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For real. Phillips seems difficult to deal with.Comment -
Brandon Phillips was a franchise cornerstone?Comment -
Veteran outfielder Michael Bourn seems fairly likely to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes. His chief attributes — speed and defense — are areas where the club is lacking, and Bourn could conceivably not only lead off against righties, but also spell Adam Jones in center from time to time. Of course, his presence makes it less likely both that last year’s Rule 5 pick, Joey Rickard, makes the MLB roster and that the team is able to keep this year’s Rule 5ers (outfielders Aneury Tavarez and Anthony Santander).
Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:
- The Phillies seem inclined to hand the ball to righty Jeremy Hellickson when they start play this season, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “He’s probably got the best chance to be our Opening Day starter,” said manager Pete Mackanin. Hellickson, who took the organization’s $17.2MM qualifying offer rather than testing the open market, will be aiming to replicate a solid 2016 season and then test free agency without being saddled with draft compensation. (Under the new CBA, he won’t be eligible to receive a second qualifying offer.)
- Another player who steered clear of the open market, Marlins third baseman Martin Prado, discussed his decision to take an extension last fall. As Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports, Prado wasn’t sure he wanted to consider a new deal with just a few weeks left in the season. But the terms (three years and $40MM) were favorable enough for him to consider it, and he says he ended up preferring to stay in place after bouncing around a fair bit in prior seasons. As Healey writes, Prado had reasons both personal and professional for remaining in Miami. “I know I could probably get more money somewhere else if I go to a different team,” said Prado, “but I truly believe in this group of guys. They have fun. They play hard. I feel comfortable.”
- Meanwhile, Marlins lefty Jeff Locke is dealing with biceps tendinitis, as Healey further reports in the above-linked post. A few days’ rest is all that’s required at present, with Locke calling the brief shut-down a matter of taking a precaution early in camp. The southpaw struggled to a cumulative 4.90 ERA over the past two seasons, allowing the Marlins to grab him for $3.025MM on a one-year deal. While it seems reasonable to hope that the ailment won’t limit Locke, he already faces something of an uphill battle to win a rotation spot; Jason Martinez of MLBTR and RosterResource.com currently projects Locke to end up in the Miami pen to start the year.
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not sure how Jeff Locke has made it this far in MLBComment -
Rick Ankiel describes dealing with anxiety of pitching
Former major leaguer Rick Ankiel said Monday that he drank vodka before his first two starts of the 2001 season for the St. Louis Cardinals, which came after his meltdown in the 2000 playoffs when he became the first major league pitcher to throw five wild pitches in one inning since 1890.
Ankiel made his comments to 590 The Fan while discussing his upcoming book, "The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life," co-written with sports writer Tim Brown. The book will be released on April 18.
On Monday, he discussed drinking vodka before his first start of the 2001 season, in which he was the winning pitcher against Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"Before that game ... I'm scared to death. I know I have no chance. Feeling the pressure of all that, right before the game I get a bottle of vodka. I just started drinking vodka. Lo and behold, it kind of tamed the monster, and I was able to do what I wanted," he said in the radio interview.
"I'm sitting on the bench feeling crazy I have to drink vodka to pitch through this. It worked for that game. I had never drank before a game before. It was one of those things like the yips, the monster, the disease ... it didn't fight fair, so I felt like I wasn't going to fight fair either."
He said he also drank before his second start, but his problems returned in that game, in which he took the loss against the Houston Astros.
He said he started throwing balls again in that start as the "anxiety took over the alcohol," and he realized after that start that drinking wasn't an answer for his problems.
Ankiel made his major league pitching debut at age 19 in August 1999 when he faced the Expos in Montreal.
The hard-throwing lefty won 11 games and struck out 194 in 175 innings as a 20-year-old rookie in 2000.
He was named the surprise starter for Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, against whom he had his historic inning in which he threw five wild pitches. In all, he threw nine wild pitches in four innings during the 2000 playoffs and never really was the same after that. He made his last appearance as a major league pitcher in 2004, working in five games as a reliever.
He later returned to the major leagues as an outfielder in 2007 with the Cardinals and played the position for St. Louis, the Kansas City Royals, Atlanta, the Washington Nationals, Houston Astros and New York Mets.
Ankiel said Monday that his book is about never giving up.
