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Regular season starts this month!Comment -
More people have/will die from the Coronavirus than the flu.Comment -
Coronavirus talk in here, I thought this was a baseball thread?Comment -
Johan Camargo and Austin Riley are competing for not only the Braves’ starting third base job, but also potentially a spot on the 26-man roster altogether. Manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien) that he feels both Camargo and Riley are best served by everyday playing time, rather than splitting third base in a platoon or one player working in a backup role. Sending one of the duo down to Triple-A is “not out of the question,” Snitker said. “They’ve got (minor-league) options, and if long term, for the health of our ballclub that’s (what) we see fit, that could happen.”
Plans could change in case of an injury, of course, and both players have experience at other positions. Riley played mostly left field in his rookie season and only four games at third base, as Atlanta had Josh Donaldson at the hot corner last year. Camargo, meanwhile, has a lot of experience at shortstop, second base, and both corner outfield positions in addition to third base, though Snitker felt that bouncing Camargo around the diamond last season hurt his productivity at the plate. After hitting .281/.343/.455 in 780 PA over his first two MLB seasons, Camargo struggled to a .233/.279/.384 slash line in 248 plate appearances in 2019.
More from around the baseball world…
- After signing a minor league deal with the Brewers this winter, Logan Morrison has no intention of actually playing in the minors if he doesn’t crack Milwaukee’s roster, the veteran told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt and other media. “Triple-A is not an option. That’s not going to happen. I have nothing to prove there. If they try to send me down, I can get out,” Morrison said, referring to the opt-out clause in his contract as an Article XX(B) free agent. Since Morrison has at least six years of MLB experience and finished last season on a 40-man roster (the Phillies’ roster) or 60-day injured list, he can ask to be released by the Brewers if they don’t put him on their 26-man roster or the injured list five days prior to Opening Day. Morrison would also be in line for a $100K retention bonus if the Brewers didn’t put him on the roster but wanted to keep him in the minors, but clearly that isn’t on Morrison’s mind. “I’m not worried about it because whatever happens, wherever I go, whatever they decide, I’ll be at peace with it,” he said.
- Tim Melville is recovering from a broken rib and will be sidelined for at least three weeks, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post writes. After pitching 33 1/3 innings for the Rockies last season, Melville signed a new minor league deal with Colorado earlier this month, though he thinks his rib injury might have taken place at the end of last season. The discomfort didn’t resurface until Melville began throwing in camp. The injury obviously lessens Melville’s shot at winning a roster spot, though the Rockies could place the right-hander on the IL and let him ramp up in the minors.
- Royals pitching prospect Ashe Russell underwent Tommy John surgery last year and is still recovering, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (Twitter links). The exact date of Russell’s procedure isn’t known, though Flanagan said it took place “awhile” before last June. That would put Russell roughly on pace to return to the mound sometime before the end of the season. Russell has tossed only 38 1/3 professional innings since being selected 21st overall in the 2015 draft, and hasn’t pitched at all since the 2016 season. Back in July 2017, we learned that Russell had taken a “mental break” from baseball, in the words of Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo. Russell’s agent described the issue as somewhat more pitching-related in nature, saying Russell was “having trouble with his pitching mechanics” and “needed a change of scenery” from the Royals’ training facilities. The 23-year-old righty is currently at the Royals’ Spring Training camp.
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Looks like Giants decisions for the opening day roster spots are going to have "who has options left" factored in more than ever this year with what "talent" they have .Comment -
Chipper Jones joins ESPN as game analyst
BRISTOL, Conn. -- Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones has joined the ESPN lineup.
The former Atlanta Braves star will work as a major league analyst, primarily on weeknight and holiday games. He'll debut on Opening Day when San Francisco plays at Dodger Stadium on March 26.
Jones worked twice last year as a guest analyst for ESPN.
"We were instantly impressed," senior coordinating producer Phil Orlins said in a statement Monday. "He is a charismatic storyteller with an authentic and fun-loving personality."
