[EmpireMaker]

The Athletics announced an extension yesterday with slugger Khris Davis — the club’s first in five years. That’s the big news, but there’s more to cover out of Oakland …

• If the A’s had their way, they’d probably already have made at least one additional long-term investment. The club has tried to lock down third baseman Matt Chapman in the past to no avail; he has only continued to boost his value in the meantime. But he says he’s interested in remaining with the A’s “for a long time,” as Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Interestingly, Chapman cites the Davis contract as “a step in the right direction” for his own situation. Whether a deal comes together, he says, “is out of [his] control.”
• In a recent profile of superstar quarterback Kyler Murray, who just so happens to have previously signed a contract to join the A’s, SI’s Robert Klemko covers plenty of topics of general interest. From a hot stove perspective, though, there’s one nugget of particular interest: per Klemko, the Oakland ballclub dangled an additional $14MM contract to keep Murray from heading to the NFL. That offer evidently was made in January as Murray was pondering whether to declare for the draft (which he ultimately did). The A’s would have added that sum on top of the $4.66MM they had already promised him. While there’s no evident path to a deal at this point, now that Murray has positioned himself as the likely top overall pick in the NFL draft, it’s a fascinating number to contemplate — with multi-faceted connections to the valuation of amateur talent, the evaluation of recent extensions signed by current MLB players, and the willingness of MLB teams to sacrifice draft picks (when you consider the huge risk that the A’s took — and were willing to double down on — for a talented but still undeveloped player).
• That cash is small potatoes compared to the still-uncertain stadium situation in Oakland. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted yesterday, there has been a notable recent development. Alameda County has lined up a deal with the team to sell the municipality’s ownership interest in the O.co Coliseum site to the A’s, with a vote scheduled for tomorrow to approve. That’s part of the club’s recently announced plan to build a new park on another site while redeveloping its current home. (That idea arose after prior plans were scuttled.)
• Focusing on the immediate roster needs, the A’s are surely anxious to get Matt Olson’s bat back in the lineup. The first bagger’s injured hand seems to be on the mend; as manager Bob Melvin told reporters including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle, via Twitter, Olson was able to take cuts off a tee for the first time today. That’s a promising development, though there’ll be further hurdles to clear before Olson is ready to make it back to the MLB roster.

[Otters27]

Juan Nicasio throws gas

[Chi_archie]

Juan Nicasio throws gas

at times he appears unhittable

[dudekid]

Joe Votto hit his first ever homerun of his career, interesting seeing him in the 1 spot

[BigSpoon]

Astros have won 11 of last 12 games after starting the season 2-5.

[franklee168]

Giants might as well trade mad bum.

It's time Cross.

[batt33]

They're seriously considering this and he's drawing alot of attention from opposing teams scouts so you might see this at the deadline when the Giants are going nowhere and looking to sell. As a fan, I don't want to see this happen but I think the Giants need to blow their team up because there's no way they're winning a World Series or even seeing the postseason any time soon.

Hard truths....but I agree.

[ApricotSinner32]

Good luck today people of the internets

[JMobile]

Joe Votto hit his first ever homerun of his career, interesting seeing him in the 1 spot

Against the Padres too.

[JaimeMiro]

Kyler Murray should just take the deal; he's more likely to have a better career playing baseball. NFL can be brutal

[koz-man]

Reds' Votto pops out to 1B for first time in career


LOS ANGELES -- A remarkable baseball streak ended Wednesday when Joey Votto innocuously popped out to first base.

The slugger somehow had made 6,827 plate appearances over 13 seasons with the Reds without ever popping out to first.

He finally did it in Cincinnati's 3-2 loss at Dodger Stadium, fouling out to Cody Bellinger to end the eighth.

Votto had played 1,591 games in a career that began in late 2007 without popping up to first.

The six-time All-Star first baseman is a career .310 hitter, always showing strong plate discipline and rarely wasting at-bats.

Votto had popped up only 88 previous times in his career, including only seven popups from 2010 to 2018.
Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez induced the popup on a belt-high 3-1 outside changeup.

[Otters27]

Kyler Murray should just take the deal; he's more likely to have a better career playing baseball. NFL can be brutal

I wonder if he'll be a bust and try to make a baseball comeback

[EmpireMaker]

The Phillies have placed shortstop Jean Segura, infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery and reliever Victor Arano on the 10-day injured list, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The team recalled right-hander Drew Anderson, left-hander Austin Davis and third baseman Mitch Walding from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in corresponding moves.
Segura’s IL placement, retroactive to Wednesday, comes as a result of a left hamstring strain. It’ll deprive the Phillies of one of their key offseason additions and someone who has gotten off to a terrific start this year. The 29-year-old’s slashing .328/.384/.476 (130 wRC+) in 73 plate appearances, continuing an impressive run of production that began with the Diamondbacks in 2016.
With Segura unavailable over the past couple days, the Phillies turned to the versatile Kingery at short. After a rough rookie season in 2018, Kingery, 24, opened this year with an exemplary line of .406/.457/.719 (208 wRC+) and two home runs in 35 PA. He’s also dealing with a strained hamstring, but on his right side, and an MRI showed it’s “mild,” per Breen.
The absences of Segura and Kingery will leave shortstop to journeyman Phil Gosselin, at least initially. The club also has the somewhat experienced duo of Andrew Romine and Gift Ngoepe as potential minor league call-ups, but it would need to add either to an already full 40-man roster.
The 24-year-old Arano is now the third Phillies reliever currently on the IL, joining David Robertson and Tommy Hunter. Arano’s battling elbow inflammation, no doubt an ominous-sounding problem for a pitcher. The righty was one of the Phillies’ most successful relievers last year, his rookie campaign, though a horrific spring forced him to begin this season in the minors. He then dominated Triple-A hitters over four innings, which led to a return to the majors April 12. Since then, Arano has combined for 4 2/3 frames in three appearances and allowed two earned runs, both in the Phils’ loss to the Rockies on Thursday, while notching seven strikeouts against two walks.

