the fact that cubs as a team is doing great,the bad start by Hayward isn't a big deal
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Padres should trade Kemp now while he is putting up numbers
value will probably never be higher
Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe waiting in the wingsComment -
Odor needs to hit the gym or Joey Bats has an iron chin. Cleanest punch I've ever seen in a basebrawl and didn't even ko him.Comment -
Joe Girardi says both Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia will return to action when their DL stints are up. A-Rod is scheduled to play Thursday night's series opener against the Athletics in Oakland and Sabathia is slated to start Friday night.Comment -
Tim Lincecum to sign with the Angels. Guess he wants to start more than he wants to win. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15...angeles-angelsComment -
7:00pm: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports that Strasburg’s contract does include limited no-trade protection (Twitter link). Passan also adds some context to the deferrals (links to Twitter), reporting that Strasburg’s 2023 salary is a staggering $45MM, but as Svrluga reported, he’ll receive just $15MM in that year, with the rest being deferred. The present-day value of the deal, when factoring in the $70MM worth of deferrals, is a bit north of $160MM, per Passan.
9:19am: In a move that has drastically altered next winter’s free-agent market, the Nationals have officially agreed to a seven-year extension with righty Stephen Strasburg. He’ll reportedly earn a guaranteed $175MM over that term, though the deal does come with some wrinkles.
First and foremost, Strasburg will take home only $15MM annually over the seven seasons of the contract (2017-2023), Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reports. The remaining $70MM will be deferred without interest and paid out in $10MM installments over 2024 through 2030. That payout structure obviously reduces the present value of the contract: per Svrluga, the club estimates that the deal would be for something like $162MM if those annual salaries were paid in full each year during the seven-year term.
The deal also affords Strasburg opportunities to opt out after its third and fourth seasons. (He’d keep the $25MM annually for the first three or four years, with the deferred amounts moved up.) Strasburg can also tack on $1MM annually for every season in which he reaches 180 innings. So far as has been reported, Strasburg won’t receive no-trade protection and there are no provisions relating to arm health.
Strasburg had been set to reach the open market after the year, and there had been no hint that a deal was in the works. The Scott Boras client currently sits atop the 2016-17 Free Agent Power Rankings of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes, and had every hope of matching or exceeding the $200MM+ contracts landed by aces Max Scherzer and David Price over the last two winters.
There are some major limiting factors in Strasburg’s case, of course, including his prior Tommy John surgery and injury-limited 2015 campaign. While the Nationals are known for their successful rolls of the dice on pitchers with questionable elbows, the long-term durability of Strasburg’s replacement UCL remains an open question. Additionally, despite generally excellent results, he’s never quite been as dominant as his peripherals would suggest and he’s only topped 200 innings in a season once.
Still, there’s plenty of reason to think that clubs would have lined up for a chance to add Strasburg this winter. He’s pitching in his age-27 season at present, meaning he is selling several younger campaigns than were pitchers like Scherzer and Price. And apart from a bit of a blip last year, Strasburg has been one of the game’s most effective starting pitchers.
In the aggregate, Strasburg has given the Nationals 818 2/3 innings of 3.06 ERA pitching in his seven years of major league action, with a sterling 10.4 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. But ERA estimators are in accord in suggesting that he’s been even better, as Strasburg carries a 2.78 FIP, 2.72 xFIP, and 2.77 SIERA for his career.
Strasburg has a deep and varied arsenal, beginning with a pair of mid-90s fastballs. Though he’s now sitting just under 95 mph with the heater, well below his early-career numbers, Strasburg has never been wholly reliant on upper-tier velocity. He’s increasingly utilized a slider this season, joining with his already-stellar curve and change to give him five legitimate offerings.
Both sides clearly have their reasons for agreeing to terms, though it remains an unexpected strike given the righty’s combination of age, performance, and short time left to reach the market. Strasburg won’t need to worry about another injury or performance decline interceding before reaching free agency, and he’s clearly comfortable in D.C., which made him the first overall draft selection back in 2009. And for the Nationals, acting now not only represents a chance for a nice discount — particularly once the deferrals are accounted for — but prevents the need to bid for Strasburg’s services against other organizations in a market that is largely devoid of pitching talent.
It’s worth noting that the Nationals are intimately familiar with Strasburg’s health and work ethic, particularly after going through the infamous shutdown of 2012. Having helped spurred the surprising Nats to the front of the NL East, Strasburg was shelved for the end of the regular season and the postseason because he reached pre-determined limits in his first year back from Tommy John surgery.
That episode led to plenty of criticism of GM Mike Rizzo, but Strasburg has not had any elbow issues since. And it seems that the good will has paid off with this deal. It’s fair to note, too, that other pitchers who were handled differently (e.g. Kris Medlen) experienced renewed arm problems, though elbow health remains a murky and complicated subject.
