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Coach Larussa didn't know about the base running rules in extra innings. Now he doesComment -
This firing is becoming a big shit storm inside the dugout.
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Hey if teams can play them close and get to the dodgers bullpen......... you got to like their chances!Comment -
Kershaw, Bauer, Buehler... tell me you have someone better, Dodgers? Bring out those brooms, go home Roberts! Figgggghhhhhhht!!!!!!Comment -
Angels release Pujols, he was a great player for the Cards but not for Anaheim. Terrible contract.Comment -
He still has a 1 year personal services contract with them. Or maybe that was already in the 10 year contract??Comment -
Pujols was so good for Cardinals, feasted on my Cubs.Comment -
Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas began a Triple-A rehab assignment this week, and it seems likely he’ll make his 2021 major league debut soon. Mikolas said his last rehab start should be May 16 or 17, after which he figures to return to the majors, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat tweets.
The Cardinals have gone the past year-plus without Mikolas, who missed 2020 as a result of a flexor tendon surgery and hasn’t pitched this season because of shoulder issues. Mikolas’ health woes have been rather unfortunate for the Cardinals, who haven’t gotten much bang for their buck on the four-year, $68MM extension they signed him to prior to the 2019 campaign. They gave Mikolas that deal on the heels of a tremendous 2018 season in which he logged a 2.83 ERA with an 18.1 percent strikeout rate and a 3.6 percent walk rate across 200 2/3 innings.
Of course, despite his recent injury problems, the Cardinals have received plenty of value from Mikolas since they lured him from Japan on a two-year, $15.5MM guarantee going into 2018. Mikolas owns a 3.46 ERA and a meager 3.9 percent walk rate across 384 2/3 frames with the Cardinals, so they’ll be glad to welcome him back.Comment -
You’ve seen our 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings, but which contract year players are actually performing the best at this point in the young season? These are the top 2021-22 free agents ranked by FanGraphs WAR. Note: I’m using Baseball-Reference’s excellent Span Finder frequently in this post. For the full list of 2021-22 MLB free agents, click here.
Hitters
- Kris Bryant – 1.8 WAR, 180 wRC+ in 124 PA. As good as Bryant has been, this level of production has plenty of precedent for him. He’s hit more than eight home runs in a 29-game span many times, including 12 in a stretch in 2019. It’s not going to be hard to make a case for a huge free agent contract for the 29-year-old Bryant, who may be traded by the Cubs in July.
- J.D. Martinez – 1.8 WAR, 215 wRC+ in 126 PA. Like Bryant, the odd 2020 season is the only recent blip in Martinez’s career. As Boston’s DH continues to light up Statcast, the question becomes whether he should opt out of the remaining $19.375MM on his contract for 2022, which will represent his age-34 season. The universal DH would help.
- Buster Posey – 1.4 WAR, 218 wRC+ in 78 PA. The last time Posey hit seven home runs in 20 games? Late in the 2014 season, when he finished sixth in the MVP voting. He hit seven home runs in 114 games in his previous season in 2019. Clearly, a year off did the 34-year-old Posey good. A multiyear deal is materializing for the Giants legend.
- Nick Castellanos – 1.4 WAR, 166 wRC+ in 114 PA. Castellanos’ early mashing this year is reminiscent of his brief stint with the Cubs, in which he posted a 154 wRC+ in 225 PA. If he keeps it up, the 29-year-old right fielder might find it easy to opt out of the remaining two years and $34MM left on his contract with the Reds after this season.
- Starling Marte – 1.0 WAR, 151 wRC+ in 70 PA. Things were looking up for Marte until he fractured a rib a couple weeks ago, potentially knocking him out until June. Assuming a healthy return, trade partners will begin knocking on the Marlins’ door at that point.
- Other impending free agents playing well in the early going: Yadier Molina, Nelson Cruz, Chris Taylor, Josh Harrison, and Corey Dickerson.
Pitchers
- Clayton Kershaw – 1.3 WAR, 2.95 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. Even after a clunker Tuesday against the Cubs, Kershaw leads free agent pitchers in WAR. Is there any way he’d leave the Dodgers heading into his age-34 season? Max Scherzer is another elder statesman future Hall of Fame pitcher who is off to an excellent start in his contract year.
- Matt Barnes – 1.0 WAR, 2.12 ERA in 17 innings. Generally known for high walk rates, Barnes has posted an excellent 5.1 BB% so far this year. He’s actually had bouts of strong control before, with similar stretches in 2016 and ’17. He’s also whiffed a phenomenal 49.2% of batters in 2021. Barnes got off to a great start in 2019 as well, punching out half the batters he faced and walking only 6% over his first 16 games. He’d go on to walk more than 15% of batters over the remainder of that season. The point is that Barnes’ start could hardly be better, but these 17 innings do not prove he’s become a completely different pitcher. At any rate, he’s positioned for one of the better contracts for free agent relievers. Mark Melancon, Craig Kimbrel, Kendall Graveman, and Ian Kennedy are also getting it done in the early going.
