The 2021 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread

[stevenash]

Steve Nash sees the future!

I guess it's better than seeing dead people.

Last word on the no-no

So glad it happened for the SD fan base and a class act pitcher too.

[JMobile]

JP

Got myself some Musgrove run line action tonight.
I'm standing by my statement last month that Musgrove is SD's 'x' factor this year.

Nice hit. All Padres need now is someone to hit for the Cycle.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Nice hit. All Padres need now is someone to hit for the Cycle.

Matt Kemp and Wil Myers both did it in past ~5 years

[Cross]

Nice effort from the Yankees last couple games, yikes.

[jrgum3]

Nice effort from the Yankees last couple games, yikes.

Made some money betting the Rays today. Looks like they are still a thorn in the Yankees side even though they have half the talent.

[EmpireMaker]

Josh Donaldson ran the bases well enough progress to the next portion of his rehab, suggesting a return to the Twins as early as Monday or Tuesday, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (via Twitter). When Donaldson does return, he’ll put his perfect season on the line. He doubled in his only plate appearance of the season before straining his hamstring. Luis Arraez, however, has maintained the potency of the hot corner while Donaldson’s been away. Arraez has slashed .381/.462/.571 while starting six of the seven games since the injury. Willians Astudillo started on Arraez’s day off, going 0-2 while driving in a run with a sac fly. Elsewhere…

• Braves setup man Chris Martin will be eligible to come off the injured list on April 17th, but manager Brian Snitker doesn’t think it will be that simple, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com (via Twitter). Martin’s shoulder only recently became an area of concern. Still, Martin is looking at a longer-than-minimal stay on the injured list. In the meantime, Sean Newcomb and Jacob Webb will have the opportunity to raise their stock in the Atlanta pen, per the Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). Webb from the right side and Newcomb from the left will try to soak up some of Martin’s setup duties.
• Brusdar Graterol is readying to make his season debut. Per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “Everything looked good, so we’re trying to figure out the next step. We’re hoping to get him back soon. Just hesitant to put a day on it.” Graterol got a late start in preparing for the season, leaving Blake Treinen, Corey Knebel, and Kenley Jansen as the late-game righties available to Roberts. The Dodgers have high hopes that the 22-year-old Graterol can be weaponized either as a traditional setup man or as a multi-inning option out of the pen.

[Chi_archie]

Josh Donaldson ran the bases well enough progress to the next portion of his rehab, suggesting a return to the Twins as early as Monday or Tuesday, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (via Twitter). When Donaldson does return, he’ll put his perfect season on the line. He doubled in his only plate appearance of the season before straining his hamstring. Luis Arraez, however, has maintained the potency of the hot corner while Donaldson’s been away. Arraez has slashed .381/.462/.571 while starting six of the seven games since the injury. Willians Astudillo started on Arraez’s day off, going 0-2 while driving in a run with a sac fly. Elsewhere…

• Braves setup man Chris Martin will be eligible to come off the injured list on April 17th, but manager Brian Snitker doesn’t think it will be that simple, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com (via Twitter). Martin’s shoulder only recently became an area of concern. Still, Martin is looking at a longer-than-minimal stay on the injured list. In the meantime, Sean Newcomb and Jacob Webb will have the opportunity to raise their stock in the Atlanta pen, per the Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). Webb from the right side and Newcomb from the left will try to soak up some of Martin’s setup duties.
• Brusdar Graterol is readying to make his season debut. Per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “Everything looked good, so we’re trying to figure out the next step. We’re hoping to get him back soon. Just hesitant to put a day on it.” Graterol got a late start in preparing for the season, leaving Blake Treinen, Corey Knebel, and Kenley Jansen as the late-game righties available to Roberts. The Dodgers have high hopes that the 22-year-old Graterol can be weaponized either as a traditional setup man or as a multi-inning option out of the pen.

that's progress

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Padres won yesterday despite Chris Paddack. He will be lucky to keep his spot in the starting rotation the rest of the year.

[Stallion]

He is having trouble with his fastball.

[stevenash]

Padres won yesterday despite Chris Paddack. He will be lucky to keep his spot in the starting rotation the rest of the year.

