-
Comment -
Stanton for the Yankees is already dealing with muscle strain won't be ready for opening day..this guy needs to get on the field this year. Yankee fans pissedComment -
Another month until baseball is back!!!Comment -
It’s already known that the Athletics have checked in on free-agent catcher Russell Martin. Add the Mets “and a few other teams” to the list, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported two weeks ago, Martin has turned down offers since last season to deal with a “family matter,” but the 37-year-old does intend to continue his career in 2020.
It’s unknown how recent the Mets’ interest in Martin was, but it does look as if the team could use a competent veteran to team with starter Wilson Ramos. Martin happens to be far and away the best backstop remaining in free agency, where available players at his position are all but nonexistent at this point. Martin appeared in a career-low 83 games with the Dodgers in 2019, but he posted 1.2 fWAR with a .220/.337/.330 line and an above-average 12 percent walk rate in 249 plate appearances. He also kept up his eminently useful ways behind the late, where he finished both 17th among all catchers in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric and as a pitch framer.
Mets backup Tomas Nido was similarly impressive as a defender last season (19th in FRAA and as a framer), but his offense doesn’t compare to even that of an aging Martin. The 25-year-old Nido has basically been unplayable as a hitter since he began garnering a decent chunk of playing time two seasons ago, having batted .182/.219/.286 in 234 trips to the plate dating back to 2018.
Behind Ramos and Nido, the most established option in the New York organization is non-roster invitee Rene Rivera, who – despite having earned the trust of prominent right-hander Noah Syndergaard in the past – has never been much of an offensive threat in the majors. He also hasn’t seen much time in the bigs over the past couple years. The Mets’ backup catcher situation looks ripe for an upgrade, then, and Martin may be the one to provide it.Comment -
Getting ready for some MLB and NCAA basketball parlays!!Comment -
Like it when more and more games are on...even if it is spring training!Comment -
Any overseas games this season or are they cancelled because of the COVID-19 scare?Comment -
So people actually bet on spring training baseball?Comment -
Of course they do... I bet 1 or 2 if i don't forget;
mostly huge dogsComment -
Happy birthday to Diamondbacks right-hander Stefan Crichton, who turns seven years…er, make that 28 years old on this Leap Day. As you might expect, there haven’t been too many big leaguers born on February 29, though the date has produced a pair of very notable figures from baseball history. Pepper Martin (born in 1904) was a four-time All-Star who won two World Series titles as a member of the Cardinals’ legendary Gashouse Gang teams of the 1930’s. While the World Series MVP Award wasn’t instituted until 1955, it’s safe to consider Martin a retroactive winner for his performance in the 1931 Fall Classic, as he posted a 1.330 OPS over 26 plate appearances to lead St. Louis to victory.
Al Rosen (born in 1924) was also a four-time All-Star, as well as the American League’s MVP in 1953. Rosen hit .285/.384/.495 over ten outstanding seasons with the Indians in a career cut short by injuries, though he got to the Show in time to earn a ring with the 1948 Tribe, the last Cleveland team to win a World Series. After his playing career was over, Rosen served as the president/CEO of the Yankees (winning another Series in 1978), then president/general manager of the Astros (1980-85) and Giants (1985-92).
More from around baseball as we hit the last February 29 until 2024…
- Freddy Peralta’s representatives “weren’t too happy” with the right-hander’s decision to sign a five-year extension with the Brewers, Peralta told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters. Peralta is guaranteed $15.5MM over the next five seasons, plus as much as $14.5MM more if club options for 2025 and 2026 are both exercised. The contract gives the Brewers a lot of control over a pitcher who only has slightly more than one year of service time to his name, and Peralta said his agents at Rep 1 Baseball “didn’t really want to take it. At the end of the day, I know they wanted to wait a little longer.” Still, Peralta was focused on locking in a life-changing amount of money, calling the contract “something I’ve been working for my whole life….It was a chance to help my family, to help myself, and be in a position where I can play relaxed. My family can be a little more happy and relaxed. It definitely changes my mind going into every season, knowing that I have a little bit of security.”
- While Peralta could be leaving a lot of potential money on the table if he blossoms into a reliable pitcher, taking the extension could ultimately prove to be a wise choice considering that Peralta isn’t yet proven at the big league level. These types of early-career extensions involve “a risk tolerance for both sides,” Brewers GM David Stearns told Haudricourt and company, and “in this case, there was a clear desire from the player and a clear desire from the club” to get a deal done. Rather than specify a a specific starting or relieving job for Peralta, Stearns indicated “we think he could potentially have success in both roles, and as the game continues to evolve, as the use of pitching continues to evolve, there are probably going to be a whole bunch of pitchers who are asked to do both. And it wouldn’t shock me if Freddy is one of those guys.“
- The Mariners won’t use a set closer this season “unless somebody jumps up and grabs the position,” manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Barring a breakout performance from one of the many save candidates, the M’s will instead rotate between the likes of Yoshihisa Hirano, Carl Edwards Jr., Matt Magill, Dan Altavilla, Sam Tuivailala, and perhaps others in ninth-inning situations.
