The 2016 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread...

[BigSpoon]

For only the 4th time in MLB history and 1st time in the AL, two catchers (Russ Martin & Gary Sanchez) homered twice in the same game yesterday: http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/08/16/yan...n-gary-sanchez

[Chi_archie]

For only the 4th time in MLB history and 1st time in the AL, two catchers (Russ Martin & Gary Sanchez) homered twice in the same game yesterday: http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/08/16/yan...n-gary-sanchez

Pure craziness

[mr. leisure]

Brewers bats get 1 run in 18 innings. Lucky to get the one in the final inning.

The brewers with 1 run and 4 hits in tonights game .

[Otters27]

The brewers with 1 run and 4 hits in tonights game .

Cubs ml was free money. too bad I only put my points on it

[Cross]

Brew crew just bad plus injuries.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

I'm ready to wrap up baseball and move on to football in a few weeks

[koz-man]

I'm ready to wrap up baseball and move on to football in a few weeks

100% Agree....

[EmpireMaker]

Cubs ml was free money. too bad I only put my points on it

The Cubs are on fire right now and the Brewers can't score runs to save their lives right now.

[Cross]

Cubs running roughshod through MLB.

[BarkingToad]

Marlins get beat by lowly Reds again, doubt they make playoffs.

[Chi_archie]

Marlins get beat by lowly Reds again, doubt they make playoffs.

Will be be an interesting chase

marlins vs pirates series this weekend is huge for both teams

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Kris Bryant with another monster game..

[EmpireMaker]

This Paulo Orlando guy is really playing well, he is worth a look as OF in deeper fantasy leagues.

[koz-man]

Marlins get beat by lowly Reds again, doubt they make playoffs.

Don't pick on the Reds...

[EmpireMaker]

The Marlins are struggling right now, and with Stanton out and Fernadez not sharp right now things aren't looking very good for them.

[Chi_archie]

The Marlins are struggling right now, and with Stanton out and Fernadez not sharp right now things aren't looking very good for them.

won a big one tonight

[koz-man]

Reds pitcher Lorenzen hits emotional HR

Just days after losing his father, relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen hit his first-career home run in the seventh inning, and powered the Reds to a 9-2 victory over the Dodgers.

[koz-man]

Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks threw 6 innings against Colorado on Friday giving up one run while lowering his ERA to 2.16.

After the Dodgers play their 122nd game on Saturday Clayton Kershaw will fall out of the qualifiers for the ERA title giving Hendricks the lowest current ERA officially in baseball.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

rookie Ryan Schimpf hits 2 more homers including a 3 run walk off shot against El Nino's underachievers

[Otters27]

Braves getting whipped around.

[BigSpoon]

Don't understand how the Rangers are 73-51 with only a +5 run differential. Lucky bastards.

[EmpireMaker]

ver a month after signing him to a five-year, $47.5MM contract, the Astros will promote infielder Yulieski Gurriel to the majors Sunday, reports Julia Morales of ROOT Sports (Twitter link). [RELATED: Updated Astros Depth Chart]
Gurriel, one of the most accomplished athletes in the history of Cuba, hasn’t gotten off to an overly productive start in a small sample size of 95 plate appearances in America. In his first game action of the season, the 32-year-old hit .229/.293/.361 with two homers while spending minimal time at four different minor league levels. The Astros will now hope to receive something a bit closer to Gurriel’s output in 2015, when he concluded his career in Cuba by notching a hit in exactly half of his 174 at-bats. In 225 plate appearances, he drew 38 walks against a meager three strikeouts and smashed 15 home runs en route to an .874 slugging percentage.
Given their collection of infield talent, there have been plenty of questions regarding where the Astros will use Gurriel. Initially, he’ll play designated hitter, according to Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). That means fellow midseason call-up Alex Bregman will continue at third base, where the highly regarded 22-year-old has spent most of his time since the club promoted him last month.
If the hot corner is where the Astros want Bregman for the long haul, it could push Gurriel to first base or even the corner outfield. First baseman Luis Valbuena suffered a setback with the strained right hamstring that has kept him out all of August, and he could miss the rest of the season, per Todd Karpavich of MLB.com. Gurriel could slot in there in the near term, then, but the Astros have a highly touted prospect who’s currently in the majors in A.J. Reed. In the outfield, Houston hasn’t gotten much production this year from anyone other than George Springer. With Colby Rasmus out until next month with an ear cyst and scheduled for free agency in the offseason, left field seems like a logical landing spot Gurriel.
Regardless of where he plays, the Astros need the Gurriel signing to pay dividends immediately if they’re going to climb back into the American League playoff race. The Astros were surging when they recalled Bregman on July 24, but they’ve since lost 16 of 25 and are 9 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Texas and 4 1/2 out of a wild-card spot.

[Chi_archie]

Cuba!

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Rangers signed Carlos Gomez..

[mr. leisure]

Rangers signed Carlos Gomez..

Triple A deal seems like low risk .

[koz-man]

Triple A deal seems like low risk .

Carlos Gómez will report today to the Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, where he is expected to play around three games before being brought up to the major-league roster.