"I think the overall lesson from the book is about getting back up. You're going to get knocked down ... everyone gets knocked down."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.Comment -
Matt Wieters signed with Washington. Not a bad move for them.Comment -
Wieters not a bad replacement for Ramos in D.C.Comment -
Sources: MLB, union agree to use dugout signal for intentional walk
As part of its initiative to improve pace-of-game play, Major League Baseball has approved a change to the intentional walk rule, going from the traditional four-pitch walk to a dugout signal, team and union sources told ESPN's Howard Bryant.
MLB has studied various ways to quicken games.
ESPN's Jayson Stark reported earlier this month that MLB had made formal proposals to the players' union to usher in both raising the strike zone and scrapping the practice of lobbing four balls toward home plate to issue an intentional walk.
Getting rid of the old-fashioned intentional walk would eliminate about a minute of dead time per walk. In an age in which intentional walks actually have been declining -- there were just 932 all last season (or one every 2.6 games) -- that time savings would be minimal. But MLB saw the practice of lobbing four meaningless pitches as antiquated.
Stark reported at the time that for the intentional walk rule to go into effect this season, an agreement between the league and union would have to be reached "sooner rather than later," since spring training games are close to beginning.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday he didn't want to share specifics of his priorities for alterations.
"There's a variety of changes that can be undertaken,'' he said. "I'm committed to the idea that we have a set of proposals out there and we continue to discuss those proposals in private.''
Information from The Associated Press was used in this repoComment -
FEB. 21: Chicago would trade Robertson and possibly eat some of his salary if the Nationals were to give up catcher Pedro Severino, according to Phil Rogers of MLB.com (Twitter links). Both MLB.com and Baseball America rank the 23-year-old Severino as one of the Nats’ top 10 prospects. As written below, Washington isn’t eager to deal more young talent; unsurprisingly, then, it would rather move Derek Norris than Severino, per Rogers.
FEB. 12: The White Sox and Nationals seemed to be closing in on a trade that would’ve sent David Robertson to Washington last week, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and Jose L. Ortiz report. According to a Nats official, however, “the two sides have hit a stalemate and no trade is imminent.” The Sox, for their part, continue to feel “optimistic” that a trade will be finalized.
It isn’t known what caused this holdup in talks, though earlier this week, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that Nationals ownership didn’t want to absorb the $25MM owed to Robertson over the next two seasons, nor did the front office want to give up quality minor leaguers. The Nats already surrendered several top prospects to the White Sox earlier this offseason as part of the trade that brought Adam Eaton to Washington; the Nats tried to include Robertson along with Eaton as part of that trade package but were unsuccessful.
On the surface, one could argue that the White Sox could be asking for too much in demanding that the Nationals (or other suitors for Robertson) pay a big price in both prospects and in taking on the closer’s entire contract. That said, Chicago has already scored a massive influx of young talent in the Eaton trade and in dealing Chris Sale to the Red Sox — Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Michael Kopech are all ranked within the top 32 on Baseball America’s 2017 listing of the top 100 prospects in baseball. Between these deals and the asking price for Jose Quintana, White Sox GM Rick Hahn has clearly put a premium on his top trade chips as part of his effort to bring a “critical mass” of talent into Chicago’s organization.
Unless Robertson gets injured or has a dip in form, the Sox can also bide their time and wait until the trade deadline to find a suitable return for the closer. Given the Nationals’ uncertainty at the back of their bullpen, Washington may not have that luxury. As Nightengale and Ortiz point out, however, the Nats could make do with Blake Treinen or Shawn Kelley as closer for now and then pursue another ninth-inning option later in the season, as they did in acquiring Mark Melancon from the Pirates at last summer’s deadline.Comment -
Weiters is hot garbage
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Yeah, what happened to Wieters, he used to be good.Comment -
I liked the intentional walk the way it was . Once in awhile they would throw a wild pitch .Comment -
With elbow health continuing to generate headlines, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports takes a look at the variety of new treatments — generally grouped under the header of orthobiologics — that pitchers, teams, and medical professionals have turned to in an effort to avoid the necessity of going under the knife. Stem-cell therapy and platelet-rich plasma treatments are now increasingly being deployed throughout the game, though it remains to be seen whether they’ll prove effective. You’ll certainly want to give this piece a full read to understand the state of the science. Those interested in the general subject will also want to read up on the surgical alternatives to the traditional Tommy John approach to torn ulnar collateral ligaments, as we recently discussed here.
