Mariners Moose Tracks, 7/12/24: George Kirby, Kenta Maeda, and the Toronto Blue Jays

Angry George continues to evolve.

Good morning friends and happy Friday! It’s time to cap off the week with fresh news from around baseball.

In Mariners news...

• Shannon Drayer spoke to George Kirby about how the right-hander is changing up his approach — which may lead to better results.
• Cal Raleigh is a unicorn.

Around the league...

• The Blue Jays appear ready to move players on expiring contracts this summer (such as starter Yusei Kikuchi and catcher Danny Jansen) but seem less enthusiastic about dealing players under control beyond this year, such as Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Bo Bichette.
• We have some fresh mock drafts for those of you who are interested. Here are projections from Fangraphs, MLB, and The Athletic, all of which have the Mariners taking college pitching with their first selection.
• Jesse Rogers at ESPN provides player comps for this year’s top projected draft picks.
• Jim Bowden at The Athletic takes stock of all 30 clubs with the trade deadline approaching, providing a couple of juicy nuggets on the Mariners’ potential plans. ($)
• The Tigers are moving longtime starter Kenta Maeda to the bullpen following a tough first half for the right-hander.

Anders’ picks...

• No but really...this is pretty weird to consider.