The 2019 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[koz-man]

Yankees shell Twins rookie and ex-Uber driver Randy Dobnak


NEW YORK -- Just too much traffic for Minnesota Twins rookie Randy Dobnak.

The feel-good story of the Uber driver-turned-big league pitcher came to a screeching halt Saturday when the New York Yankees tagged him from the get-go in an 8-2 rout, putting Minnesota in a serious jam down 0-2 in the American League Division Series.

"Nerves were fine," Dobnak said. "I don't know what it was."

A week removed from his in-season wedding in Maryland, and with his new bride, Aerial, in the stands, Dobnak soaked in the mocking, taunting cheers of "Uber, Uber" from the bleacher crowd at Yankee Stadium when he limbered up in the outfield before Game 2.

[stevenash]

Yanks and Astros win each series in a sweep.
Can't wait for the showdown.

[JMobile]

Twins could never beat the Yankees in the playoffs.

[Stallion]

If the MLB thing doesnt work, he has a fallback option.

[batt33]

Yankees shell Twins rookie and ex-Uber driver Randy Dobnak


NEW YORK -- Just too much traffic for Minnesota Twins rookie Randy Dobnak.

The feel-good story of the Uber driver-turned-big league pitcher came to a screeching halt Saturday when the New York Yankees tagged him from the get-go in an 8-2 rout, putting Minnesota in a serious jam down 0-2 in the American League Division Series.

"Nerves were fine," Dobnak said. "I don't know what it was."

A week removed from his in-season wedding in Maryland, and with his new bride, Aerial, in the stands, Dobnak soaked in the mocking, taunting cheers of "Uber, Uber" from the bleacher crowd at Yankee Stadium when he limbered up in the outfield before Game 2.

he got to do something few others get to do.....sucks that it turned out bad

[BigSpoon]

Patrick Corbin got shelled in his relief appearance.

[EmpireMaker]

With little in the way of hot stove news during the rising action of the MLB postseason, let’s take a look ahead to this winter’s free agency. In particular, we’ll be evaluating the market for a player who could prove to be one of the offseason’s more intriguing cases: Cardinals outfielder Marcell Ozuna.
After he was traded from the Marlins to St. Louis as part of the post-2017 fire sale in Miami, Ozuna has endured a pair of unspectacular seasons as a Cardinal. That’s not to say he’s been bad, but expectations were high after he slugged 37 home runs in his last season with the Marlins. His struggles in 2018, when he totaled only 23 round-trippers, can be at least partly be attributed to a nagging shoulder injury that plagued him throughout the year and ultimately required surgery. This year, with a healthy shoulder, he has enjoyed a nice uptick in his power numbers, though that has still only translated to a slightly above-average .804 OPS.
When the Cardinals postseason comes to a close, Ozuna will have a chance to hit the open market for the first time, reaching free agency as a 28-year-old outfielder. (He’ll play the 2020 campaign at age 29). That places him among the younger options from which teams will choose, making him arguably the most attractive of this offseason’s outfield class, which is a relatively thin one.
Ozuna, for his part, has expressed a desire to remain in St. Louis beyond this year, calling it a “priority” to ink a contract that will keep him with the Cardinals. However, the Cardinals may not share his enthusiasm for a reunion. John Mozeliak expressed hesitance to discuss an extension with Ozuna, instead opting to postpone that matter until the offseason. Other, cheaper options within the organization could replace Ozuna in the corner outfield, with Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson seemingly ready to contribute.
It seems like a good bet that the Cardinals will tender a qualifying offer to Ozuna, which figures to come in at around $18MM this offseason. That designation would force a signing team to forfeit a draft pick in order to acquire Ozuna’s services.
Many teams might not be convinced that Ozuna is capable of returning to the power numbers that he displayed on his way out of Miami. Still, there are promising signs: Ozuna ranks among baseball’s best in terms of exit velocity and hard-hit rate, both of which are at career-best marks. His expected statistics—which calculate the expected outcomes of batted balls based on exit velocity and launch angle—paint him as one of the premier offensive performers in baseball.
Another point of concern will be Ozuna’s defensive shortcomings. Although there’s a Gold Glove Award on his mantle, Ozuna has provided little value as an outfielder since departing Miami. He grades as below-average in Statcast’s outs above average and outfielder jump metrics—ranking in the 13th and 29th percentile, respectively. On the positive side, he is credited with 2 DRS, thanks in large part to a strong throwing arm. That’s not a bad mark at all, but teams may be hesitant to project that performance into his thirties as he seeks a multi-year deal.
Could Ozuna be a candidate to accept the qualifying offer? Sure, there’s a solid chance that he could eclipse the total value with a multi-year contract on the open market (though almost certainly at a lower AAV), but accepting the one-year deal could grant Ozuna’s wish to stay in St. Louis and attempt to rebuild his value, perhaps with an eye on a contract extension with the Cardinals or another chance at free agency following the 2020 season.
As we all well know, the free-agent landscape has been notoriously cruel over the last two years, and Ozuna feels like a player who could be strongly affected by the evolving market. As a bat-first left fielder nearing his thirties, teams might be reluctant to invest heavily in a profile that depends mostly on offensive production—which, generally speaking, has been underwhelming since Ozuna joined the Cardinals. If Ozuna and his reps get an inkling that his free-agent market may not be as expansive as they hoped, that could give another reason to regroup and return to the Cardinals under the qualifying offer.
However, the allure of a multi-year contract with a total guarantee exceeding that of the QO may be too much to resist for Ozuna, a first-time free agent in his prime years. Even if his most likely outcome is a two- or three-year deal with an AAV of about $13-16MM, Ozuna may not have another chance to test the open market as arguably the best player at his position. That alone might incline a team to overpay for him. Regardless, as we head towards another offseason of intrigue, Ozuna may be a name to follow in a free-agent class that lacks star-power position players.