Here’s the latest on some injury and health matters around the league:
- Veteran Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton is headed for a visit with his surgeon after feeling pain in his recently repaired left knee, as Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report on Twitter. It’s unclear as yet how serious a concern the latest knee issue is, though it’s far from the first time that Hamilton has dealt with problems in that joint. The 35-year-old, who last appeared in 2015, is in camp on a minor-league deal. He has been expected to compete for a reserve role as a left-handed-hitting option in the corner outfield, at first base, or in the DH slot.
- There’s promising news on Orioles closer Zach Britton’s potential oblique issues, which came to light yesterday. He told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (links to Twitter), that he’s not overly concerned with the issue and would still be available to throw were it the regular season. Britton’s comments largely echo those made yesterday by manager Buck Showalter, serving to further reduce the volume on the alarm bells. The key southpaw adds that he finds it encouraging that he has not experienced any pain while throwing.
- Mariners righty Steve Cishek has picked up a ball for the first time since his hip surgery last fall, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports. For now, he’ll only throw lightly off of flat ground every other day, though hopefully he’ll ramp up from there. “It felt pretty good, surprisingly,” said Cishek. “There’s some discomfort, but the joint has to get used to that motion again. I was surprised how good it actually felt.”
- Likewise, Mets third baseman David Wright is only beginning to throw the ball, though in his case too it represents an important first step. As Mike Puma of the New York Post reports, manager Terry Collins says it’s likely that Wright won’t take to the field until the middle of March as he continues to work back slowly from serious back and neck issues. Wright is expected to receive opportunities to hit, likely on the minor-league side of camp, in the interim. New York is understandably taking a cautious approach to the veteran. While it still seems unlikely he’ll be ready for Opening Day, the hope may be that he can return to strength in time for MLB action in a relatively early stage of the coming season.
- Mets righty Zack Wheeler is back on the bump and was able to throw thirty pitches today without incident, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News tweets. He, too, will surely be handled with kid gloves after a slower-than-hoped return from Tommy John surgery and some elbow discomfort earlier this month. It’s a good sign that Wheeler has been able to return to the mound relatively swiftly, though it remains anyone’s guess just how much the club will get from him in 2017.
- There’s some cautious optimism in Braves camp about the health of lefty Paco Rodriguez, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Though Rodriguez “has understandably shown occasional signs of rust” as he works back from his own TJ procedure, writes Bowman, the health signs have been encouraging. Atlanta agreed to a $637,500 salary with Rodriguez to avoid arbitration, seemingly leveraging the possibility of a non-tender to secure a deal that fell below MLBTR’s projection of $900K.
- Likewise, Braves righty Dan Winkler is attempting a return, though in his case it’s from a somewhat scarier elbow fracture, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains. The 27-year-old, who had already battled back from Tommy John surgery, faced a much different recovery process after his second procedure. Now, he’s working on refining his delivery to avoid future problems. Because of the time he’s missed, the 2014 Rule 5 draftee still must stay on Atlanta’s active roster for about two months in order for the organization to take full control of his rights.
- Twins righty Kyle Gibson is also seeking to make mechanical changes this spring, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. The 29-year-old, who’s set to earn $2.9MM through arbitration, is seeking to tamp down persistent shoulder problems. As Berardino writes, a new training regimen has been designed in order “to teach Gibson’s arm to pronate properly at the end of his delivery” and thus “keep the humerus from rubbing on the shoulder’s connective tissues.”
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Hamilton should hang it up and enjoy 5-10 years of all out drug bingeComment -
John Farrell said it was "disappointing" to see Rusney Castillo jog down line on double play grounder, not only because he lost track of number of outs but also because he doesn't have spot on team.
WTF!!!!..And the Red Sox are paying this guy $72.5-million contract signed in August 2014!!!!
