-
Comment -
Phillies utilityman Ryan Flaherty plans to opt out of his minor league contract, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets. The Phillies will have 48 hours to add Flaherty to their 25-man roster or let him go. Odds are that they’ll grant him his release, per Zolecki. The 31-year-old Flaherty was a member of the Orioles from 2012-17, and Baltimore reportedly made an attempt to keep him before he joined the Phillies. Now, he could head back to the O’s, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com suggests.
More from the NL…
- Brewers southpaw Wade Miley exited his outing Wednesday with a strained left groin and will undergo an MRI, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter links here). That’s obviously not ideal for Miley, who’s vying for a place in the Brewers’ rotation, or the team, which isn’t yet sure who will occupy the final two starting spots behind Chase Anderson, Jhoulys Chacin and Zach Davies. Miley looked like a front-runner to earn one of those jobs prior to Wednesday – manager Craig Counsell said that “Wade had made a really good case to be on the team” – though that’s up in the air as we await further news on his injury. It’s also worth noting that the 31-year-old can opt out of his minor league deal as early as Thursday.
- Lefty reliever Boone Logan also left the Brewers’ game with an injury, McCalvy relays (Twitter links). Counsell attributed his departure to triceps/shoulder discomfort, but he’s not yet sure of the severity. Logan joined the Brewers for a guaranteed $2.75MM over the winter after spending a shortened 2017 in Cleveland, where his season ended in July on account of a strained lat muscle.
- Having allowed six earned runs on 15 hits in eight innings this spring, Mets righty Zack Wheeler isn’t a lock to be part of the team’s season-opening rotation, Mike Puma and Fred Kerber of the New York Post report. If Wheeler doesn’t show well against Washington on Thursday, the Mets could elect to give the fifth spot in their starting staff to Robert Gsellman or Seth Lugo, the reporters add. But any of Wheeler, Gsellman or Lugo would likely be a placeholder, as the Mets just need a fill-in while Jason Vargas recovers from surgery on his non-pitching hand. The other four spots in their rotation belong to Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz.
- The Pirates expect to re-sign free agent outfielder Daniel Nava, Liz Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Pittsburgh released Nava on Tuesday, but general manager Neal Huntington suggested at the time that the team would like to bring him back. Nava is still on the mend from February back surgery, and the Pirates want him to rehab as a member of their organization. “We anticipate him being a second-half contributor to the major league team,” said Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomcyzk, who noted that “the sooner we can get our hands on him, is the better.”
Comment -
seeems like teams have to pay too much for these elite players. Does baseball need a true salary cap.Comment -
in my view, baseball has always needed a salary cap...then it becomes who spends the wisest, not the most.
last season I'm pretty sure Kershaw made more than the entire Padres team...things like this should never happen, there should be a ceiling and a floor for how much teams must spend every year in player salaries.Comment -
Jayson Werth is Werthless, great at sliding head first unnecessarily though!Comment -
surprised there haven't been more spring training injuries, come to think of it.[quote=jjgold;5683305]I win again like usual
[/quote]
[quote=Whippit;7921056]miami won't lose a single eastern conference game through end of season[/quote]Comment -
One more week til baseball!!!Comment -
It appears that the Phillies are transitioning right-hander Jake Thompson into a relief role, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Once part of the six-player return for Cole Hamels, Thompson has only made four relief appearances in his professional career (majors and minors included). Three of those appearances came last year, however, and he’s been used largely out of the bullpen in Grapefruit League play. Thompson says that nobody has directly told him he’ll become a reliever, but believes it to be the case. “They think the slider and split can work in short periods, miss bats and get ground balls,” Thompson said of Philadelphia’s coaching staff. “They’ve built up my pitch count a little bit, so if something happens I can still do both. I’m fine with it. Anything that can get me in the big leagues and stay I’d be willing to do.”
Other news from some of baseball’s Eastern teams…
- It wasn’t long ago that Braves third baseman Rio Ruiz was struggling with a new swing and seemed destined to start the season in the minors, David O’Brien writes in a piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That outlook has changed dramatically, as Ruiz’ offensive output has been a lot more impressive over the past couple weeks. The 23-year-old’s uptick in production coincides with an injury to Johan Camargo, who’s set to open the season on the disabled list. Though the organization seems to believe Camargo can return as soon as he’s eligible, manager Brian Snitker left room for interpretation on whether Ruiz can stick at the position even then. ““Rio has worked his ass off the last couple of years. He’s getting better,” said Snitker. “You never know, situations happen, door gets opened and a guy doesn’t give it back. You never know.”