The 47-year-old Jones hit .303 with 468 home runs and 1,623 RBIs in a 19-year career through 2012.Comment -
Giants have fallen off a cliff big time. Need a big rebuild to compete w Dodgers again.Comment -
With the recent news that Andrew McCutchen will open the season on the IL, Phillies manager Joe Girardi will have to decide on what to do about the leadoff spot, as Todd Zolecki of MLB.com observes. Girardi mentioned Scott Kingery, Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn as options. But Girardi also “did not rule out” J.T. Realmuto, and he went on to note that he is taking the new three-batter minimum into consideration when thinking about lineup construction. “You want to bring in your lefty to face Bryce (Harper),” he says, “but I’m going to have him surrounded with my best two right-handers around him. So pick your poison.” Regardless of the solution, Girardi and Phillies fans will be hoping for McCutchen to return in short order and retake his position at the top of the lineup.
- In a report from Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports, he notes that right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter will begin the season on the IL. The 33-year-old will be ready “a month or so into the season,” Salisbury adds. Hunter’s 2019 season was ended by elbow surgery in July. But that didn’t stop the Phillies from giving him an incentive-laden deal in February. Hunter was quite effective for the Phillies in 2018, providing 64 innings with an ERA of 3.80. However, he was limited to just 5 1/3 innings in 2019 before the aforementioned elbow issues. It remains to be seen which version the Phillies will get in 2020.
- With Hunter joining David Robertson on the IL, that could create high-leverage opportunities for other relievers, such as Seranthony Dominguez. However, it’s still not clear if he can avoid the IL himself. Salisbury notes that Dominguez himself “believes he will be ready for opening day, but officials will be cautious.” The reliever emerged as a weapon out of the Philly bullpen in 2018, putting together 58 innings of work with a 2.95 ERA, even compiling 16 saves in the process. The following year, however, saw that ERA balloon to 4.01 over 24 2/3 innings before a ligament strain in his right elbow finished his season on June 5th. The 25-year-old pitched in a simulated game on Sunday, with Girardi noting that his fastball got up to 94 mph. That’s still short of his normal average of 98 mph, according to StatCast. But Philly fans will surely take solace in the fact that he is seemingly healthy and still has some time to ramp up to full strength.
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Japanese league might be affected by it: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...aseball-seasonComment -
Rays' Garrett Whitley takes foul ball to face in dugout
Tampa Bay Rays minor league outfielder Garrett Whitley was struck by a foul ball in the dugout Monday during the team's spring training game with the Orioles.
The team said Whitley has "a right facial injury" and is resting at home after being released from the hospital.
Orioles infielder Renato Nunez fouled a ball off and sent it rocketing toward the Rays' dugout. The baseball bounced off the steps in the dugout and directly hit the right side of Whitley's face. Trainers immediately attended to the 22-year-old outfielder, then walked him out of the dugout and into the trainer's room for further evaluation.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Whitley never lost consciousness during the initial examination and underwent X-rays at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida.
"He stayed coherent the whole time," Cash said, adding, "That was pretty scary."Comment -
If the Coronavirus gets worse, it may lead to some games being cancelled.Comment -
I don’t see NBA arenas losing fans during flu season, this is ridiculous.Comment -
AL East eight notable position players looking for better things this year…
Andrew Benintendi, OF, Red Sox:
Benintendi, then a premier prospect, made his debut in 2016. He has been fairly valuable since then, especially in 2018 (.290/.366/.465, 4.4 fWAR), but his production took a tumble last season. Despite a 10 percent jump in hard-hit rate (via FanGraphs), Benintendi managed a so-so .266/.343/.431 line with 13 homers and 10 steals in 615 plate appearances. A 6 percent spike in strikeout rate and a 4 percent jump in swinging-strike rate certainly didn’t help matters. Of course, Benintendi logged similar bottom-line production in 2017, so maybe this is just who he is. But the Red Sox are surely hoping for production along the lines of 2018 (or better than that), especially considering their offense has lost former centerpiece Mookie Betts.
Mike Zunino, C, Rays:
After an up-and-down tenure with the Mariners, the former No. 3 overall pick joined the Rays in a headline-grabbing trade in November 2018. But Year 1 as a Ray couldn’t have gone much worse offensively for Zunino, who batted a miserable .165/.232/.312 with nine home runs and a typically high strikeout percentage (33.9) over 289 plate appearances. Zunino did put up more encouraging Statcast numbers (.271 expected weighted on-base average, compared to a .235 real wOBA), but he didn’t exactly stand out in that regard. If there’s a saving grace, it’s that Zunino performed well behind the plate, throwing out 39 percent of would-be base thieves and finishing near the top of the league in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric. Considering his defensive abilities, Zunino doesn’t have to thrive at the plate to provide value to his team, but he does have to be a lot better than he was last season.