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Nationals ace Max Scherzer has been recovering from a stress fracture in the knuckle of his right ring finger, and he’s on track to throw off a mound for the first time this spring on Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. If everything goes according to plan, he’ll progress to bullpen sessions and be game-ready in a couple of weeks, Zuckerman adds. While pitching coach Mike Maddux conceded that Scherzer could be “a start or two” behind the rest of the team’s rotation, the extra time in Spring Training (which was worked in due to the World Baseball Classic) will prove beneficial to Scherzer. Both Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark threw in an intrasquad game today as well, Zuckerman notes — a particularly important note for Strasburg. The 28-year-old righty saw his 2016 season end in early September due to a flexor mass strain but was able to throw his fastball, curveball and changeup in Thursday’s session.
More from the NL East…
- The Mets’ show of faith in Travis d’Arnaud will be all the more interesting to watch now that Matt Wieters has agreed to sign with the division-rival Nationals, writes Dan Martin of the New York Post. The Mets weren’t impressed with Wieters’ defense, Martin reports, which is why the team never embarked on a serious pursuit of the longtime Oriole. Martin spoke to a number of Mets players about the feeling of watching an excellent catcher, Wilson Ramos, depart from the Nationals only to be replaced by another well-reputed backstop. “When you lose a guy like Ramos and back him up with a guy like Wieters, that’s pretty solid,” David Wright said to Martin. “It’s tough to replace a guy like Ramos. … That’s what good organizations do, whether it’s us getting [Neil] Walker immediately after losing [Daniel] Murphy [to the Nationals]. They find a Plan B and a Plan C very quickly.”
- The Phillies will be without hard-throwing right-handed relief prospect Victor Arano for at least one month, per CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury. The 22-year-old, who averaged about 94 mph on his fastball in 2016, has been diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. While surgery hasn’t been recommended, Arano did receive a platelet-rich plasma injection that will sideline him for the bulk of Spring Training. Though he was never likely to break camp with the Phils, it’s still discouraging for the team to see the promising young see his development set back. Last season, Arano posted brilliant numbers between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, working to a combined 2.26 ERA with 10.7 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 across 79 2/3 innings of work. Arano rated 23rd among Phillies prospects entering the season, per MLB.com, while ESPN’s Keith Law rated him 16th. “If there’s a Ken Giles in the system right now, it’s him,” Law wrote of Arano.
- Andy MacPhail’s career in baseball spans several decades, but the Phillies’ president is leading the charge to help modernize his organization, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. MacPhail, who took charge of the Phillies following the 2015 season, explained to Zolecki the myriad changes that are being made all throughout the organization. Improvements not only to the team’s analytics department but also to nutrition programs in the minor league ranks and a new facility opening in the Dominican Republic are just some of the changes that have been ushered in. MacPhail also sounded intrigued by the Rays’ recent decision to push back the start times of their spring workouts for players and cited an interest in sleep science studies. Beyond that, he noted that the Phils will be looking to hire a replacement for EVP/COO Mike Stiles, who will be retiring in June, though there’s been no determination on whether they’ll go with an internal or external hire.
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Very interesting remarks from Rick Ankiel, truth coming out.Comment -
New York MetsVerified account@Mets 2m2 minutes ago
We're underway here in Fort Myers...Here we go!
#LGM
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Cubs' Pedro Strop agrees to contract extension, signed through 2018
Chicago Cubs reliever Pedro Strop has agreed to a contract extension, the team announced Friday.
"I love this team and feel really part of this and I love the fans and the city of Chicago," Strop said.
Strop is now signed through 2018 with a club option for 2019. He will make $5.85 million in 2018 while his club option is for $6.25 million in 2019 with a $500,000 buyout.
"I know anything can happen if I go into the free-agent market," Strop said. "There are a bunch of teams that need closers and stuff like that. I know I can close and stuff like that, but at the same time, I feel happy I'm here. I don't care the role or whatever, I just like to be here."
He is set to make $5.5 million in 2017 after the Cubs and the pitcher settled prior to arbitration. Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said the team and Strop's agent continued to negotiate after the agreement for 2017 was reached.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon called Strop a "perfect fit" in Chicago.
Strop was 2-2 with a 2.85 ERA and 27 holds in 54 games last season for the Cubs. He joined Chicago in 2013 as part of the trade that brought Jake Arrieta to the team from the Baltimore Orioles.
The 31-year-old Strop, known for wearing his hat off to the side, is 15-20 with a 3.23 ERA in eight seasons with Texas, Baltimore and the Cubs.Comment -
Maybe been said already. MAtt holliday looks good in a Yankee jerseyComment