[EmpireMaker]

The Diamondbacks and Marlins had worked out a trade that would have sent Shelby Miller to Miami in exchange for three starting pitchers, only for Arizona ownership to shoot down the deal, a Marlins executive tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The two sides had been linked in talks about Miller, with Miami right-handed pitching prospect Luis Castillo reportedly mentioned as a trade chip before Castillo was dealt to San Diego as part of the Marlins’ deal for Andrew Cashner.
As Nightengale writes (semi-facetiously), the reason given by D’Backs ownership was that such a trade “just wouldn’t look good,” considering the stunningly big trade package the Snakes gave up last winter to acquire Miller from the Braves. The same “wouldn’t look good” reasoning also impacted another ownership decision, as D’Backs chief baseball officer Tony La Russa and GM Dave Stewart were considering replacing manager Chip Hale with Triple-A skipper Phil Nevin before being told that a managerial change wouldn’t happen.
Nightengale uses these ownership interventions to argue that La Russa, Stewart and senior VP of baseball operations De Jon Watson shouldn’t be blamed for the Diamondbacks’ struggles this season, nor should the trio be fired after less than two years on the job. The fate of Arizona’s front office is yet to be decided, as 2017 options for Stewart and Watson are up on August 31 and La Russa’s option is up after the season. As Fan Rag Sports’ Jon Heyman noted earlier this week and Nightengale reiterates here, D’Backs upper management is hoping to let August 31 pass without a decision so they can delay their choice until after the season.
Without knowing what exactly the Marlins were offering for Miller, it’s hard to say that ownership necessarily made the wrong move in nixing the trade. Obviously, Miami’s offer wouldn’t have come close to matching Dansby Swanson/Ender Inciarte/Aaron Blair, though the feeling could have been that La Russa and Stewart were selling low on Miller. The three pitchers on Miami’s end of the deal would have almost certainly been prospects, and there wouldn’t have been any blue chip arms in the group given the Marlins’ low-rated farm system.
Hale’s name has been on the hot seat for weeks, and a managerial change would’ve been less surprising than the D’Backs cutting bait on Miller after less than a season. It’s unknown if La Russa and Stewart were specifically planning to fire Hale or if they were still discussing the idea. Hale has a 130-156 record as Arizona’s manager and is is under contract for the 2017 season.

[oiler]

carlos Gomez can become a good player with a change of scenery and a new attitude

[Otters27]

carlos Gomez can become a good player with a change of scenery and a new attitude

Often the case for many players that get in a rut and have a bad attitude with their manager

[Chi_archie]

Carlos Gómez will report today to the Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, where he is expected to play around three games before being brought up to the major-league roster.

bad luck to you sir!

[JAKEPEAVY21]

carlos Gomez can become a good player with a change of scenery and a new attitude

he needs to focus on making contact and not trying to go deep every at bat.

[BigSpoon]

The Diamondbacks and Marlins had worked out a trade that would have sent Shelby Miller to Miami in exchange for three starting pitchers, only for Arizona ownership to shoot down the deal, a Marlins executive tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The two sides had been linked in talks about Miller, with Miami right-handed pitching prospect Luis Castillo reportedly mentioned as a trade chip before Castillo was dealt to San Diego as part of the Marlins’ deal for Andrew Cashner.
As Nightengale writes (semi-facetiously), the reason given by D’Backs ownership was that such a trade “just wouldn’t look good,” considering the stunningly big trade package the Snakes gave up last winter to acquire Miller from the Braves. The same “wouldn’t look good” reasoning also impacted another ownership decision, as D’Backs chief baseball officer Tony La Russa and GM Dave Stewart were considering replacing manager Chip Hale with Triple-A skipper Phil Nevin before being told that a managerial change wouldn’t happen.
Nightengale uses these ownership interventions to argue that La Russa, Stewart and senior VP of baseball operations De Jon Watson shouldn’t be blamed for the Diamondbacks’ struggles this season, nor should the trio be fired after less than two years on the job. The fate of Arizona’s front office is yet to be decided, as 2017 options for Stewart and Watson are up on August 31 and La Russa’s option is up after the season. As Fan Rag Sports’ Jon Heyman noted earlier this week and Nightengale reiterates here, D’Backs upper management is hoping to let August 31 pass without a decision so they can delay their choice until after the season.
Without knowing what exactly the Marlins were offering for Miller, it’s hard to say that ownership necessarily made the wrong move in nixing the trade. Obviously, Miami’s offer wouldn’t have come close to matching Dansby Swanson/Ender Inciarte/Aaron Blair, though the feeling could have been that La Russa and Stewart were selling low on Miller. The three pitchers on Miami’s end of the deal would have almost certainly been prospects, and there wouldn’t have been any blue chip arms in the group given the Marlins’ low-rated farm system.
Hale’s name has been on the hot seat for weeks, and a managerial change would’ve been less surprising than the D’Backs cutting bait on Miller after less than a season. It’s unknown if La Russa and Stewart were specifically planning to fire Hale or if they were still discussing the idea. Hale has a 130-156 record as Arizona’s manager and is is under contract for the 2017 season.

Stewart and La Russa have been a disaster for the D-Backs, ownership needs to clean house in the front office.

[EmpireMaker]

DL for Strasburg

[EmpireMaker]

The Mets will place starter Steven Matz on the 15-day disabled list with a tight left shoulder, James Wagner of The New York Times reports. The club hasn’t made an official announcement, but the move can be made retroactive to August 15.
Matz had been scratched from Friday’s scheduled start against the Giants. The 25-year-old has had a great season for the Mets, compiling a 3.40 ERA with a 129/31 K/BB ratio over 132 1/3 innings.
Seth Lugo started in Matz’s place on Friday and will likely continue to start as long as Matz is sidelined.

[Cross]

Strasburg will never get healthy, too bad.