Joey Wendle, INF/OF, Rays:
Wendle’s terrific first season with the Rays in 2018 seemed to fly under the radar, but he wasn’t able to build on it last year. With a .231/.293/.340 line over 263 PA, his OPS plummeted more than 150 points, while his hard-hit percentage fell 5 percent, per FanGraphs. In fairness to Wendle, though, his season got off to a terrible start because of injuries. He suffered a strained left hamstring and a broken right wrist in April.
Jose Martinez, 1B/OF, Rays:
Following an offseason trade, Martinez is a Ray now after he spent the first four seasons of his MLB career in St. Louis. Martinez was typically an outstanding hitter with defensive defects as a Cardinal, but his effectiveness at the plate waned to a significant degree last season. In his final campaign with the Cards, the 31-year-old recorded a .269/.340/.410 line – good for a league-average wRC+ of 101 (down from 127 in ’18) – across 373 PA. Compared to the previous season, his average exit velocity, hard-hit rate and strikeout percentage each made noticeable changes for the worse. Nevertheless, the Rays are banking on Martinez’s strong track record winning out in 2020.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF/DH, Yankees:
Stanton’s on this list for injury – not performance – reasons. The former NL MVP continued to handle opposing pitchers last year (.288/.403/.492), but he took just 72 trips to the plate on account of various injuries. If healthy, there’s not much doubt Stanton will hit in 2020. Problem is that he’s dealing with yet another injury – a Grade 1 right calf strain – that could shelve him for the start of the season.
Miguel Andujar, 3B, Yankees:
Andujar joined Stanton as one of the many Yankees whom injuries cut down in 2019. Shoulder troubles held the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up to 12 games in his sophomore season, during which Gio Urshela usurped his starting job at third base. The 25-year-old Andujar now figures to see time at third, first, outfield and DH, but considering his limitations as a fielder, his value will be tied to his bat. If Andujar can return to being the type of offensive player he was two years ago, when he slashed .297/.328/.527 with 76 extra-base hits in 606 PA, it’ll be a boon for the Yankees.
Travis Shaw, 1B/3B, Blue Jays:
Shaw combined for 7.1 fWAR with the Brewers from 2017-18, but they non-tendered him after last season, leading him to take a one-year, $4MM offer from the Blue Jays. Despite his recent success, it was understandable that the Brewers bailed on Shaw, who endured an abysmal 2019. A 30-home run hitter in his two best campaigns, the 29-year-old totaled only seven in 270 PA last season and batted .157/.281/.270. He struck out 33 percent of the time along the way, representing nearly a 15 percent increase from the previous year, and saw his ISO drop more than 100 points. If you’re looking for at least a couple reasons for hope, Statcast indicates that the average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage Shaw recorded in 2019 weren’t much different than in previous years.
Randal Grichuk, OF, Blue Jays:
The Blue Jays showed their faith in Grichuk when they extended him on a four-year, $47MM guarantee last April, but they received little bang for their buck in 2019. Although he did mash 31 homers, Grichuk concluded with a below-average .232/.280/.457 line in 628 PA. At this point, it’s probably fair to expect inconsistency from the OBP-challenged Grichuk, who has thrice been a two- to three-WAR player but has also put up a couple disappointing seasons (including last year) since he debuted in 2014.Comment -
Indians' Carlos Carrasco feeling 'really strong,' ready for new start
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In the midst of the spring training grind, the Angels-Indians game Tuesday provided an inspirational moment.
Carlos Carrasco made his first start for Cleveland since last May -- before he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. He missed three months while undergoing treatment, but made good on his promise to return before the end of last season and pitched 15 innings in relief in September.
"It was emotional, just getting to this point. I feel happy," Carrasco said after pitching two innings in Arizona. "I think everything's come out pretty good, I'm really excited to start again."
He wasn't the only one who was happy about it.
"Awesome. Special," said Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor. "It's a blessing to have him on the field."
"He's been pitching for a long time and he knows what he needs to do to get ready," said Sandy Leon, who caught him Tuesday.Comment -
Giants manager Gabe Kapler will utilize most of his roster every night,planning on going platoon heavy...... This will be interesting to watch.Comment
