SEATTLE - Caleb Ferguson didn’t wait long to address the moment that put him in the spotlight Monday night.
The Reds reliever apologized Tuesday for his profane reaction toward second base umpire Bill Miller during Cincinnati’s 8-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners, calling it “a very unprofessional thing on my part.”
“I know these things happen in the game, but I don’t like that I was kind of the centerpiece of what was going on,” Ferguson said.
He said he planned to find Miller before Tuesday’s game and apologize face-to-face, though he had not spoken with the umpire yet.
“(I’m) going to seek Bill out - or try to at some point - and definitely make it right with him,” Ferguson said. “Very unprofessional on my part.
So, nothing you can do with it now. I just have to move on.
I know Bill is doing his best not to be in the way in that situation, so I’ve got to be better on my part, too.”
The outburst came in the seventh inning after Reds second baseman Edwin Arroyo collided with Miller while trying to field a grounder by Victor Robles. Ferguson’s expletive-filled reaction was caught on the Mariners’ broadcast, though Ferguson said he didn’t realize it had been captured until he got back to the team hotel.
Asked about it Monday night, he said, “You’ve got to ask Bill.”
The inning had already gone sideways for Ferguson before the collision. He entered with the bases loaded and gave up a grand slam to Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh on his first pitch. Josh Naylor followed with a single on a ball Ferguson deflected, and Cincinnati then failed to turn an inning-ending double play on a fielder’s choice by Cole Young, keeping the frame alive.
With two outs and two on, Robles hit a grounder up the middle. Arroyo crossed the bag to field it but ran into Miller, and the ball rolled into center field for a single. Ferguson then struck out Luke Raley to end the inning, and the broadcast showed him mouthing an expletive while staring directly at Miller, who did not react.
“It felt like a 1-0 game quickly turned into - I don’t know what it was when I came out of the game,” Ferguson said. “A 7-0 game.
It felt like it happened very, very quick. But the nature of baseball is that we’ve got another one today.
The best thing we can do is to go win this one today.”
Ferguson, 30, is in his first season with Cincinnati after signing a one-year deal last December. He has appeared in 21 games for the Reds and owns a 3.98 ERA over 20 1/3 innings. Raleigh’s homer was the third Ferguson has allowed this season.
In Other News...
Ty France Just Forced A Padres Deadline Dilemma
Ty France has spent enough time around the Padres this season to turn what looked like a depth signing into a real roster conversation. On a minor league contract, he has become one of the clubs more productive hitters, giving San Diego a useful bat at a time when every lineup spot matters and every marginal upgrade can shape the playoff race.
Frances rise has also changed the way the Padres have to think about the deadline. If they keep him, they get a proven contributor for the stretch run, but if they move him, they could turn that production into value before he reaches free agency again after the season. The front office now has to balance the immediate benefit of keeping him in the lineup against the longer-term question of whether this is the right moment to cash in or start extension talks. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Deadline Hopes Just Hit A Frustrating Wall
With the trade deadline closing in and the Padres sitting under .500, the front office is at least looking hard at ways to reshape the roster. Mason Miller is one of the names that could draw real interest, but any bigger deadline idea quickly runs into the same obstacle: Xander Bogaerts and the massive contract that still sits on the books.
Bogaerts has not played like the kind of player another club would want to absorb, and the deal runs all the way through 2033, which makes the math even tougher. Even if San Diego tried to package him with a valuable arm like Miller, the return would almost certainly come back lighter than the Padres would want, leaving the club with a difficult choice between standing pat and taking a far smaller haul than a player of Millers caliber should command. [Read more 🡒]
Padres May Finally Have No Choice But To Trust Luis Campusano
Miguel Andjars move to the 10-day injured list has opened another door for the Padres, and this one looks like it could matter beyond a short-term roster shuffle. With Andjar out after a wrist injury, San Diego recalled Rodolfo Durn from Triple-A El Paso and is now leaning into a catching setup that gives Luis Campusano a bigger role, including chances to hit as the designated hitter.
For Campusano, it is the kind of opportunity the Padres have circled for a while, even if they have been careful about how they handle the position around him. Carrying three catchers gives the club some protection, but it also suggests a willingness to keep Campusano in the lineup more often and see whether the bat can finally become too useful to keep parked on the bench. [Read more 🡒]