[Chi_archie]

Patrick Corbin got shelled in his relief appearance.

Didn't look good

[stevenash]

If the MLB thing doesnt work, he has a fallback option.

Good one.
This made me laugh.

[BarkingToad]

How can the Cardinals ever trust Carlos Martinez to be their closer again?

[JMobile]

How can the Cardinals ever trust Carlos Martinez to be their closer again?

How can the Nationals GM ever trust Dave Martinez as their manager, lol.

[koz-man]

Sore foot forces Rays 3B Yandy Diaz to leave ALDS Game 3

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Yandy Diaz left in the second inning of Monday's ALDS Game 3 against the Houston Astros because of left foot soreness.
Diaz, who missed two months with a fractured left foot earlier this season, struggled to field a soft grounder in the top of the first inning Monday and struck out in the bottom of the frame.
When Diaz's spot in the batting order came back up in the second inning, the Rays replaced him with Matt Duffy.
Diaz suffered the initial injury to his left foot on July 22 and was sidelined until Sept. 29, when he was activated for the last game of the regular season.
He played first base last week in the wild card game against Oakland and has started as the DH and third baseman, respectively, in the first two games of this series against Houston.

[JaimeMiro]

0-1 on the road, Yankees in control so far

[batt33]

How can the Nationals GM ever trust Dave Martinez as their manager, lol.

Could say the same for the dodgers....

[ApricotSinner32]

Yankees are too good it seems. GG twins

[jrgum3]

The NL is where the drama is with both series going the distance. I think it’s possible we see an upset or even both underdogs win. That would be awesome but I still believe the World Series winner is either the Yanks or Astros.

[EmpireMaker]

Major League Baseball’s postseason is in full swing at the moment, and though watching multiple must-win games per day has been exhilarating, it unfortunately won’t go on for much longer. We’re just a few weeks away from the end of the season and the start of free agency, where several teams in need of upgrades will shop in hopes of either staying a playoff team in 2020 or perhaps becoming one.
As always, free agency will present starter-needy clubs the chance to address their rotations. In the case of the upcoming winter’s class of unsigned pitchers, it’s no secret Astros right-hander and AL Cy Young candidate Gerrit Cole is hands down the No. 1 option. He has a realistic chance at a $200MM contract once his marvelous year ends. Beyond Cole, there are several No. 2/3 type of starters with possibly some diamonds in the rough thereafter.
Here’s a look at the upcoming group based on 2019 velocity as well as missing bats, limiting walks, keeping the ball on the ground and minimizing hard contact. All of those skills will weigh on front offices’ minds as they debate whether to dole out contracts to any of the available hurlers (special thanks to FanGraphs for providing the data and for giving the user the ability to create customized leaderboards)…
Hardest Throwers (FanGraphs leaderboard)
League average = 92.7 mph

1. Gerrit Cole: 97.2 mph
2. Zack Wheeler: 96.7
3. Andrew Cashner: 93.6*
4. Edwin Jackson: 93.4*
5. Kyle Gibson: 93.3
6. Matt Harvey: 93.2
7. Homer Bailey/Michael Wacha*: 93.0
8. Jake Odorizzi: 92.9
9. Michael Pineda: 92.6
10. Ivan Nova: 92.4

*This excludes bullpen work from Cashner, Jackson and Wacha.
Top Strikeout Arms (FanGraphs leaderboard)
League average = 22.3%

1. Gerrit Cole: 39.9 K%, 13.82 K/9
2. Rich Hill: 29.8 K%, 11.05 K/9
3. Jake Odorizzi: 27.1 K%, 10.08 K/9
4. Drew Smyly: 24.2 K%, 9.64 K/9*
5. Madison Bumgarner: 24.1 K%, 8.8 K/9
6. Zack Wheeler: 23.6 K%, 8.98 K/9
7. Michael Pineda: 23.3 K%, 8.63 K/9
8. Cole Hamels: 23.2 K%, 9.08 K/9
9. Hyun-Jin Ryu: 22.5 K%, 8.03 K/9
10. Kyle Gibson: 22.4 K%, 8.84 K/9

