EVERETT — The Major League Baseball trade deadline often sends ripple affects through all levels of a baseball organization, and the Everett AquaSox felt some of that last week.
A few roster changes, and four days of an interim manager led to similar results for the Frogs — a 3-3 week against the Eugene Emeralds that put Everett at 16-20 in the second half of the Northwest League season and 48-54 overall.
Sergio Plasencia, the AquaSox’s bench coach, managed the team the past four games while manager Ryan Scott took a short vacation. Scott is expected to return to managing Tuesday when the AquaSox begin a six-game series at Hillboro.
Andrew Miller, a slugging catcher who had a team-best .421 batting average in his final five games for Everett, moved up to Double-A Arkansas. Connor Charping took his place after a promotion from Single-A Modesto. Shortly after he moved to from Everett to Arkansas, RJ Schreck was traded to Toronto for major leaguer Justin Turner.
The Frogs have hovered around .500 for much of the season and will need a strong final 30 games to put themselves in position for a spot in the Northwest League Championship Series, which pits the first-half champion against the second-half winner. Spokane won the first half with 38-26 record and currently leads the second half with a 25-11 record. If Spokane wins both halves, then the team that finishes second in the second half advances.
Though overcoming a nine-game deficit to overtake the Indians is a tall task, the Frogs find themselves within striking distance of second place and a potential series berth. Vancouver (21-15) sits in second, while Eugene, Everett and Hillsboro are all five game back.
Players of the week
Hitter: Hunter Fitz-Gerald. The corner infielder started five games last week, batting .412 with a homer and a triple. Fitz-Gerald, a 33rd-round draft pick (999 overall) by the Colorado Rockies in 2019, also registered four walks while striking out just three times. He led the AquaSox in batting average and on-base percentage (.524).
Pitcher: Ty Cummings. The right-hander started two games for the Frogs, going 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA. Cummings shut out Eugene for six innings last Tuesday, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out seven in a 3-2 Everett victory. A seventh-round pick by the Seattle Mariners in 2023, he struck out six more Emeralds on Sunday.
The week ahead: Everett travels to Hillsboro this week for a six-game series. The Hops started last week strong against Spokane, winning three of the first four before finishing the series with a pair 9-3 losses. The Frogs are 8-10 against Vancouver this season.
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