Ho hum, the Red Sox still suck. I am fading Porcello today...while he has had some decent games against NYY, this year lefties are killing him and the Yanks lineup is full of them, plus that short porch in right...
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Omfg andy ruiz the goatComment -
Yankmees on a roll!Comment -
Sweating the Cubs for 771 pts... Come on
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Athletics slugger Davis returns from IL vs. Astros
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics slugger Khris Davis returned from a stint on the injured list because of a bruised left hip and oblique muscle.
The designated hitter, who led the majors with 48 home runs in 2018, batted cleanup Saturday night for Oakland in the middle game of a weekend series against the Houston Astros.
Davis finished hitless in four at-bats as the Athletics lost 5-1. He went on the injured list May 24, retroactive to May 22, after getting hurt May 5 at Pittsburgh.
Davis tried to play through it for seven games before going on the IL. He is hitting .248 with 12 homers and 29 RBIs in 43 games.
The A's optioned outfielder Skye Bolt to Triple-A Las Vegas to clear roster room for Davis' return.Comment -
Phillies, Mariners discuss Bruce trade
The Philadelphia Phillies are in talks with the Seattle Mariners about a trade for veteran Jay Bruce, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Saturday.
Bruce did not play in Seattle's 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.
"I have no news, honestly,'' Bruce said after the game. "I have nothing to speak on other than what's put out on the internet. Everyone probably knows that I'm available via trade. So that's still where we are, honestly. I wouldn't try to fleece you guys.''
The 32-year-old is hitting .212 with 14 home runs and 28 RBIs this season. He also has played for the Mets, Indians and Reds during his 12-year career, hitting 300 home runs with 903 RBIs.
He hit home run No. 300 on Friday night while playing first base in a 4-3 victory over the Angels.Comment -
Can see the Jays trading all the vets with value before the deadline. Smoak, Stroman, Sanchez and Giles are all being shopped I think.Comment -
TODAY: Gallo has indeed been placed on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain, as per a Rangers announcement. Delino DeShields has been recalled to take Gallo’s 25-man roster spot.
YESTERDAY: Rangers slugger Joey Gallo left the team’s game Saturday with tightness in his left oblique, according to the club’s executive vice president of communications, John Blake. Gallo will undergo an MRI.
Oblique injuries often lead to weeks-long stays on the injured list, which the Rangers certainly hope isn’t the case here. However, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests an IL stint is likely for Gallo.
It would hurt for Texas to go without Gallo, who has been its best player in 2019. The 25-year-old outfielder’s currently on pace for his third straight 40-home run season, though Gallo wasn’t anywhere near this productive in the previous two campaigns. Gallo, who has slashed .272/.415/.633 in 212 plate appearances, ranks fourth in baseball in fWAR (2.9), fifth in homers (17) and seventh in wRC+ (169).
Thanks in large part to Gallo, the Rangers have been one of the majors’ surprise teams this year. The club’s 28-27 with an offense that stands among the league’s highest-scoring groups so far. Texas ranks second in the game in runs (317) and 12th in wRC+ (102).Comment -
Sad to see the Padres lose to the Marlins.Comment -
Keep rolling with Twins and Dodgers. Make that money!!!Comment -
It is officially draft day in Major League Baseball, and as the clock has struck midnight on the east coast, it also means that teams can sign free agents who rejected the qualifying offer without having to surrender the draft pick compensation usually attached to QO picks. Thus, after months of speculation, Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel have been one of their chief obstacles to a new contract fall by the wayside.
While several players have seen their free agent markets impacted by the qualifying offer over the QO’s seven offseasons of existence, Keuchel and Kimbrel join Kendrys Morales as the only players to escape the qualifying offer’s draft penalties by simply waiting out the draft itself to sign new contracts. Stephen Drew’s free agent visit also extended into the 2014 season, though he ultimately re-signed with the Red Sox before the draft.
Of course, waiting this long to sign has the obvious drawback of inactivity. The two pitchers have now given up over two months of their careers and a proper Spring Training camp, though Keuchel and Kimbrel have both been working in preparation to eventually get on the field, Keuchel and Kimbrel will have to ramp up their activity without the benefit of a proper Spring Training camp. According to Keuchel’s agent Scott Boras, the southpaw will be ready to join his new team about a week after signing, which seems like a somewhat optimistic projection. It’s worth noting that Morales and Drew both struggled badly in their abbreviated 2014 seasons, and we’ve seen several other examples (i.e. Greg Holland last season) of how players with QO-induced extended layoffs can struggle without the benefit of a proper offseason.
As a reminder, here is what each team would have had to give up in terms of compensation had they signed Keuchel or Kimbrel at any point in the last seven months. The large majority of teams would have had to give up just one draft selection (either their second-highest or third-highest pick), and the 12 clubs who didn’t exceed the luxury tax or receive revenue-sharing payments would have also had to surrender $500K in international bonus pool money. The Nationals and Red Sox were the only two teams who did surpass the luxury tax threshold in 2018, and thus would have had to give up their second- and fifth-highest picks plus $1MM in international bonus pool money. (This only applies to Boston in regards to Keuchel, as the Sox obviously could have re-signed Kimbrel with no penalty since he was most recently on their team.)
The Red Sox and Astros are further impacted, as the two clubs will now no longer receive the extra picks that would have been owed to them had Kimbrel and Keuchel indeed signed elsewhere. Since they paid into the luxury tax, the Red Sox would have only received a pick between the fourth and fifth rounds, while Houston would have received a pick between Competitive Balance Round B and the third round. While the current draft order would have been altered in this scenario depending on what team gave up their pick to sign Keuchel, the Astros would have had either the 78th or 79th overall pick if Keuchel had indeed landed on another team.