*This excludes Smyly’s bullpen work.
Fewest Walks (FanGraphs leaderboard)
League average = 7.7%

1. Hyun-Jin Ryu: 3.3 BB%, 1.18 BB/9
2. Michael Pineda: 4.7 BB%, 1.73 BB/9
3. Madison Bumgarner: 5.1 BB%, 1.86 BB/9
4. Ivan Nova: 5.8 BB%, 2.26 BB/9
5. Gerrit Cole: 5.9 BB%, 2.03 BB/9
6. Alex Wood: 5.9 BB%, 2.27 BB/9
7. Rick Porcello: 5.9 BB%, 2.32 BB/9
8. Zack Wheeler: 6.0 BB%, 2.3 BB/9
9. Brett Anderson: 6.6 BB%, 2.51 BB/9
10. Tanner Roark: 7.1 BB%, 2.78 BB/9

Best Groundball Rates (FanGraphs leaderboard)
League average = 42.7%

1. Dallas Keuchel: 60.1%
2. Brett Anderson: 54.5%
3. Kyle Gibson: 51.4%
4. Tyson Ross: 51.3%
5. Hyun-Jin Ryu: 50.4%
6. Andrew Cashner: 50.0%
7. Wade Miley: 49.7%
8. Rich Hill: 49.6%
9. Adam Wainwright: 48.8%
10. Felix Hernandez: 48.1%

Least Hard Contact (FanGraphs leaderboard)
League average = 38.4%

1. Zack Wheeler: 31.4%
2. Ivan Nova: 33.1%
3. Gio Gonzalez: 33.5%
4. Gerrit Cole: 33.9%
5. Hyun-Jin Ryu/Rick Porcello: 34.2%
6. Andrew Cashner: 35.6%
7. Wade Miley: 36.1%
8. Cole Hamels: 36.4%
9. Dallas Keuchel: 36.8%
10. Kyle Gibson: 36.9%

[JaimeMiro]

Yankees cruise; Dodgers in a dog fight. Didn't see that coming

[Otters27]

Yankees vs Astros should be good

[Chi_archie]

Yankees vs Astros should be good

Looking forward to it

[koz-man]

Yadier Molina makes throat-slash gesture as Cardinals even NLDS

ST. LOUIS -- Catcher Yadier Molina made a throat-slashing gesture as he celebrated on the field after hitting the winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Monday.

Molina's clutch swing sent the best-of-five series back to Atlanta tied 2-2, with the finale set for Wednesday.

It was not clear whether Molina made the gesture in response to what Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. did the day before. Acuna made a similar motion across the top of his chest after hauling in Molina's fly ball for the final out of Atlanta's 3-1 victory on Sunday.

[stevenash]

How can the Nationals GM ever trust Dave Martinez as their manager, lol.

Their whole front office is clueless.
How’d that Werth fat contract work out?
Three out of four signings are epic fails.
Harper knew it too.

[mr. leisure]

Yadier Molina makes throat-slash gesture as Cardinals even NLDS

ST. LOUIS -- Catcher Yadier Molina made a throat-slashing gesture as he celebrated on the field after hitting the winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Monday.

Molina's clutch swing sent the best-of-five series back to Atlanta tied 2-2, with the finale set for Wednesday.

It was not clear whether Molina made the gesture in response to what Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. did the day before. Acuna made a similar motion across the top of his chest after hauling in Molina's fly ball for the final out of Atlanta's 3-1 victory on Sunday.

Oh , its clear

[BigSpoon]

Yankees were impressive in that sweep, their pitching held the Twins to only 7 runs in the 3 games.

[JMobile]

Their whole front office is clueless.
How’d that Werth fat contract work out?
Three out of four signings are epic fails.
Harper knew it too.

Even the Daniel Murphy and Matt Wieters signing.

[Cross]

Throat slash should be fine worthy.

[ApricotSinner32]

Rays are going to win this series or no? I'm still not sure yet.

[Otters27]

Wow. If Astros blow this. Total choke job

[BigSpoon]

Got a feeling that either the Nats or Rays win game 5 on the road.

[JaimeMiro]

Will the Astros and Dodgers fold under pressure?! Fun times ahead

[batt33]

Yadier Molina makes throat-slash gesture as Cardinals even NLDS

ST. LOUIS -- Catcher Yadier Molina made a throat-slashing gesture as he celebrated on the field after hitting the winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Monday.

Molina's clutch swing sent the best-of-five series back to Atlanta tied 2-2, with the finale set for Wednesday.

