The 2018 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[Chi_archie]

sounds like the giants lately too......

cutch turning it around or too old?

[koz-man]

News: Harvey gave up one hit, struck out two and walked none over four innings in a no-decision in his Reds debut on Friday. (Fri May 11)


Spin: Harvey fared well in his first go-around with his new club after a brutal start to the season led to his departure from the Mets, but he got removed after just four innings and 55 pitches, meaning he didn't get a chance to grab the victory. Still, it was an encouraging debut as Harvey retired 12 of 13 batters and saw his fastball reach a season-high 95.8 miles per hour on two occasions. While too much should never be read into one start, it's at least worth keeping an eye on whether a change of scenery is what Harvey may have needed to turn things around and regain his old form.

[mr. leisure]

The Dodgers really suck right now but nice outing by Harvey.

[JMobile]

Padres will probably trade off a few older players that don't fit into the long term plans.

They should go and collect arms. Pitching sucks.

[BigSpoon]

Padres will probably trade off a few older players that don't fit into the long term plans.

Can see the Jays being sellers if they have a bad losing streak before July. The starting rotation was supposed to be a strength this season but they have been awful as a unit.

[batt33]

cutch turning it around or too old?

Cutch actually not playing to bad.....arm is freaking weak though...

[ApricotSinner32]

Man harvey pitched a fuking gem the other night a little bit of redemption.

[EmpireMaker]

The Padres have designated third baseman Chase Headley for assignment, according to a team announcement. San Diego recalled infielder Cory Spangenberg from Triple-A to take Headley’s 25-man roster spot.
With a .115/.233/.135 line in 60 plate appearances, Headley got off to a terrible start prior to his designation. Between his own struggles and the success of fellow third baseman Christian Villanueva, the 34-year-old Headley was unable to return to a regular role in San Diego – which he held with both the Padres and Yankees from 2008-17. Headley was a quality starter throughout that run, especially during a 31-home run, 7.2-fWAR season with the Padres in 2012.
The switch-hitting Headley chipped in a decent season last year in New York, where he slashed .273/.352/.406 with 1.9 fWAR in 586 PAs and helped the Yankees to the ALCS. But the Yankees then shipped Headley to the Padres in a salary-dumping trade over the winter, when the Pads dealt outfielder Jabari Blash, agreed to take on Headley’s $13MM salary and acquired right-hander Bryan Mitchell.
The hope was that Headley would continue to serve as a capable veteran in his second go-round with the Padres, but the deal was more about Mitchell from the rebuilding team’s point of view. Unfortunately for the Padres, however, the 27-year-old Mitchell hasn’t been a worthwhile pickup to this point. Mitchell has been among the worst pitchers in the majors during the first month-plus of the season, in fact, having recorded 37 2/3 innings (eight appearances, seven starts) of 6.21 ERA/6.66 FIP ball and posted disastrous strikeout and walk rates (4.3 K/9, 6.93 BB/9).
A turnaround could perhaps still be in the offing for Mitchell, but it doesn’t appear one will come for Headley in a Padres uniform. Unless the Padres are able to deal him elsewhere for another team’s unwanted salary within the next week, it seems likely Headley will clear waivers and become a free agent. At that point, a club would be able to add a potentially helpful piece for the prorated league minimum.

[Cross]

Contreras definitely juicing right now, extra base bit machine.

[BarkingToad]

Orioles, Tigers, White Sox, Royals, Rangers, Marlins, Reds and Padres should already be thinking about selling at the deadline.

Marlins are ALWAYS sellers, before/after deadline or offseason.

[Chi_archie]

Marlins are ALWAYS sellers, before/after deadline or offseason.

sell sell sell

[koz-man]

The Dodgers really suck right now but nice outing by Harvey.

Glad the Reds got to play them during their down time. The Dodgers have owed the Reds past 3 years.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

They should go and collect arms. Pitching sucks.

we have a bunch of young arms on the way..just keep stockpiling talent..

[yisman]

Forsythe and Turner to be activated from the DL on Tuesday.

[yisman]

Robinson Cano will be out a while. He was hit by a pitch today and he fractured a bone in his hand.

[JMobile]

Glad the Reds got to play them during their down time. The Dodgers have owed the Reds past 3 years.

Reds ended up winning the series. Wow.

[batt33]

Robinson Cano will be out a while. He was hit by a pitch today and he fractured a bone in his hand.

heard the sound on that one....thought it might have caught the bat......ugly

[EmpireMaker]

While still technically an above-average run creator (105 wRC+) this season, Paul Goldschmidt is suffering through an uncharacteristically long slump, hitting just .216/.347/.388 with four homers over his first 167 plate appearances. As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes, Goldschmidt’s soft-contact rate is much higher than his career average, as is his percentage of swinging-and-missing fastballs in the strike zone. The latter statistic has led to Goldschmidt’s 30.5% strikeout rate, which is far above his 22.4% career mark. The Diamondbacks first baseman didn’t share any details about his slump to reporters, except to say that he feels physically fine, so an injury doesn’t appear to be the cause of the problem. Remarkably, the D’Backs are still tied for the NL’s best record despite not having their star slugger hitting at his usual standard, though obviously the team hopes Goldschmidt gets on track soon.
Some more items from around the NL West…

• Speaking of slumping first basemen, Ian Desmond’s struggles continued today with an 0-for-4 day, dropping his slash line to an ugly .170/.213/.355 over 150 PA. The Rockies are lacking in viable alternatives at first base, The Athletic’s Nick Groke writes (subscription required), with Ryan McMahon recently demoted due to his own lack of production, Daniel Castro and Josh Fuentes both lacking experience at first base, and prospect Jordan Patterson hitting well but carrying a high strikeout rate at Triple-A. It isn’t probable that Gerardo Parra returns to first base, as “his defense lacked and he disliked the idea” of the position change in limited action at first last season. It stands to reason that first base could be a target area for the Rockies at the trade deadline should they remain the pennant race — like the D’Backs, the Rockies have also been competitive (22-19 after today’s loss to the Brewers) despite a lack of production at first base. A new addition, however, wouldn’t help solve the bigger-picture problem of Desmond, who has been a sub-replacement level player since signing a five-year, $70MM free agent deal with Colorado in December 2016.
• Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill was removed during the sixth inning of today’s start due to a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, manager Dave Roberts told Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link) and other reporters. Roberts is still hopeful Hill can make his next start, though another blister is an ominous sign given Hill’s long history of similar issues. Hill has already spent time on the DL this season due to a cracked fingernail and infection on that same finger. Though Hill has just a 6.20 ERA over 24 2/3 IP this season, the Dodgers can ill-afford yet another notable injury, especially with the rotation already missing Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu.

[ApricotSinner32]

While still technically an above-average run creator (105 wRC+) this season, Paul Goldschmidt is suffering through an uncharacteristically long slump, hitting just .216/.347/.388 with four homers over his first 167 plate appearances. As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes, Goldschmidt’s soft-contact rate is much higher than his career average, as is his percentage of swinging-and-missing fastballs in the strike zone. The latter statistic has led to Goldschmidt’s 30.5% strikeout rate, which is far above his 22.4% career mark. The Diamondbacks first baseman didn’t share any details about his slump to reporters, except to say that he feels physically fine, so an injury doesn’t appear to be the cause of the problem. Remarkably, the D’Backs are still tied for the NL’s best record despite not having their star slugger hitting at his usual standard, though obviously the team hopes Goldschmidt gets on track soon.
Some more items from around the NL West…

• Speaking of slumping first basemen, Ian Desmond’s struggles continued today with an 0-for-4 day, dropping his slash line to an ugly .170/.213/.355 over 150 PA. The Rockies are lacking in viable alternatives at first base, The Athletic’s Nick Groke writes (subscription required), with Ryan McMahon recently demoted due to his own lack of production, Daniel Castro and Josh Fuentes both lacking experience at first base, and prospect Jordan Patterson hitting well but carrying a high strikeout rate at Triple-A. It isn’t probable that Gerardo Parra returns to first base, as “his defense lacked and he disliked the idea” of the position change in limited action at first last season. It stands to reason that first base could be a target area for the Rockies at the trade deadline should they remain the pennant race — like the D’Backs, the Rockies have also been competitive (22-19 after today’s loss to the Brewers) despite a lack of production at first base. A new addition, however, wouldn’t help solve the bigger-picture problem of Desmond, who has been a sub-replacement level player since signing a five-year, $70MM free agent deal with Colorado in December 2016.
• Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill was removed during the sixth inning of today’s start due to a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, manager Dave Roberts told Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link) and other reporters. Roberts is still hopeful Hill can make his next start, though another blister is an ominous sign given Hill’s long history of similar issues. Hill has already spent time on the DL this season due to a cracked fingernail and infection on that same finger. Though Hill has just a 6.20 ERA over 24 2/3 IP this season, the Dodgers can ill-afford yet another notable injury, especially with the rotation already missing Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Rich Hill is pitching tommorow yes?

[JMobile]

Who do we have today for value?

[koz-man]

Reds ended up winning the series. Wow.

4 game...

First four-game sweep in L.A. since 1976.

[koz-man]

Who do we have today for value?

I like the Golden Knights to even it up 2nite..

[BigSpoon]

4 game...

First four-game sweep in L.A. since 1976.

Dodgers need to start winning games or else they will be sellers at the trade deadline.

[Cross]

Wow, World Series hangover a definite thing.

[El Nino]

Wow, World Series hangover a definite thing.

Baez is awful, injuries everywhere else. Doyers = Poop Fest

[batt33]

Dodgers need to start winning games or else they will be sellers at the trade deadline.

who wants to buy their overpaid players?

[yisman]

http://ballislife.com/the-houston-rockets-cheerleaders-have-a-naughty-way-of-distracting-players-at-the-free-throw-line/V

[ApricotSinner32]

Dodgers should get some wins vs miami. They lucked out miami can't hit to save their life.

[EmpireMaker]

• Royals first baseman Lucas Duda is heading to the DL as well, the team announced, owing to a bout of plantar fasciitis. It seems the expectation is that the left-handed-hitting slugger won’t miss too terribly long, with skipper Ned Yost saying it may be anywhere from just under a week to three weeks before he’ll be back. (Via Rustin Dodd of The Athletic, on Twitter.) Duda is still sitting under league average with his output on the year, though he has surged a bit of late. If he can get back to health and start hitting closer to his career mean, Duda could still be a trade piece for K.C. this summer. Former first-round pick Hunter Dozier will come up to take the open roster spot.
• The Twins provided updates on a pair of key rehabbing players, as conveyed by Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (Twitter links). Righty Ervin Santana has finally thrown his first live batting practice session and may be nearing a start in extended spring. He has been coming along slowly from finger surgery and will still need to fully ramp up and complete a rehab assignment before he’s ready for the majors. Meanwhile, third baseman Miguel Sano is still not close to being activated from a hamstring strain. Indications are he’ll at least be out for another week.
• Not long after returning from a brief DL stint, Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu is going back on the shelf, this time with a left thumb sprain. It’s not clear how long he’ll be out, but there’s also no reason to suspect it’ll be a lengthy absence. The 29-year-old, a pending free agent, has played well thus far, slashing a sturdy .279/.350/.457 with five home runs in his 143 plate appearances. Utilityman Pat Valaika takes the open roster spot.
• Meanwhile, the Giants have sent infielder Alen Hanson onto the 10-day DL with a hamstring strain while bringing back Austin Slater, who may need to see a bit of time in the infield. That’s a tough break for Hanson, a minor-league signee who had impressed in his 14 games of action after previously failing to gain traction in the majors. He has produced at a healthy .298/.346/.638 clip in 52 trips to the plate. As for Slater, the 25-year-old has demolished Triple-A pitching thus far, with a .386/.456/.670 batting line in 103 plate appearances. He has spent most of his career in the outfield, but does have a bit of experience under his belt at second base.

[El Nino]

Wheels falling off for the Dbacks. Looks like Pollock rolled over his thumb bad. Seeing a hand specialist later today. Him and Peralta the only ones worth a damn. Goldy absolutely blows.

[JaimeMiro]

Yankees slowing down, but still should cash

[Chi_archie]

Wheels falling off for the Dbacks. Looks like Pollock rolled over his thumb bad. Seeing a hand specialist later today. Him and Peralta the only ones worth a damn. Goldy absolutely blows.

Dang, hope Pollock is ok

[Otters27]

Robinson Cano will be out a while. He was hit by a pitch today and he fractured a bone in his hand.

Guys are always one pitch away from injury

[koz-man]

MINNEAPOLIS -- After spending much of the day feeling ill, James Pazos gave the Seattle Mariners a gritty performance against the Minnesota Twins.
Pitching through a nasty case of food poisoning, the Mariners reliever picked up the win when Twins first baseman Logan Morrison committed a throwing error in the eighth inning that sent Seattle past Minnesota 1-0 after a long rain delay Monday night.

After starter Wade LeBlanc threw six scoreless innings, Pazos (1-0) came on to work the seventh. According to manager Scott Servais, just being able to pitch was a victory in itself for Pazos.

"He was throwing up all day, didn't know if he'd be available," Servais said. "He went out and got us through the seventh and came right back in and went right back in the bathroom."

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Baez is awful, injuries everywhere else. Doyers = Poop Fest

I'm thoroughly enjoying the train wreck.