He's my fantasy #5 pitcher.
He's killing me.
I almost cut him earlier this morning.
Almost. For now he's benched, Justin Sheffield replaced him for me as my #5 starter.

[JMobile]

Padres won yesterday despite Chris Paddack. He will be lucky to keep his spot in the starting rotation the rest of the year.

Paddack is just overrated. Lamet will take his spot.

[Mr KLC]

Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left biceps strain that has been bothering him during the early part of this season.

[EmpireMaker]

Anthony Rendon is dealing with a sore left groin, Angels manager Joe Maddon told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Maddon doesn’t expect Rendon to play in tomorrow evening’s game against the Royals, and it isn’t out of the question the star third baseman could require a stint on the injured list. The always-productive Rendon is off to a strong start to the 2021 season, with nine hits (including a home run) and five walks over his first 37 plate appearances.
More out of the game’s West divisions:

• According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Tony Gonsolin’s return is “a ways away for me with where he’s at.” Roberts told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters that Gonsolin had yet to begin a throwing program since being placed on the 10-day injured list last Sunday. Gonsolin is sidelined with shoulder inflammation that began to bother the right-hander around Opening Day, which was why he didn’t get any game action prior to his IL placement.
• Before today’s game against the Rockies, the Giants placed reliever Reyes Moronta on the 10-day injured list with a right flexor strain, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to note. While that sounds ominous, especially since Moronta missed the entire 2020 season recovering from shoulder surgery, manager Gabe Kapler said it’s a minor strain (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). To replace the right-hander on the active roster, the Giants recalled LaMonte Wade Jr. Acquired from the Twins over the offseason, Wade went 2-4 with a walk in his Giants’ debut this afternoon.

[jrgum3]

The Rockies look like they'll be a doormat all year long in the NL West although that's to be expected when you trade your best player away in the off season. Good thing the Giants took advantage of them by sweeping the three game set this week to start the homestand.

[Otters27]

The Rockies look like they'll be a doormat all year long in the NL West although that's to be expected when you trade your best player away in the off season. Good thing the Giants took advantage of them by sweeping the three game set this week to start the homestand.

They always trade their best player. That and they'll never get any good free agent pitchers

[Mr KLC]

Los Angeles Angels starting right fielder Dexter Fowler has a torn left ACL that will require season-ending surgery, the team announced Sunday.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Padres starter, Adrian Morejon, was taken out after 3 batters yesterday with tightness in his forearm and elbow...not good

[Chi_archie]

Padres starter, Adrian Morejon, was taken out after 3 batters yesterday with tightness in his forearm and elbow...not good

Ouch

[stevenash]

Here's your top 20 through the first full week.
Fist thing that pops is the ages of the players on the list.
Are the kids all right?

