Mariners Moose Tracks, 6/4/22: Julio Rodríguez, Yordan Álvarez, and Joe Girardi

Good morning! Great win for Seattle last night, but I can’t believe the Mariners still have two more games in that disaster of a stadium.

In Mariners news ...

• In case you missed it, Julio got some well-deserved recognition, as he was named AL Rookie of the Month:

• Erik Swanson and Ken Giles both made rehab appearances in Everett. Swanson looked good, with 2 Ks in a clean inning. Giles looked ... less good, with two hits, two walks, two wild pitches, and just one strikeout over 0.2 IP. Just a rehab stint though, right?
• Book your tickets now for June 10 to see Mina Kimes throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Mariners take on the Red Sox. (Oh god, they have to play the Red Sox again.)

Around the league ...

• After less than three seasons, the Phillies have fired manager Joe Girardi and coaching assistant Bobby Meacham. Bench coach Rob Thompson will be the interim manager.
• Assuming his knees hold up, Yordan Álvarez will continue to torture us through 2028, as he and the Astros agreed to a $115 million, six-year extension that begins next year. This buys out three arb years for $25 million total and three free-agent years at $28.8 million a pop. It’s the biggest contract ever for a designated hitter.
• The Orioles have promoted Director of Baseball Development Eve Rosenbaum to Assistant GM.
• For some reason, the Yankees want to take a turn on America’s most boring game show, What Is Jake Bauers? Is He Anything? Let’s Find Out!, having acquired him from Cin City for cash considerations. Seems like an overpay to me, but whatever.
• Speaking of erstwhile Mariners, Donovan Walton took the hill for the Giants yesterday during a blowout. He did not throw the ball very fast:

• Still speaking of erstwhile Mariners, over at Fangraphs, Jake Mailhot broke down Tyler Anderson’s reinvention timely enough before Anderson threw another gem yestreday.
• A new team travels to Toronto, we learn more facts:

• As a special treat for verified Twitter user, Matthew Roberson, we’re including this in the links today:

Zach’s picks ...

Even for making wooden clogs, I would not have guessed that it looked this silly: