The 2020 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[koz-man]

Indians' Mike Clevinger to have surgery on left knee


Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger will have surgery on his left knee for a partially torn meniscus, the team announced Friday.
The right-hander suffered the injury Wednesday during a spring training workout at the team's facility in Goodyear, Arizona.
The team has not announced a time frame for his return.

Clevinger, 29, avoided arbitration this offseason by reaching a $4.1 million deal with Cleveland. He went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts in 2019 and is being counted on to be a key part of the rotation after the Indians traded two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber.

He has won 38 games over the past three seasons. He made 21 starts in 2019, but missed time early in the year with a strained back muscle.

Cleveland on Friday also signed free agent Domingo Santana to a $1.5 million contract that includes a $5 million club option for 2021. The outfielder, who made $1.95 million with the Seattle Mariners last season, had a promising start to 2019 before missing 24 games in August and September with an injured right elbow.

Santana appeared in 121 games and hit .253 with 21 homers and 69 RBIs.
Prior to signing with the Mariners, Santana spent three-plus seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. His breakthrough season came in 2017, when he hit 30 home runs with 85 RBIs, 88 runs and 15 stolen bases for the Brewers.
Since entering the majors in 2014, Santana has a career .259 batting average with 75 home runs and 232 RBIs.

[ApricotSinner32]

Indians' Mike Clevinger to have surgery on left knee


Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger will have surgery on his left knee for a partially torn meniscus, the team announced Friday.
The right-hander suffered the injury Wednesday during a spring training workout at the team's facility in Goodyear, Arizona.
The team has not announced a time frame for his return.

Clevinger, 29, avoided arbitration this offseason by reaching a $4.1 million deal with Cleveland. He went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts in 2019 and is being counted on to be a key part of the rotation after the Indians traded two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber.

He has won 38 games over the past three seasons. He made 21 starts in 2019, but missed time early in the year with a strained back muscle.

Cleveland on Friday also signed free agent Domingo Santana to a $1.5 million contract that includes a $5 million club option for 2021. The outfielder, who made $1.95 million with the Seattle Mariners last season, had a promising start to 2019 before missing 24 games in August and September with an injured right elbow.

Santana appeared in 121 games and hit .253 with 21 homers and 69 RBIs.
Prior to signing with the Mariners, Santana spent three-plus seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. His breakthrough season came in 2017, when he hit 30 home runs with 85 RBIs, 88 runs and 15 stolen bases for the Brewers.
Since entering the majors in 2014, Santana has a career .259 batting average with 75 home runs and 232 RBIs.

[jrgum3]

The Giants are in agreement on a minor league contract with free-agent right-hander Trevor Cahill, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). The JBA Sports client will be in Major League camp during Spring Training in hopes of landing a roster spot.
Cahill, who’ll turn 32 on March 1, scuffled through a brutal year with the Angels in 2019, pitching to a career-worst 5.98 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a whopping 2.2 HR/9. The juiced ball that resulted in the league-wide home run boom surely didn’t do him any favors, but homer troubles that extreme can’t be solely placed on the abnormalities within the composition of the baseball.
A year prior, though, Cahill enjoyed a strong reunion tour with the Athletics, spinning 110 innings of 3.76 ERA ball with 8.2 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.65 HR/9 and a 53.4 percent ground-ball rate as a member of the Oakland rotation. He’s been in an on-year, off-year cycle for the past four seasons that in some way mirrors the Giants’ own even-year dynasty from 2010-14, so perhaps he’s due for yet another bounceback effort. He’ll surely be comfortable with the coaching staff in San Francisco, which features first-year pitching coach Andrew Bailey — a former teammate of Cahill’s dating back to his first A’s run and his bullpen coach in Anaheim a season ago.
Cahill has extensive experience both as a starting pitcher and as a reliever, so while four of the Giants’ five rotation spots are spoken for — Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Gausman, Drew Smyly — Cahill can both compete for the fifth slot or for a spot in the San Francisco bullpen.

Decent pickup for the Giants he'll likely be their 5th starter or maybe a swingman who can help the bullpen out as a long reliever.

[EmpireMaker]

Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler and the Mets are engaged in a public feud. Wheeler, a Met from 2013-19, joined the Phillies on a five-year, $118MM contract during the offseason. However, Wheeler indicated Thursday that he had hoped to remain with his longtime team, revealing (via Greg Joyce of the New York Post) that he reached out to the Mets to gauge their interest in re-signing him before he became a Phillie. But Wheeler said he only heard “crickets” from the Mets, adding: “Because it’s them. It’s how they roll.”
Wheeler went on to suggest the Mets are a dysfunctional organization, but general manager Brodie Van Wagenen took exception to his comments. Van Wagenen expressed “surprise” in regards to Wheeler’s statements, per Tim Britton of The Athletic. The GM also noted, “I feel like this organization supported him in giving him the opportunity to reach major league success.” He then took a shoot at Wheeler, contending, “Our health and performance department, our coaches, all contributed and helped him parlay two good half-seasons over the last five years into $118MM.”
It should be pointed out that Wheeler has produced palatable results in every season but 2017 – his first year back from a March 2015 Tommy John procedure that helped cost him two campaigns. He has otherwise totaled three seasons with at least 180 innings and ERAs somewhere in the threes. The hard-throwing Wheeler was statistically one of the most effective starters in baseball from 2018-19, during which he put up a 3.65 ERA/3.37 FIP ERA with 8.91 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 377 2/3 frames. Considering that, Van Wagenen’s snipe doesn’t ring true.
Neither side may look great in this situation, but the spat does make a division rivalry even more interesting. Both teams are looking up at the Braves and the Nationals in the NL East, though all four are arguably good enough on paper to at least compete for the division. Wheeler was the Phillies’ big-ticket acquisition during the winter, while the Mets still boast a strong rotation even in the wake of his departure. Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman and Steven Matz lead the group, and the Mets have added Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha since free agency opened.

[batt33]

1 week +1 sleep left

Can't come soon enough!

[cincinnatikid513]

how the hell did rick porcello get 10 million dollars a year

[JaimeMiro]

Indians' Mike Clevinger to have surgery on left knee


Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger will have surgery on his left knee for a partially torn meniscus, the team announced Friday.
The right-hander suffered the injury Wednesday during a spring training workout at the team's facility in Goodyear, Arizona.
The team has not announced a time frame for his return.

Clevinger, 29, avoided arbitration this offseason by reaching a $4.1 million deal with Cleveland. He went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts in 2019 and is being counted on to be a key part of the rotation after the Indians traded two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber.

He has won 38 games over the past three seasons. He made 21 starts in 2019, but missed time early in the year with a strained back muscle.

Cleveland on Friday also signed free agent Domingo Santana to a $1.5 million contract that includes a $5 million club option for 2021. The outfielder, who made $1.95 million with the Seattle Mariners last season, had a promising start to 2019 before missing 24 games in August and September with an injured right elbow.

Santana appeared in 121 games and hit .253 with 21 homers and 69 RBIs.
Prior to signing with the Mariners, Santana spent three-plus seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. His breakthrough season came in 2017, when he hit 30 home runs with 85 RBIs, 88 runs and 15 stolen bases for the Brewers.
Since entering the majors in 2014, Santana has a career .259 batting average with 75 home runs and 232 RBIs.

Sucks to have injuries this early, hoping for a speedy recovery

[Chi_archie]

Sucks to have injuries this early, hoping for a speedy recovery

Yeah that sucks for him

[Otters27]

Gherrit Cole getting out of Dodge with Astros scandal

[koz-man]

Bartolo Colon signs with Monclova Acereros of Mexican Baseball League

MEXICO CITY -- Bartolo Colon is headed to Mexico.


The right-hander, who will turn 47 in May, has signed with the Monclova Acereros of the Mexican Baseball League.

The Acereros, defending champions of the Triple-A circuit, announced the signing of the Dominican right-hander Friday. The team didn't provide details of the contract.

"Bartolo Colon would be an important piece of the pitching staff of the current champions, becoming one of the bigger signings in our baseball history,'' the team said in a press release. "The 'Big Sexy' show would be something the Monclova fans will be able to enjoy."

Colon hasn't pitched in the majors since 2018 with the Texas Rangers.
He became the top winning pitcher born in Latin America, getting his 246th career victory on Aug. 7, 2018, against the Seattle Mariners.


Colon is 247-188 in 565 games -- 552 as a starter -- since his big league debut with Cleveland in 1997. He also was the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner while with the Angels.

======================

More power to him. If he can collect a paycheck playing a game he loves, And at 47 years old. Good for him!!!

[BigSpoon]

Gherrit Cole getting out of Dodge with Astros scandal

Verlander who loves to tweet about all things MLB has been awfully quiet throughout this whole thing.

[ApricotSinner32]

how the hell did rick porcello get 10 million dollars a year

good question

[Cross]

Cole getting out of dodge is right.

[Stallion]

The Astros players are all going to get beaned next year.

[jrgum3]

The Astros players are all going to get beaned next year.

It was wise for Dusty Baker to appeal to MLB to protect his players from beanballs. Still doesn't mean that Bregman and co should dig in too deep at the plate because they have to expect one aimed right at their dome.

[BigSpoon]

The Astros players are all going to get beaned next year.

They are going to set the team record for HBP's in 2020.

[JaimeMiro]

After careful consideration, think Yankees win it all. Scary good roaster moves

[EmpireMaker]

Though Kris Bryant is still in a Cubs uniform as Spring Training begins, the third baseman has nonetheless been one of the offseason’s top newsmakers due to the sheer amount of speculation that has swirled around his future over the last few months. Bryant addressed much of this speculation today, speaking to reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma) about a variety of topics, including the service-time grievance that was finally decided at the end of January.
Though the arbitration panel ruled in favor of the Cubs, Bryant said he holds “no hard feelings whatsoever” towards the team over the service-time issue. “I completely respect this organization and everything they’ve done for me and my family. They’ve given me an opportunity to play the game that I love every single day,” Bryant said.
The intent of the grievance, Bryant explained, was to confront a longstanding concern that players and the MLBPA have had for some time over top prospects whose promotions to the Major Leagues are delayed for seemingly thin or even outright dubious reasons in order to limit their service time. In Bryant’s situation, the Cubs kept him in the minors to begin the 2015 season ostensibly so the then-star prospect could work on his defense, only for Bryant to get the call to Chicago’s MLB roster on April 17 — to the day, just long enough for the Cubs to gain an extra year of contractual control over Bryant’s services.
Bryant took it upon himself to file a grievance to better help future players in the same situation, and to put a spotlight on the service time issue as the league and players’ union prepare for talks about a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. “I definitely felt that responsibility to take it on,” he said. “I want to be the guy to fight for this because I feel it’s right and it’s going to help us in two years [during CBA talks]. But I always knew it was an uphill battle. No, I didn’t flip any tables or anything like that. It was very respectful from the get-go.”
Though the Cubs were widely expected to win the grievance case, the chance of a decision in Bryant’s favor (which would have made him a free agent after the 2020 season rather than the 2021 season) was seen as a reason why he might still be a Cub today, as rival clubs were unwilling to trade for Bryant if they didn’t know how long he would be under team control. While Chicago continues to explore trade possibilities, it has now been three weeks since Bryant’s case was decided, with seemingly no progress made towards a deal.
Bryant spent this winter trying to avoid trade rumors as best he could, though he said he hasn’t gotten any indications from the Cubs about any potential deals, which doesn’t fit entirely well with the former NL MVP.
“I guess I would like to be in the loop a little bit,” Bryant said. “Obviously, they don’t have to keep me in the loop by any means, you know? But, I feel like I’ve earned a little respect here, in just how I go about my business and just who I am as a player and a person, too, to kind of sit down and have talks like that.”
While a trade is out of Bryant’s hands, he reiterated how much he would like to remain with the Cubs, and said he is “always open” to discussing a possible contract extension to remain in Wrigleyville over the long term. It was almost exactly one year ago that Bryant told reporters that he hadn’t yet been approached by Chicago’s front office about an extension, and during Saturday’s media session, he wanted to clear the air about other contractual speculation.
“The biggest thing with the trade rumors that have disappointed me is I feel like people, not everybody, but the main reasoning behind it is: Let’s get rid of him now because he doesn’t want to be here in two years,” Bryant said. “He turned down this monster extension ’well north of $200MM.’ And I’m like, ’Where was that? I never saw that.’ It’s just these rumors and sources and people just saying things. The only thing that matters is what comes from my mouth. Never once have I said I never wanted to play here. I’m pretty sure you guys can go through all the recordings, all the interviews. I’ve always said I respect everyone in this organization, everyone in this city, the fans. We have it so good here. Of course I would love to play here.”

