Mariners Moose Tracks, 8/5/23: Colt Emerson, Curtis Mead, and the Pac-12

Good morning everybody and happy Saturday! Let’s check in on the status of baseball as we know it.

In Mariners news...

• Colt Emerson became the first of the Mariners three 2023 first-rounders to get into a professional game yesterday, and he got his career started with a bang.

• Kolten Wong has officially been ousted from the organization.

Around the league...

• As the Rays push for the AL East crown, they’re calling up top infield prospect Curtis Mead, an Australian with a prodigious hit tool.
• The Orioles Power Rangers might have something to say about that, though.

• The Guardians have acquired outfielder Kole Calhoun from the Dodgers.
• Longtime starting pitcher Cole Hamels and reliever Craig Stammen have both officially retired from baseball.
• The Padres have been forced to shut down top starter Joe Musgrove due to a shoulder inflammation.
• Byron Buxton, who has been healthy but bad this season, has hit the injured list with a hamstring issue.
• Angels rookie infielder Zach Neto is going on the injured list with a lower back issue.
• Things are not going well in the Marlins complex.

Anders’ picks...

• For those of you who miss the Mariners writing of our good friend Amanda Lane Cumming, she started her own blog over at Substack! Go give it a read, where she already has a fun quartet of articles to peruse.
• Well, the death of the Pac-12 conference is upon us as the University of Washington and University of Oregon were officially announced as members of the Big Ten beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year. The University of Arizona, Arizona State, and the University of Utah were unanimously voted into the Big 12 starting the same year, meaning there are only four Pac-12 schools left: Cal, Stanford, Washington State, and Oregon State. The fates of those schools is still unknown — the Bay Area schools may vie for Big Ten induction but all four may end up as independents or members of the Mountain West in due time (understandably, the remaining schools are quite upset with the ones that left). In any case, the 2023-2024 Pac-12 season stands to be an entertaining last cry for the league.