Tag: Bryan Reynolds

Pittsburgh minor leaguer Drew Maggi had the best reaction to finally getting called up to play in MLB after 13 years

After 13 years and 1,154 minor league games, Pirates infielder Drew Maggi will finally get his chance to join The Show.

After years spent as one of the MLB’s “phantom players,” Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Drew Maggi will finally get his shot to play in The Show.

After the Pirates placed outfielder Bryan Reynolds on the bereavement list on Sunday, Pittsburgh selected Maggi’s contract for the team’s 40-man roster.

Maggi’s promotion from Double-A Altoona was the culmination of 13 years in professional baseball without ever actually being called up to the majors.

“Phantom players” hold that difficult distinction, being hypothetical MLB players who have appeared on a professional roster without actually playing in an MLB game.

Maggi was selected in the 15th round by the Pirates in 2010 and has bounced around the league in the minors with various franchises ever since. Now, he’ll get to suit up for the team that drafted him all those years ago.

After playing in 1,154 minor league games in 13 seasons, it’s finally Maggi’s time to shine. His reaction to being called up was just priceless.

Some NSFW language to follow.

Maggi will help the Pirates for their Sunday afternoon tilt against the Cincinnati Reds.

While the game might just be a weekend matinee for some, it’s the sweet, sweet payoff for years of patience and grinding it out for Maggi.

USMNT player ratings: Pulisic dominates in Grenada rout

The USMNT’s big names sure played like it Friday night

The U.S. men’s national team was supposed to handle Grenada with ease, and it turns out that’s exactly what they did.

Returning to CONCACAF Nations League play for the first time since June 2022, the USMNT steamrolled the Spice Boys, scoring early and often in a 7-1 victory.

Just knowing the scoreline, even a person that didn’t see the game could probably divine some of the ratings here. Christian Pulisic was dominant from kickoff, Weston McKennie conjured up two goals, and Alex Zendejas marked his becoming cap-tied to the team with a goal. If you’re a USMNT fan, it was a fun Friday night.

With that in mind, our ratings for a game that was never particularly close:

The Americans Abroad Five: How long can Matt Turner wait at Arsenal?

The USMNT’s starting goalkeeper is going to have big decisions to make this offseason

Matt Turner is going to have some big decisions to make this offseason.

When Turner got the chance to join Arsenal last summer, nobody could fault him for saying yes. It was, in some ways, the culmination of an incredible rags-to-riches tale that would’ve been difficult to make up.

But in other, highly important ways, it was very much not the culmination. Turner was making the leap to Europe relatively late at age 28, but he had every reason to believe he could enjoy a long and fruitful career abroad.

But will that ever happen at Arsenal?

Turner was always facing an uphill battle for consistent minutes with the Gunners, and the 2022-23 season has done little to dispel that notion. Aaron Ramsdale is firmly entrenched as the starter and Arsenal is the favorite to win the Premier League right now.

With all of his USMNT competitors playing every week, it is worth considering how long Turner can afford to be a backup — especially when it seems pretty clear he could start for more than a few clubs in top-five European leagues.

Turner has previously spoken of how much he’s grown in north London from training alone, but there is a limit to that particular benefit.

This week’s Five leads with a troubling week for Turner, who looks to have played his last game this season.

The Americans Abroad Five: Knock knock knocking on the USMNT’s door

The USMNT has to be feeling pretty good about its depth right now

The U.S. men’s national team has to feel pretty good about its depth right now.

All across Europe, a host of players who didn’t make the World Cup squad are showing they have what it takes to feature for the USMNT, which was again apparent this weekend.

The striker position, which has been a concern for years, has a (very theoretical!) savior possibly en route in the form of Folarin Balogun, but Daryl Dike and Ricardo Pepi keep showing this season they should be in the USMNT mix as well.

That duo, along with some other names who could be coming soon to a U.S. roster near you, features in this week’s Five, along with a coach who could someday be leading them.

The Americans Abroad Five: The Pefok and Pepi paradoxes

How much does club form really matter for Gregg Berhalter?

How much does club form matter for the U.S. national team?

To a certain extent, a lot. Gregg Berhalter would find it hard to call up any players outside his core group who aren’t at least getting regular minutes with their club side.

But as this past week has shown, Berhalter also has a pretty clear idea of which players fit his system and which don’t — and no amount of club success is going to change that.

To wit, let’s look at the examples of two strikers in Europe who have experienced vastly different fates over the past year, and what their USMNT status says about club form.

Let’s get to the Five.

Devin Williams gave up a walk-off home run after the Brewers traded Josh Hader and baseball fans couldn’t believe it

Williams hadn’t given up a home run all year. Whoops.

Let’s get two things clear:

  1. Devin Williams is arguably the best reliever in MLB and has the stats to prove it.
  2. Baseball is so, so cruel.

On that first point, Williams had gone 30 consecutive outings without allowing a run. He’d gone all season long without giving up a homer. A sterling 1.59 ERA and 66 strikeouts on 19 walks in 39.2 innings is plenty evidence of his greatness.

It’s the type of stuff that convinced the Milwaukee Brewers to trade equally-dominant closer Josh Hader to San Diego at the deadline and move Williams into the 9th inning role.

Wednesday provided Williams with the first opportunity to show he could handle the added pressure as he entered a game tied at 7 against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road.

It, uh, did not go well.

Wowowowow.

Ok, there’s a lot to unpack here.

That’s just the second walk-off home run of Reynolds’ career. He also hasn’t had too much luck against Williams before Wednesday, striking out three times in 12 plate appearances with just three hits—and none of them went for more than a single. Williams had previously only allowed one home run at PNC Park and that was back in 2020. Wednesday’s home run was just the third hit given up by Williams in Pittsburgh since.

And the walk-off absolutely crushed the betting public.

According to Action Network, 81 percent of all moneyline bets and 69 percent of all the money wagered on the ML was on Milwaukee.

What a brutal beat.