It was not clear whether Molina made the gesture in response to what Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. did the day before. Acuna made a similar motion across the top of his chest after hauling in Molina's fly ball for the final out of Atlanta's 3-1 victory on Sunday.

Game 5 gonna be fun!

[jrgum3]

Got a feeling that either the Nats or Rays win game 5 on the road.

I think the Nats are a very live dog with Strasburg pitching. You always have a chance in a win or go home scenario but I'd be shocked if the Rays beat the Astros. I wouldn't be shocked if the Nats get it done due to the Dodgers past history failing in big postseason spots.

[EmpireMaker]

Houston’s currently fighting for its life against Tampa Bay in the ALDS, but regardless of whether the Astros advance, they could be a few weeks away from losing one of their most valuable players to free agency. Right-handed ace and potential AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole is on the cusp of reaching the open market, where his forthcoming contract figures to easily outdo the majority of his competitors’ next deals. In fact, the lone soon-to-be free agent who’s likely to wind up in Cole’s stratosphere is Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon. Both players are lining up for contracts in the $200MM range, which seems like an especially risky number for a pitcher. But how have those investments on pitchers worked out thus far? Let’s take a look at the few $200MM-plus guarantees given out to hurlers, keeping in mind that past successes or failures obviously do not determine whether Cole will thrive or fall flat once he receives his mega-contract…
David Price, LHP, Red Sox (seven years, $217MM)

• Still the owner of the richest deal ever for a pitcher, Price hasn’t continued as an ace since he signed with the Red Sox entering the 2016 season. At that point, Price was a world-class run stopper who’d already logged five seasons with at least 200 innings. The Boston version has hit the 200 mark just once, though, and has put up a 3.84 ERA/3.74 FIP with 9.32 K/9 and 2.39 BB/9 across 588 frames. On paper, that production’s absolutely fine, but the Red Sox probably expected more when they splurged on Price almost a half-decade ago. Of course, thanks in part to Price, the Red Sox won the World Series a year ago. Flags fly forever.

Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Dodgers (seven years, $215MM)

• Admittedly, it’s debatable whether we should count this deal. After all, Kershaw essentially opted out of it last offseason (when he had two years and $65MM left on the pact) in favor of a three-year, $93MM contract to stick with the Dodgers. No matter, Kershaw has been nothing short of outstanding since signing. Therefore, even if the eight-time All-Star and three-time NL Cy Young winner would have stayed with his previous contract, the Dodgers certainly wouldn’t have buyer’s remorse.

Max Scherzer, RHP, Nationals (seven years, $210MM)

• Speaking of not regretting a $200MM-plus investment on a pitcher … we arrive at the Nationals, who are surely thrilled with the free-agent gamble they took on the ex-Tiger Scherzzer going into 2016. Scherzer, who has been an All-Star every year and won a pair of NL Cy Youngs since then, remains among the game’s most imposing hurlers to this day. The 35-year-old’s fresh off yet another tremendous (albeit injury-limited) regular season and has been a key figure in what could be a stunning first-round playoff upset of the juggernaut Dodgers.

Zack Greinke, RHP, Astros (six years, $206.5MM)

• Arizona poured its financial resources into Greinke entering 2016, though the headline-stealing addition didn’t quite pay off the way the club hoped. But that’s not a knock on Greinke, who excelled as a D-back. The team’s payroll just couldn’t support his ongoing presence, so it dealt Greinke to the Astros at this summer’s trade deadline. The 35-year-old, however, has enjoyed the latest terrific season of his career between the two organizations. Greinke’s $200MM-plus payday may not have been the most responsible move for an Arizona franchise that’s not a huge spender, but his production has been worthy of it.

If the above group shows us anything, it’s that no pitcher in the $200MM club has flopped (some have been great). That doesn’t mean Cole will follow in their footsteps if he scores a similar contract, but it’s hard to bet against a dominant, flamethrowing workhorse who still has another season in his 20s to come.

[BarkingToad]

Yadier Molina makes throat-slash gesture as Cardinals even NLDS

ST. LOUIS -- Catcher Yadier Molina made a throat-slashing gesture as he celebrated on the field after hitting the winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Monday.

Molina's clutch swing sent the best-of-five series back to Atlanta tied 2-2, with the finale set for Wednesday.

It was not clear whether Molina made the gesture in response to what Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. did the day before. Acuna made a similar motion across the top of his chest after hauling in Molina's fly ball for the final out of Atlanta's 3-1 victory on Sunday.

LOL, probably

[Chi_archie]

I think the Nats are a very live dog with Strasburg pitching. You always have a chance in a win or go home scenario but I'd be shocked if the Rays beat the Astros. I wouldn't be shocked if the Nats get it done due to the Dodgers past history failing in big postseason spots.

Nats can do it