- Mets manager Mickey Callaway says he doesn’t expect Adrian Gonzalez to play every day, and not even against every right-hander (h/t Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). That likely means more playing time for Wilmer Flores. “Wilmer deserves to play, and not just against lefties,” said Callaway. That’s not the only interesting comment Callaway made today, as he confirmed that Seth Lugo is being considered as a rotation candidate following an excellent Grapefruit League outing in which the right-hander struck out five while allowing no runs across four innings. The presence of Lugo in the rotation would likely make Zack Wheeler the odd man out, who had another rough showing today. “”We have some big decisions to make,” Callaway said on the subject.
Comment -
I'm totally against a salary cap. I will always side for the labor. Why side with the billionaire owners over the millionaire players? The players are the product.Comment -
Mike Trout this spring: 44 plate appearances, .423 OBP, .579 SLG, zero strikeouts.
Impressed about the 0 strikeouts.Comment -
So the Indians are going to release Napoli and then resign him for a minor league contract? I would just retire.Comment -
Bumgarner out 4-6 weeks hit on the hand........frick and Samardzija is on the dl.......never to early to have a drink if your a giants fan.... pass the paper bag that holds the bottle...Comment -
We’re starting to learn about the initial fates of Rule 5 players, whose teams are weighing Opening Day assignments. While cracking the roster out of camp is no assurance that a player will stay there all year, only those that have impressed a fair bit to this point are typically given a chance.
Here’s are a few who’ll get their first shot at the majors:
- Outfielder Carlos Tocci has been told he’ll be on the Rangers’ active roster to open the year, he tells reporters including Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old, who was taken from the Phillies, has only reached base ten times in his 54 plate appearances this spring. But he has swiped seven bags and reputedly brings a plus glove in center, so the Texas organization has decided to look past that initial showing with the bat. Tocci struggled upon reaching Triple-A for a brief stretch at the end of the 2017 season, but did produce at a useful .307/.362/.398 rate in his 474 Double-A plate appearances.
- The Orioles will carry righty Pedro Araujo to begin the season, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to tweet. He only has made one appearance north of the High-A level in the Cubs organization, but was awfully impressive there in 2017. In 64 2/3 innings over 44 apperances, he allowed just 13 earned runs on 42 hits while racking up 83 strikeouts against 17 walks. Araujo kept that output going in the Arizona Fall League and into the Grapefruit League, so the O’s — who frequently utilize the Rule 5 process — will see if he can take it another big step forward in the majors.
Comment -
Trout with zero strikeouts, very impressive.Comment -
Steven Wright will be suspended 15 games — three turns through the rotation — for violating MLB's domestic abuse policy, the league announced Friday. The penalty likely cements a spot in the season-opening rotation for Brian Johnson and might open another for Hector Velazquez, depending on Eduardo Rodriguez's status in his comeback from knee surgery.Comment -
Baumgardner was great for that few stretch of years. Hard to say if he will return to that form.Comment -
Yankees first baseman Greg Bird missed most of last season with a right ankle injury. The 25-year-old is now battling soreness in the same foot and will go for an MRI and a CT scan, per Randy Miller of NJ.com. Bird’s status concerns general manager Brian Cashman, who said Saturday: “I’m worried about it to be honest. I’m not sure what we’re dealing with, but when Greg can’t tee it up, it’s a problem for us because obviously he’s a vital member of our organization.” Cashman went on to indicate that the Yankees won’t attempt to replace Bird via trade if he lands on the shelf. The recently signed Neil Walker and Tyler Austin are among the Yankees’ in-house first base options, but it’s worth noting that they recently had Adam Lind in camp. The club signed Lind to a minor league pact in early March before releasing him midway through the month. Lind remains on the market and would make for a logical pickup on paper, but there’s no word on whether New York is interested in re-signing him in the event of another serious injury to Bird.
[Update: The Yankees announced that Bird is dealing with inflammation and will see a specialist Monday.]
More from the East Coast…
- Right-hander Seth Lugo has won the fifth spot in the Mets’ rotation, meaning fellow righty Zack Wheeler will head to Triple-A Las Vegas, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. Lugo will fill in for injured southpaw Jason Vargas, who will open the season on the disabled list after suffering a fracture to his non-throwing hand last week, behind Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz. Vargas could return as early as April 9, DiComo notes, and Lugo is likely to head to the bullpen then.
- Righty A.J. Cole will begin the season as the Nationals’ fifth starter, manager Dave Martinez announced Sunday (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). That’s not surprising, as fellow righty Jeremy Hellickson isn’t adequately stretched out yet after recently signing with the Nats on a minor league deal. Cole will join Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark in Washington’s season-opening rotation.
- Outfielder Craig Gentry is likely to make the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com suggested (on Twitter) after they optioned outfield prospect Austin Hays to Double-A on Saturday. Gentry, 34, is in his second year with the franchise; he re-signed on a minor league contract in the offseason after slashing .257/.333/.386 in 117 major league PAs in 2017.
Comment -
Bum and Samardjia amazing at the bp for pitchers.Comment