[koz-man]

Red Sox won't rush Chris Sale's return from illness, Ron Roenicke says

Boston Red Sox starter Chris Sale, still recovering from a case of the flu and pneumonia, continued to work with teammates Saturday at spring training. But interim manager Ron Roenicke made it clear Boston will not rush Sale's progress, even if it means he misses Opening Day.
Roenicke told reporters in Fort Myers, Florida, that Sale, who missed the last six weeks of last year's regular season with a left elbow injury, played catch on Saturday, stretching out his arm and that the thought is that he's "progressing along fine."

Sale has made the past two Opening Day starts for Boston.
"We're going to still go a little bit easy with him," Roenicke said. "He's huge for our starting rotation, and he's one of the best pitchers in the game. So whenever we can get him to start up, it would be silly for us to try to push him to come back sooner than probably he should physically.

"It's not worth taking a risk on having him Opening Day exactly and where we're pushing him to get him there. He's important to us as we go through the season, and hopefully get into the playoffs, and keep him strong there."
Sale, 30, like the Red Sox overall, struggled last season, finishing 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 147 1/3 innings. He won his last two starts in August, over the Dodgers and Indians, before the club shut him down.
Boston, a year after winning the World Series, finished in third place in the American League East, at 84-78.

[Chi_archie]

Red Sox won't rush Chris Sale's return from illness, Ron Roenicke says

Boston Red Sox starter Chris Sale, still recovering from a case of the flu and pneumonia, continued to work with teammates Saturday at spring training. But interim manager Ron Roenicke made it clear Boston will not rush Sale's progress, even if it means he misses Opening Day.
Roenicke told reporters in Fort Myers, Florida, that Sale, who missed the last six weeks of last year's regular season with a left elbow injury, played catch on Saturday, stretching out his arm and that the thought is that he's "progressing along fine."

Sale has made the past two Opening Day starts for Boston.
"We're going to still go a little bit easy with him," Roenicke said. "He's huge for our starting rotation, and he's one of the best pitchers in the game. So whenever we can get him to start up, it would be silly for us to try to push him to come back sooner than probably he should physically.

"It's not worth taking a risk on having him Opening Day exactly and where we're pushing him to get him there. He's important to us as we go through the season, and hopefully get into the playoffs, and keep him strong there."
Sale, 30, like the Red Sox overall, struggled last season, finishing 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 147 1/3 innings. He won his last two starts in August, over the Dodgers and Indians, before the club shut him down.
Boston, a year after winning the World Series, finished in third place in the American League East, at 84-78.

Gotta be careful with sale

[Otters27]

Dang Pneumonia

Hope the guys ok. The flue will mess you up

[batt33]

Verlander who loves to tweet about all things MLB has been awfully quiet throughout this whole thing.

Yeah he was pretty vocal about cheating with the Tigers... Now crickets

[Stallion]

All the Astros players should just shut the **** up.