- Special assistant Dave Wallace and the Braves have “mutually agreed to part ways” after three seasons, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. This was Wallace’s second stint in Atlanta’s organization, after working as a minor league pitching coordinator from 2010-13. The 72-year-old Wallace is known for his many years as a pitching coach with five different teams, most recently working with Orioles pitchers from 2014-16.
Comment -
MLB: Players still subject to penalty for using pot
For baseball players taking advantage of a new drug policy in which marijuana use is permissible, the commissioner has a warning: Just don't show up to the ballpark high.
Even though Major League Baseball removed marijuana from its banned-substance list during the offseason, the league last week told teams that players remain subject to potential discipline for using or possessing the drug, according a memo obtained by ESPN.
In the memo, deputy commissioner Dan Halem wrote that the league maintains the right to punish players who break existing marijuana laws, such as possession and distribution, as well as for driving under the influence.
Players and team personnel who "appear under the influence of marijuana or any other cannabinoid during any of the Club's games, practices, workouts, meetings or otherwise during the course and within the scope of their employment" will undergo a "mandatory evaluation" for a potential treatment program, according to the memo.
While the penalty for a major league player testing positive for marijuana in the past was a fine, the biggest change addresses minor league players, for whom marijuana was a banned substance with a harsh suspension for testing positive. Minor league players rejoiced at the new drug agreement, in which MLB abandoned its marijuana policy for stricter testing on opioids.
Recreational marijuana is legal in cities inhabited by 12 major league teams: the A's, Angels, Blue Jays, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Padres, Red Sox, Rockies, Tigers and White Sox. Medicinal marijuana is legal in 26 of 30 major league locations, with Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin the exceptions.
The minor leagues are far more restrictive in terms of location. More than 60 minor league cities are in states where both recreational and medicinal marijuana are illegal.
Despite the relative open-mindedness of MLB -- it has a particularly liberal policy, particularly when compared to the NFL, which only now is considering abolishing suspensions for players who test positive for marijuana -- it's still not exactly advocating marijuana use.
"Club medical personnel are prohibited from prescribing, dispensing or recommending the use of marijuana or any other cannabinoid" to players or officials, nor are they allowed to store it at the team facilities, the memo said.
The use of cannabidiol, or CBD, remains potentially risky for players because the products are not certified by the NSF and could be tainted with drugs that are on the banned list and subject to half-season-long suspensions.
MLB and the MLB Players Association "are working closely with NSF International to develop an independent testing and certification process for" hemp-based CBD products, according to the memo.
With the legal-marijuana business worth billions of dollars, players have considered entering the space as entrepreneurs, according to sources. The memo said MLB plans to address the rules regarding ownership in the industry in the future, though "until such guidance is issued, any such investments or commercial arrangements are still considered to be prohibited in accordance with current practices."Comment -
That Wade Davis has been named the Rockies’ closer in and of itself isn’t shocking. Davis is one of the most accomplished closers of this era, changing the game with an incomparable three-year run of dominance with the Royals from 2014 to 2016. Over that span, Davis appeared in 185 contests, posting a 1.18 ERA/1.86 FIP. He gave up just three home runs in that time, and along with running mates Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrera, showcased the potential for an uber-dominant bullpen to undergird a champion. Whether that unit was truly transcendent is a debate for another day, but they did, at the very least, help drive the transformation of bullpen usage that, in part, defines our current era of baseball.
And yet, Davis wasn’t the nominal closer on those Royals teams. Not until an injury to Holland forced him into the role. But he is, once again, the nominal closer for the Colorado Rockies despite the 8.65 ERA he posted in 50 games last season, per MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.
In the Rockies’ defense, putting Davis back into the closer role allows manager Bud Black to deploy Scott Oberg or Jairo Diaz in higher-leverage situations, though there are other ways to protect Davis, should that be the goal. Davis’ trajectory should be a fun one to track throughout the season, as it’s hard to imagine many more opportunities to watch a team roll it back after their closer posted an ERA over 8.00.
Also to consider, Davis is making a chunky $17MM this season. The Rockies could be free of their obligation to Davis with a $1MM buyout prior to 2021. Regardless, they’re gonna make every effort to put their investment to good use this season.Comment