Strasburg is now set to stay with Scherzer atop the Nats staff through at least 2019, when he’ll first have a chance to opt out in advance of his age-31 campaign. It’s fair to say that the rotation looks to be in solid shape for some time to come, as the organization also controls its other current starters for multiple seasons: Gio Gonzalez (through 2018), Tanner Roark (2019), and Joe Ross (2021). And that’s before considering top prospect Lucas Giolito, who has yet to crack the majors.Comment -
guy wants to prove himself as a starter I guessComment -
Braves fire manager Fredi Gonzalez after 9-28 start.Comment -
Greinke had his best home start of the season after Arizona CLOSED the roof!
Keep an eye on that in the future.Comment -
The Rangers have formally moved Shawn Tolleson out of the closer role after his rough outing last night, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report (Twitter links) Tolleson currently owns a 9.20 ERA and has blown three of his last five save opportunities.Comment -
Justin Verlander gets the W and earns his 2,000th career strikeout.
He's only the 2nd Tiger to accomplish that feat.Comment -
- While there was quite a bit of chatter regarding Yoenis Cespedes and the Nationals this offseason, Cespedes said earlier this week that such talk was overblown, writes ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. “I was never close to signing with the Nationals,” said the outfielder (via interpreter). “From the start I was pushing my agent because I wanted to come back to the Mets.” The Nats reportedly made Cespedes a five-year offer that topped $100MM but also came with heavy deferrals prior to his re-signing with the Mets on a three-year, $75MM deal (with an opt-out clause after the 2016 season).
- Phillies GM Matt Klentak tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that if the Phillies can continue their surprising start and remain in the playoff picture, he’ll certainly be willing to seek upgrades on the summer trade market. “There will be nobody happier than me if we are still in playoff contention in July, and if that happens we’re going to do everything we can to help this team improve and get better and make a run at it,” said Klentak. The GM did preach some caution, noting that only one quarter of the season has been played, and he also explained that he’s been hesitant to go through too much early turnover, hoping instead to allow the players on the roster to settle into roles with which they feel comfortable. The Phillies did make a minor move, promoting Tommy Joseph in an effort to increase the club’s offensive output, but Klentak also acknowledged what has helped his team to its current place in the standings: “We continue to be open-minded towards any types of additions and ways to improve, but right now the success of our team has been built on pitching and defense and we’re going to continue to respect that.”
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Shelby Miller has been pitching like he thinks he's still with Atlanta.Comment -
Sam Dyson last 10 games....
DATE OPPONENT RESULT IP H R ER HR BB SO GB FB Pit BF GSc Dec. Rel. ERA May 15 vs TOR W 7-6 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 8 3 - - Sv(2) 1.89 May 14 vs TOR W 6-5 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 - - H(10) 2.00 May 13 vs TOR L 5-0 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 12 2 - - - 2.04 May 11 vs CHW W 6-5 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 10 3 - - Sv(1) 2.12 May 9 vs CHW L 8-4 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 6 3 - - - 2.25 May 8 @ DET W 8-3 1.0 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 23 6 - - - 2.40 May 6 @ DET W 5-1 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 1 8 4 - - - 2.57 May 3 @ TOR L 3-1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 12 3 - - H(9) 2.08 May 2 @ TOR W 2-1 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 17 5 - - H(8) 2.25 May 1 vs LAA L 9-6 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 17 3 - - - 2.45 Comment -
Chris Sale with another win last night improving to 9-0 in 9 starts.
The Twins and Braves only have 10 wins each total as a team.
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Athletics outfielder Josh Reddick left tonight’s game with what has been diagnosed as a fractured left thumb, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports (Twitter links). That represents a major blow for an A’s club that has already been hit hard by injuries.
Reddick will need to be checked by a specialist before a specific course of action or timetable can be established. But the veteran says he says he expects at least a four-to-six week absence, per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
The 29-year-old has been a key contributor and important asset for the Oakland organization. He’s off to a blistering .315/.389/.441 start at the plate over 162 plate appearances. Even though fielding metrics aren’t crediting him with the same quality glovework he displayed for years out in right, Reddick is also a valuable contributor on the bases and is producing at career-best rates with the bat.
The loss of Reddick could tell in several ways, depending in large part on the length of his absence. Most immediately, he’ll obviously be missed in the lineup, which certainly doesn’t help the A’s chances of remaining in the hunt in the AL West.
Beyond that, Reddick has frequently been mentioned as a possible trade target for teams needing help in the outfield. If he’s not able to return to health before the trade deadline, the A’s could lose an important chip if they do decide to sell. Of course, Oakland and Reddick have long been said to have mutual interest in an extension that would keep him off of the open market following this season. In some regards, the injury could actually make that more plausible, though last we checked talks did not seem to be taking place.
With Mark Canha shelved for the season and Sam Fuld on the 60-day DL, the Athletics are already shorthanded in the outfield. Coco Crisp and Khris Davis will presumably see most of the action in the corner spots, with Billy Burns playing up the middle, but the organization’s ability to provide rest and play matchups will be hampered. Call-up options at Triple-A include 40-man members Andrew Lambo and Jake Smolinski, neither of whom is setting the world on fire at the plate in the early going.Comment -
They are on the road now but the info is here:
Keep checking throughout the day when they are home, sometimes they choose to close the roof later in the dayComment