Player	Team	Pos	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	SH	SF	HBP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Yermin Mercedes	CWS	DH	28	7	28	5	15	3	0	2	7	0	0	4	3	0	0	0	0.536	0.594	0.857	1.451
Chris Owings	COL	2B	29	7	15	6	8	3	3	0	3	2	0	2	2	0	0	0	0.533	0.588	1.133	1.721
Jesse Winker	CIN	OF	27	4	12	4	6	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	0.5	0.538	0.667	1.205
Byron Buxton	MIN	OF	27	8	27	7	13	4	0	5	9	1	0	2	5	0	0	2	0.481	0.548	1.185	1.733
J.D. Martinez	BOS	DH	33	8	36	10	17	7	0	5	16	0	0	2	8	0	0	0	0.472	0.5	1.083	1.583
Ketel Marte	ARI	2B	27	6	26	5	12	4	0	2	5	0	0	2	4	0	0	0	0.462	0.5	0.846	1.346
Willians Astudillo	MIN	C	29	6	13	1	6	2	0	0	4	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0.462	0.429	0.615	1.044
Cedric Mullins	BAL	OF	26	9	37	7	17	5	0	1	1	2	0	4	9	0	0	0	0.459	0.512	0.676	1.188
Omar Narvaez	MIL	C	29	7	22	3	10	0	0	2	5	0	0	3	4	0	0	0	0.455	0.52	0.727	1.247
Ronald Acuna	ATL	OF	23	9	36	8	16	5	0	4	8	2	0	2	6	0	1	0	0.444	0.462	0.917	1.379
Nelson Cruz	MIN	DH	40	9	27	9	12	1	0	4	10	0	0	3	6	0	2	0	0.444	0.469	0.926	1.395
Carson Kelly	ARI	C	26	7	18	1	8	2	0	0	1	0	0	4	4	0	1	0	0.444	0.522	0.556	1.078
Mike Trout	LAA	OF	29	9	29	8	12	3	0	3	6	0	0	10	9	0	0	0	0.414	0.564	0.828	1.392
Brandon Nimmo	NYM	OF	28	6	17	2	7	3	0	0	1	1	0	6	4	0	0	0	0.412	0.565	0.588	1.153
Tucker Barnhart	CIN	C	30	6	22	5	9	4	0	1	7	0	0	0	9	0	0	1	0.409	0.435	0.727	1.162
Whit Merrifield	KC	2B	32	7	28	5	11	1	0	3	10	1	1	2	5	0	2	1	0.393	0.424	0.75	1.174
Phillip Evans	PIT	3B	28	8	28	6	11	1	0	3	4	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	0.393	0.452	0.75	1.202
Jose Trevino	TEX	C	28	6	23	2	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0	0	0	0.391	0.417	0.435	0.852
Jared Walsh	LAA	1B	27	8	26	6	10	0	1	3	9	0	0	3	4	0	0	1	0.385	0.467	0.808	1.275
Christian Vazquez	BOS	C	30	9	34	8	13	3	0	2	5	2	0	2	5	0	0	0	0.382	0.417	0.647	1.064
Ryan Zimmerman	WAS	1B	36	6	21	2	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0.381	0.381	0.429	0.81

[JMobile]

Padres starter, Adrian Morejon, was taken out after 3 batters yesterday with tightness in his forearm and elbow...not good

Here come the injuries for the Padres

[stevenash]

Here come the injuries for the Padres

All teams get 'em.

[Cross]

Cubs hitting looking historically bad right now. So boring.

[Cross]

They will probably score 10 tomorrow now.

[jrgum3]

Padres won yesterday despite Chris Paddack. He will be lucky to keep his spot in the starting rotation the rest of the year.

Amazing how some guys are blessed with all the talent and potential in the world but can't seem to put it all together. It'll be interesting to see if he does lose his spot in the rotation.

[EmpireMaker]

Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen will make his first start of the season on Tuesday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. The Diamondbacks had to open the year without Gallen, their No. 1 starter, as a result of a hairline fracture he suffered in his right forearm roughly three weeks ago. Gallen thrived with the Marlins and D-backs during his first two years in the majors, in which he combined for a 2.78 ERA and struck out 28.5 percent of batters in 152 innings.
Here’s more regarding Arizona and a couple of other National League teams…

• The Mets’ Carlos Carrasco suffered a torn hamstring last month, but manager Luis Rojas said Monday that the righty “is doing really good right now,” per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Carrasco is stretched out to throw four innings and will soon report to the Mets’ alternate site to begin fielding work, according to DiComo. Still, there isn’t an exact timeline for the offseason acquisition’s Mets debut. It was reported when Carrasco went down that he would need six to eight weeks to recover, so he could still be another month-plus away.
• Righty Dinelson Lamet won’t rejoin the Padres’ rotation until he pitches at least one more time at their alternate site, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Lamet has been delayed while working back from elbow issues that brought a premature end to a breakout 2020 effort in which he put up a 2.09 ERA/3.16 SIERA in 69 innings and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. The Padres have roared to an 8-3 start without Lamet, but he should make the World Series hopefuls even more formidable upon his return.
• The Diamondbacks placed first baseman Christian Walker on the 10-day injured list Monday with a right oblique strain and recalled infielder/outfielder Andrew Young to take his spot, per a team announcement. Whether Walker will need more than 10 days to recover isn’t known, but oblique problems often lead to extended absences. Before going on the IL, Walker amassed 44 plate appearances and hit .179/.250/.282 – a far cry from the .271/.333/.459 line he posted in 243 PA last year.