[ApricotSinner32]

Though Kris Bryant is still in a Cubs uniform as Spring Training begins, the third baseman has nonetheless been one of the offseason’s top newsmakers due to the sheer amount of speculation that has swirled around his future over the last few months. Bryant addressed much of this speculation today, speaking to reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma) about a variety of topics, including the service-time grievance that was finally decided at the end of January.
Though the arbitration panel ruled in favor of the Cubs, Bryant said he holds “no hard feelings whatsoever” towards the team over the service-time issue. “I completely respect this organization and everything they’ve done for me and my family. They’ve given me an opportunity to play the game that I love every single day,” Bryant said.
The intent of the grievance, Bryant explained, was to confront a longstanding concern that players and the MLBPA have had for some time over top prospects whose promotions to the Major Leagues are delayed for seemingly thin or even outright dubious reasons in order to limit their service time. In Bryant’s situation, the Cubs kept him in the minors to begin the 2015 season ostensibly so the then-star prospect could work on his defense, only for Bryant to get the call to Chicago’s MLB roster on April 17 — to the day, just long enough for the Cubs to gain an extra year of contractual control over Bryant’s services.
Bryant took it upon himself to file a grievance to better help future players in the same situation, and to put a spotlight on the service time issue as the league and players’ union prepare for talks about a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. “I definitely felt that responsibility to take it on,” he said. “I want to be the guy to fight for this because I feel it’s right and it’s going to help us in two years [during CBA talks]. But I always knew it was an uphill battle. No, I didn’t flip any tables or anything like that. It was very respectful from the get-go.”
Though the Cubs were widely expected to win the grievance case, the chance of a decision in Bryant’s favor (which would have made him a free agent after the 2020 season rather than the 2021 season) was seen as a reason why he might still be a Cub today, as rival clubs were unwilling to trade for Bryant if they didn’t know how long he would be under team control. While Chicago continues to explore trade possibilities, it has now been three weeks since Bryant’s case was decided, with seemingly no progress made towards a deal.
Bryant spent this winter trying to avoid trade rumors as best he could, though he said he hasn’t gotten any indications from the Cubs about any potential deals, which doesn’t fit entirely well with the former NL MVP.
“I guess I would like to be in the loop a little bit,” Bryant said. “Obviously, they don’t have to keep me in the loop by any means, you know? But, I feel like I’ve earned a little respect here, in just how I go about my business and just who I am as a player and a person, too, to kind of sit down and have talks like that.”
While a trade is out of Bryant’s hands, he reiterated how much he would like to remain with the Cubs, and said he is “always open” to discussing a possible contract extension to remain in Wrigleyville over the long term. It was almost exactly one year ago that Bryant told reporters that he hadn’t yet been approached by Chicago’s front office about an extension, and during Saturday’s media session, he wanted to clear the air about other contractual speculation.
“The biggest thing with the trade rumors that have disappointed me is I feel like people, not everybody, but the main reasoning behind it is: Let’s get rid of him now because he doesn’t want to be here in two years,” Bryant said. “He turned down this monster extension ’well north of $200MM.’ And I’m like, ’Where was that? I never saw that.’ It’s just these rumors and sources and people just saying things. The only thing that matters is what comes from my mouth. Never once have I said I never wanted to play here. I’m pretty sure you guys can go through all the recordings, all the interviews. I’ve always said I respect everyone in this organization, everyone in this city, the fans. We have it so good here. Of course I would love to play here.”

[Cross]

Kris Bryant is about to blow up this year.

[EmpireMaker]

Heading into free agency last fall, Jose Abreu made no secret that he wanted to remain with the White Sox, and he told reporters (including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune) that he didn’t even talk to any other clubs during his brief time on the open market. “My family is good in Chicago. They love Chicago,” Abreu said. “They are really grateful and good and happy with the White Sox organization, just the way that the organization has treated them….For us, it didn’t make sense to look around to other places.” The Marlins were the only other team known to have have interest in Abreu last November, though it appears that interest didn’t manifest itself into any early negotiation with Abreu’s representatives.
There never seemed much doubt that Abreu and the White Sox would part ways, given how GM Rick Hahn repeatedly spoke during the season about how much the team valued Abreu’s contributions on the field and in the Sox clubhouse. After Chicago extended a one-year, $17.8MM qualifying offer to Abreu, the first baseman ensured his continued stay on the South Side by accepting the offer, and then worked out a contract extension in November that runs through the 2022 season.
The latest from around the AL Central….