- Danny Duffy – 1.0 WAR, 0.60 ERA in 30 innings. Duffy’s velocity is the highest it’s been since 2016. His peripherals are strong, though he does owe some of his success to a .247 batting average on balls in play and a 6.1% home run per flyball rate. As you might expect, this has been the best five-start stretch of Duffy’s entire 197-start career. Duffy, 32, once tweeted, “Bury me a Royal” in response to December 2017 trade rumors. So you’d think the Royals will find a way to work out a new deal with him.
- Lance Lynn – 0.9 WAR, 1.82 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. Lynn missed a couple weeks with a trapezius strain, but before that he whiffed 21 batters against zero walks in a pair of starts. Lynn turns 34 next week, but if he remains healthy for the rest of the season he’s setting up for at least a three-year deal.
- Carlos Rodon – 0.9 WAR, 0.72 ERA in 25 innings. Lynn’s rotation-mate with the White Sox has been one of the offseason’s best signings at just $3MM. He tossed a no-hitter against the Indians and has given up only two runs all year. Among those with at least 20 innings, Rodon ranks eighth in baseball with a 37.9 K%. He’d never previously whiffed batters at this rate over any prior four-start stretch. Rodon’s 94.9 mile per hour average velocity is the best of his career, and he won’t turn 29 until December. With a clean bill of health, Rodon could be one of the winter’s most intriguing free agent starting pitchers.
- Kevin Gausman – 0.8 WAR, 2.04 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. Gausman, 30, is underlining the fact that his excellent 2020 season for the Giants was no fluke. In the era of five-inning starts, Gausman ranks fifth in MLB at 6.53 per outing. Like Lynn, he’ll come free of a qualifying offer.
- Anthony DeSclafani – 0.8 WAR, 2.00 ERA in 36 innings. Of the six pitchers who have made starts for the Giants so far this year, five of them will be free agents after the season. Four of them have an ERA of 2.04 or lower. The Giants appear to have another successful reclamation project on their hands in DeSclafani.
- Several other impending free agent starters currently sport a sub-3.00 ERA: Johnny Cueto, J.A. Happ, Alex Wood, Marcus Stroman, Michael Pineda, Trevor Bauer, and Wade Miley.
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Pujols contract is an example why you shouldn't give stars contracts too long because they become washed eventually and your stuck with them plus you really can't improve your team since you have so much money tied up in one player. The Angels could have really used pitching all these years and that still holds true today.Comment -
Padres/Giants series starts tonight, need at least 2/3..Comment -
Since the start of 2020, 10 Baseball Hall of Famers, including Hank Aaron and many others from Mays' playing days, have passed away. Mays remains, as the oldest living Hall of Famer after turning 90 years old on Thursday.Comment -
Willie Mays made one of the greatest catches ever back then.. but nowadays it seems all to common.Comment -
Speaking of things that are far too commonplace these days no hitters are right up there at the top of the list when you have teams like the Indians getting no hit twice in the span of a month. It's a heckuva accomplishment don't get me wrong but forgive me if I don't get too excited at the news of yet another no hitter being thrown tonight.Comment -
No hitters are not as cool right now.Comment -
The Twins are placing Byron Buxton on the injured list with a hip strain, per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). Trevor Larnach will be added to the roster with an opportunity to make his Major League debut. Larnach was not on the 40-man roster, so to make room, the Twins designated Brandon Waddell for assignment.
This is a potentially devastating bit of news for the Twins, who are off to an 11-19 start despite tremendous production from Buxton. Buxton has long been an injury concern, but losing him now is particularly difficult. It’s a Grade 2 strain that will keep Buxton out for “weeks,” notes Miller. Buxton has been among the most explosive players in the game, slashing .370/.408/.772 with nine home runs in 98 plate appearances. He has put up 2.7 bWAR, 2.4 fWAR, and a 228 wRC+ in less than a month of playing time.
Jake Cave is in the lineup for Buxton in tonight’s game, but the Twins are likely to employ a dynamic outfield crew for the next couple of weeks. Larnach and Kyle Garlick will have their opportunities in the corners, but neither project as centerfield capable. Max Kepler may be called upon to captain the outfield in Buxton’s stead. Kepler has 134 games of centerfield experience throughout his career, though he appears there only twice in 2020.
Alex Kirilloff, meanwhile, received a cortisone injection in his wrist, but only time will tell when he is able to return, per Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Luis Arraez is more likely to help in the near term, as he appears close to returning after suffering a concussion, tweets Miller. Arraez could see time in the corner. Regardless, Cave and Kepler figure to be the Twins’ centerfielders until Buxton returns.Comment -
The Giants are a pain in the arse..they might hang around all seasonComment -
Yeah no hitters aren't as great as they were. There has already been 4 this year, 3 by lefties.Comment -
Padres offense in paper looks great but they haven't been producing as good as it looks on paperComment -
I don't know how they're doing it but I'm very pleased as a fan that the 2021 Giants are playing some good baseball. They don't really have any superstars just a bunch of scrappy players who collectively play the game the right way. With the Dodgers and Padres struggling I hope the Giants can keep it going because I fully expect both the Padres and Dodgers to figure it out before too long and start to play like they're capable of.Comment
got sidetracked and forgot to post my pick...alas kershaw is pitching for the dodgers so Anaheim it is! as a giants fan... at least we are playing a little.... enough for a little hope!