Rather than discussing how Keuchel would impact a new rotation, or how Kimbrel would shore up the back of a contending team’s bullpen, the two pitchers instead became the poster children for the increasing lack of action in baseball’s free agent market. With modern front offices putting so much value on possessing a young player (either a draft pick or an international signing) through six or as many as seven seasons pre-free agency, as well as an increased wariness in how veteran players decline in their 30’s, teams are simply loathe to give up draft capital and/or spend money on established free agents, even noted stars like Keuchel and Kimbrel.
In fairness to teams, the qualifying offer draft compensation wasn’t the only reason both pitchers are still available as the calendar turned to June. There were legitimate baseball reasons to hold off on spending huge money on either player — Keuchel’s grounder-heavy arsenal and lack of a power fastball might not age well, while Kimbrel looked shaky down the stretch and throughout Boston’s postseason run in 2018.
Keuchel and Boras were looking for at least a five-year contract, while Kimbrel entered the offseason hoping for what would have been a record-setting $100MM+ contract for a closer. Both those sky-high initial asking prices have since been lowered, as Kimbrel was said to be looking for a three-year deal in early April, while Kimbrel was reportedly open to a one-year contract worth more than the value of the $17.9MM qualifying offer he turned down from Houston. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, however, notes that such a prorated one-year offer isn’t being considered by either Keuchel or Kimbrel, as “both would be signed” if they were willing to settle for such contracts.
With the draft pick hurdle now cleared and over a third of the season gone, it remains to be seen exactly what type of contracts Keuchel and Kimbrel will end up signing. A one-year pact would have allowed either pitcher to test free agency again this winter without the qualifying offer, though that scenario might not be appealing if the shortened season does lead to a downturn in performance. At the same time, it’s rather hard to imagine teams extended multi-year guarantees given the circumstances.
As odd as it sounds after seven months of inaction, but Keuchel and Kimbrel now aim to be hot commodities for a wide range of teams looking for rotation or bullpen help. The Braves, Brewers, and Rays have each had interest in both pitchers, with Atlanta, St. Louis and the Yankees considered “favorites” for Keuchel, as per Heyman, and such teams as the Mets, Diamondbacks, and Twins have also been mentioned as possible candidates to sign Keuchel. For Kimbrel, the Phillies and Cubs are known to have some level of interest in the closer. A signing could some relatively quickly, or Keuchel and Kimbrel may still take a bit more time to properly sort through the offers coming their way.Comment -
MLB draft starts today ill be watching
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I am just so bummed about Gallo. Guy was playing out of his mind. Fun player, absolute masher. Oblique injuries are a real killer for power hitters.Comment -
Gallo, the dude with more career homers than singles!Comment -
Cubs call up Gonzalez, bat outfielder fifth
The Chicago Cubs called up outfielder Carlos Gonzalez on Monday and plugged him into the lineup, hoping the veteran could jolt the offense.
Gonzalez, 33, was signed to a minor league deal on Thursday after the Indians designated him for assignment.
Gonzalez batted fifth and played right field Monday against the Angels at Wrigley Field. The regular right fielder, Jason Heyward, moved over to center field.
Gonzalez was once one of the more feared hitters in baseball. The three-time All-Star won a batting title with a .336 average while with Colorado in 2010. He drove in 100 runs as recently as 2016.
He also gives the Cubs another left-handed option at the top of the lineup. In 110 games batting first, Gonzalez has a .310 batting average and .363 on-base percentage. The Cubs' leadoff hitters have struggled this year with a .218 batting average and .298 on-base percentage.
Gonzalez will have to find his form, however. The Indians gave up on him after he hit .210 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 30 games.
The Cubs were in first place in the Central Division for much of May, but they have been struggling lately, with the Brewers taking over the top spot in June. The Cubs are 2-8 in their past 10 games and haven't scored more than four runs in their last four.
To make room on the active roster, the Cubs sent down outfielder Jim Adduci.Comment -
The Phillies plan to bring up outfielder Adam Haseley from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia tweets. If activated, Haseley will require a 40-man spot for the Phillies. They’ll need to clear space for him.
The Phillies have a need for outfield help in the wake of the knee sprain Andrew McCutchen suffered in their loss to the Padres on Monday. Between McCutchen’s injury and Odubel Herrera’s recent placement on administrative leave, the Phillies are down to Bryce Harper, the just-acquired Jay Bruce, Scott Kingery, Sean Rodriguez and Phil Gosselin as their outfield-capable players in the majors. The team also has Nick Williams in Lehigh Valley, but it’s primed to turn to Haseley instead.
With draft season in full swing, it’s worth noting the 23-year-old Haseley was a high pick not long ago. The Phillies chose Haseley eighth overall in 2017, but the former University of Virginia outfielder and pitcher hasn’t remained an elite prospect since going pro. MLB.com does not count Haseley among its top 100 farmhands, but it does place him third in Philly’s system, contending there’s potential for him to turn into a “solid” regular center fielder in the bigs. Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs rank Haseley fifth among Phillies prospects and write he could become a two- to three-WAR player in the majors.
The lefty-swinging Haseley made a case for a promotion at the Double-A level last year and earlier this season, slashing .291/.378/.474 with 13 home runs in 336 plate appearances. Haseley has only walked to the plate 22 times in Triple-A so far, but he has hit .300/.364/.450 in that small sample.Comment -
Aaron nola has been getting hit hard this year despite his 6-1 record.Comment -
well at least the Giants picked up a power hitting outfielder in the draft, Hunter Bishop hit 22 home runs and slashed .344/.478/.758. with AZ state.Comment -
Red Sox basically still .500. got to get it going by JulyComment -
Kimbrel and Keuchel watch is back on, no draft pick compensation to sign either now.Comment