• While Abreu more or less sidestepped free agency entirely, the market wasn’t as kind to Cameron Maybin, who told the Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters that he received mostly minor league offers before finally landing a Major League deal from the Tigers. Maybin rebounded from a pair of subpar years to hit .285/.364/.494 with 11 home runs over 269 PA with the Yankees last season, but still found the process of obtaining a guaranteed contract to be “frustrating….I thought it would be easier to get a big-league job. I do feel like I’m a big-league talent, like I am big-league caliber.” Still, Maybin is happy to be back in Detroit for his third stint as a Tiger, and is eager to serve as a veteran mentor to a young team and prove that his 2019 performance wasn’t a fluke. Though Maybin turns 33 in April, “honestly, with my athleticism, I feel like I can play for another five years. Especially with this swing change.”
• Kyle Zimmer was given a fourth minor league option by the league, the Royals right-hander told MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Players usually only have three option years, though a fourth option can sometimes be granted under certain circumstances — like, in Zimmer’s case, a wide range of injuries that have limited to just 341 total professional innings since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2012 draft. Zimmer was finally healthy in 2019 and made his MLB debut, making 15 relief appearances for Kansas City and posting a 10.80 ERA over 18 1/3 innings. With this fourth option year to work with, the Royals can now opt to start Zimmer in the minors to begin the season rather than potentially be forced into exposing him to waivers as an out-of-options player if they didn’t have a 26-man roster spot for him.

[JaimeMiro]

All the Astros players should just shut the **** up.

Why? It's entertainment...

[batt33]

All the Astros players should just shut the **** up.

they are all protected.......

[jrgum3]

Bartolo Colon signs with Monclova Acereros of Mexican Baseball League

MEXICO CITY -- Bartolo Colon is headed to Mexico.


The right-hander, who will turn 47 in May, has signed with the Monclova Acereros of the Mexican Baseball League.

The Acereros, defending champions of the Triple-A circuit, announced the signing of the Dominican right-hander Friday. The team didn't provide details of the contract.

"Bartolo Colon would be an important piece of the pitching staff of the current champions, becoming one of the bigger signings in our baseball history,'' the team said in a press release. "The 'Big Sexy' show would be something the Monclova fans will be able to enjoy."

Colon hasn't pitched in the majors since 2018 with the Texas Rangers.
He became the top winning pitcher born in Latin America, getting his 246th career victory on Aug. 7, 2018, against the Seattle Mariners.


Colon is 247-188 in 565 games -- 552 as a starter -- since his big league debut with Cleveland in 1997. He also was the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner while with the Angels.

======================

More power to him. If he can collect a paycheck playing a game he loves, And at 47 years old. Good for him!!!

Always liked Bartolo Colon so I hope he pitches as long as he wants.

[koz-man]

Cardinals' Miles Mikolas misses bullpen session with sore elbow


JUPITER, Fla. -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas was scratched from his second bullpen session of the spring because of a flexor tendon issue.

"Best-case scenario is probably just a couple more days before he starts playing catch, starts his bullpens again," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. "I can't say that's going to happen one way or the other."

Mikolas said his arm felt "tender from time to time" last season, but he was able to manage it.

"I do not know what the full clinical term is," Mikolas said. "I can tell you my elbow is a little sore."
Shildt said the Cardinals hope to have a more concrete time frame for Mikolas to return to the mound in a day or two.
"Is he behind? Yeah, he's behind," Shildt said. "He's not being able to get on the mound, but he's still doing some of the things mentally and physically that he can do."
Should Mikolas only need a couple of more days of rest, he expects a brief layoff wouldn't significantly hamper his preparation for the season.

"I've already been throwing and throwing bullpens," Mikolas said. "Once I feel good and get cleared to re-ramp back up, it shouldn't be a super-long process."

Mikolas signed with St. Louis prior to the 2018 season following a successful stint in Japan. He was 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA during his first season with the Cardinals and earned a trip to the All-Star Game.
Mikolas struggled last season as he went 9-14 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts in the regular season, but he was 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in three appearances in the postseason.
Mikolas received a platelet-rich plasma injection as treatment for his arm soreness after the Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs.

