Baseball lifer Phil Garner passed away over the weekend at 76 years old. Tyler Kepner\u2019s\u00a0obituary for Garner<\/a>\u00a0has quotes from many former teammates and players he managed.<\/p>\n

The owners of the Denver Broncos have bought a\u00a040 percent stake in the Rockies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Our panel\u2019s ranking of the\u00a0latest City Connect unis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb Love The Windup? Check out\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n