[Chi_archie]

Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen will make his first start of the season on Tuesday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. The Diamondbacks had to open the year without Gallen, their No. 1 starter, as a result of a hairline fracture he suffered in his right forearm roughly three weeks ago. Gallen thrived with the Marlins and D-backs during his first two years in the majors, in which he combined for a 2.78 ERA and struck out 28.5 percent of batters in 152 innings.
Here’s more regarding Arizona and a couple of other National League teams…

• The Mets’ Carlos Carrasco suffered a torn hamstring last month, but manager Luis Rojas said Monday that the righty “is doing really good right now,” per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Carrasco is stretched out to throw four innings and will soon report to the Mets’ alternate site to begin fielding work, according to DiComo. Still, there isn’t an exact timeline for the offseason acquisition’s Mets debut. It was reported when Carrasco went down that he would need six to eight weeks to recover, so he could still be another month-plus away.
• Righty Dinelson Lamet won’t rejoin the Padres’ rotation until he pitches at least one more time at their alternate site, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Lamet has been delayed while working back from elbow issues that brought a premature end to a breakout 2020 effort in which he put up a 2.09 ERA/3.16 SIERA in 69 innings and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. The Padres have roared to an 8-3 start without Lamet, but he should make the World Series hopefuls even more formidable upon his return.
• The Diamondbacks placed first baseman Christian Walker on the 10-day injured list Monday with a right oblique strain and recalled infielder/outfielder Andrew Young to take his spot, per a team announcement. Whether Walker will need more than 10 days to recover isn’t known, but oblique problems often lead to extended absences. Before going on the IL, Walker amassed 44 plate appearances and hit .179/.250/.282 – a far cry from the .271/.333/.459 line he posted in 243 PA last year.

Excited to see Lamet

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Darvish pitched 3 hit ball over 7 innings...Cross would be proud

[Otters27]

Darvish was pretty dominant there. Pirates pitcher matched him just a difference in the pen

[stevenash]

Darvish pitched 3 hit ball over 7 innings...Cross would be proud

Very sharp outing.
Like I said last week my 2nd round pick was between Giolito and DarvisH

Name	Team	W	L	ERA	WHIP	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Yu Darvish	SDP	1	0	3.06	0.96	3	17.2	14	6	6	3	3	19
Lucas Giolito	CHW	1	0	4.22	0.84	2	10.2	6	5	5	1	3	18

Pretty much a wash so far.


I got Luke today going against Bieber.
Great, not good but great matchup!

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Darvish was pretty dominant there. Pirates pitcher matched him just a difference in the pen

Padres bullpen has been lights out early in the season.

Pomeranz is maybe the most underrated relief pitcher in the game...guy has been absolute nails the past couple of years.

[JMobile]

Man, Strasburg value is good right now

[stevenash]

Man, Strasburg value is good right now

Thing is his counterpart is just as good if not better (as of now, not all time)
The game is a pick for a reason. Because it is a pick.

[Stallion]

Very sharp outing.
Like I said last week my 2nd round pick was between Giolito and DarvisH

Name	Team	W	L	ERA	WHIP	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Yu Darvish	SDP	1	0	3.06	0.96	3	17.2	14	6	6	3	3	19
Lucas Giolito	CHW	1	0	4.22	0.84	2	10.2	6	5	5	1	3	18

Pretty much a wash so far.


I got Luke today going against Bieber.
Great, not good but great matchup!

I would have picked Darvish because I think San Diego is slightly better than the White Sox.

[Mr KLC]

Dexter Fowler (knee) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The 35-year-old has already been ruled out for the season with a torn ACL, so it was only a matter of time before he moved to the 60-day IL. Fowler will undergo surgery sometime in the near future and will face a 6-to-9 month recovery. Jon Jay had his contract selected from the taxi squad with Justin Upton dealing with back stiffness and Juan Lagares (calf) also on the injured list.

[jrgum3]

Good to see the Giants get to Castillo today especially since Gausman finally got rocked after looking dominant his first two starts and having nothing to show for it because the Giants bats were quiet both starts. The Reds are a tough team so its good to take one against them after they beat the Giants yesterday. Now hopefully they take one tomorrow on getaway day before they head out on the road again.