"It's been a long couple of seasons for me," Mikolis said.

Despite last season's struggles, Mikolas entered this spring as one of four pitchers expected to be in the Cardinals' rotation, joining Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright.
Carlos Martinez, Korean offseason signee Kwang-Hyun Kim, Alex Reyes and Daniel Ponce de Leon entered camp as the leading candidates for the fifth starting spot. An extended layoff for Mikolas could allow two of those pitchers to break camp in the starting rotation.

[Chi_archie]

Cardinals' Miles Mikolas misses bullpen session with sore elbow


JUPITER, Fla. -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas was scratched from his second bullpen session of the spring because of a flexor tendon issue.

"Best-case scenario is probably just a couple more days before he starts playing catch, starts his bullpens again," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. "I can't say that's going to happen one way or the other."

Mikolas said his arm felt "tender from time to time" last season, but he was able to manage it.

"I do not know what the full clinical term is," Mikolas said. "I can tell you my elbow is a little sore."
Shildt said the Cardinals hope to have a more concrete time frame for Mikolas to return to the mound in a day or two.
"Is he behind? Yeah, he's behind," Shildt said. "He's not being able to get on the mound, but he's still doing some of the things mentally and physically that he can do."
Should Mikolas only need a couple of more days of rest, he expects a brief layoff wouldn't significantly hamper his preparation for the season.

"I've already been throwing and throwing bullpens," Mikolas said. "Once I feel good and get cleared to re-ramp back up, it shouldn't be a super-long process."

Mikolas signed with St. Louis prior to the 2018 season following a successful stint in Japan. He was 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA during his first season with the Cardinals and earned a trip to the All-Star Game.
Mikolas struggled last season as he went 9-14 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts in the regular season, but he was 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in three appearances in the postseason.
Mikolas received a platelet-rich plasma injection as treatment for his arm soreness after the Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs.

"It's been a long couple of seasons for me," Mikolis said.

Despite last season's struggles, Mikolas entered this spring as one of four pitchers expected to be in the Cardinals' rotation, joining Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson and Adam Wainwright.
Carlos Martinez, Korean offseason signee Kwang-Hyun Kim, Alex Reyes and Daniel Ponce de Leon entered camp as the leading candidates for the fifth starting spot. An extended layoff for Mikolas could allow two of those pitchers to break camp in the starting rotation.

Gotta take care of those arms

[Stallion]

Why? It's entertainment...

Because they got caught cheating. The more they talk about it, the more other players get pissed off at them. They will get thrown at; I don't care what MLB says they are going to do.

[koz-man]

Phillies' Andrew McCutchen upbeat about recovery from knee injury

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Andrew McCutchen can speak firsthand about modern medical advancements.
He tore his ACL last year -- and it wasn't the first time.
"I had an ACL injury when I was in high school, so to kind of compare the two, as far as the process goes and the rehab, it's a lot quicker," the Philadelphia outfielder said Monday. "You're doing things a lot faster maybe than you did 16, 17 years ago. At the same time, I'm not 16 and rehabbing. I'm 33 now."
McCutchen played only 59 games last year before going down with a torn ACL in early June. The Phillies finished 81-81, a disappointment in their first season after signing Bryce Harper. Philadelphia replaced manager Gabe Kapler with Joe Girardi and added Zack Wheeler to its rotation. If he can stay healthy, McCutchen could give the team a lift as well.

The Phillies held their first workout with the full squad Monday. McCutchen said he plans to be ready for opening day.
"I'm doing everything. I don't have any limitations. It's just about going out there and doing everything at 100%," he said. "Some things I'm doing pretty good, some things I'm still working on."
Girardi said McCutchen isn't where he was at this time last year, simply because he's now coming off an inury.
"Every week we're going to make an evaluation of where he's at, and what he's ready to handle the next week," Girardi said. "I know he hit out on the field today and did those type of things."

[Cross]

I always liked Cutch, hopefully he comes back strong.

[jrgum3]

Funny that some books have O/U props on how many times Houston players get hit by pitches this year. Definitely take the over if you bet that...