[EmpireMaker]

5:38pm: The Yankees expect to recall infielder Thairo Estrada to replace Judge on their 25-man roster, per a team announcement.
5:08pm: An already packed, talent-rich Yankees injured list is on the verge of adding another household name. Superstar right fielder Aaron Judge left Saturday’s win over the Royals with an oblique injury and is likely heading to the 10-day IL, manager Aaron Boone told Sarah Langs of MLB.com and other reporters. Judge will go for an MRI in the meantime.
Judge’s impending IL placement continues an absurd early run of injuries for the Yankees, who, at 10-10, have tread water sans a slew of cornerstones. They’ve been without fellow starting outfielders Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton for all or most of the year, while catcher Gary Sanchez, third baseman Miguel Andujar, ace Luis Severino, setup man Dellin Betances, and shortstops Didi Gregorius and Troy Tulowitzki are also among the walking wounded. The only players nearing returns in that group are Stanton and Sanchez, who, like Judge, rank among the Yankees’ premier power threats.
As far as position players go, no one is of greater importance to the Yankees than the hulking Judge, one of the game’s foremost producers since he burst on the scene in 2017. Dating back to his transcendent rookie season, Judge ranks third in the majors in wRC+ (161) and fifth in both fWAR (14.1) and home runs (83). Factoring in Saturday, when he picked up a homer and a single, Judge is off to a dazzling .288/.404/.521 start (150 wRC+) with five HRs in 89 plate appearances.
Should Judge miss significant time, as is often the case with oblique issues, it will be the second straight year in which an injury has shelved him for a long period. Judge missed all of August and half of September last season after suffering a chip fracture in his right wrist, which also came against the Royals. By then, though, the Yankees had all but sewn up a playoff spot, making his absence easier to handle. They’re now left to hope he makes it back in short order; otherwise, Stanton’s forthcoming return will become all the more timely.
Stanton aside, the Yankees will need reserve outfielders Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier and Mike Tauchman to continue offering the solid to great production they’ve posted this season. Tyler Wade replaced Judge in right on Saturday, though he hasn’t hit at all in 157 major league PA. Meanwhile, the Yankees’ 40-man roster doesn’t include any other healthy outfield options, and their most experienced veteran in Triple-A Scranton, Billy Burns, hasn’t produced in either the majors or the minors since a respectable rookie season with the Athletics in 2015.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Kyler Murray should just take the deal; he's more likely to have a better career playing baseball. NFL can be brutal

I think he will be successful in the NFL

[koz-man]

Rosario hits 2 HRs as Twins beat Orioles 6-5 in DH opener

BALTIMORE -- Eddie Rosario homered twice for a second consecutive game, Byron Buxton hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the sixth inning and the Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 Saturday in the opener of a doubleheader.


Rosario delivered solo shots off Dan Straily in the second and fifth innings, a suitable encore to his two-homer afternoon against Toronto on Thursday. His eighth career multihomer game increased his long ball total for the season to eight and gave him 18 RBI in 17 games.


The left fielder also doubled and made a leaping catch at the wall to take away an extra-base hit from Chris Davis.
Willians Astudillo went deep for the Twins, who have won seven straight over Baltimore.


Dwight Smith Jr., Renato Nunez and Pedro Severino homered for the Orioles.
Playing the makeup of a game postponed by rain on Friday night, Minnesota took a 6-3 lead with a three-run sixth against Jimmy Yacabonis (1-1). A hit batter and double by Jason Castro preceded a double to right by Buxton, the No. 9 hitter, and Nelson Cruz capped the uprising with an RBI single off Miguel Castro.


Down 6-5 in the eighth, Baltimore got runners on second and third with two outs before Taylor Rogers struck out Smith.
Rogers struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.


Jose Berrios (3-1) gave up all three Baltimore home runs but made it through six innings, allowing four runs, eight hits and three walks.
Straily needed 98 pitches to get through five innings. He gave up three homers, two doubles and a single.

[dudekid]

Rosario hits 2 HRs as Twins beat Orioles 6-5 in DH opener

BALTIMORE -- Eddie Rosario homered twice for a second consecutive game, Byron Buxton hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the sixth inning and the Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 Saturday in the opener of a doubleheader.


Rosario delivered solo shots off Dan Straily in the second and fifth innings, a suitable encore to his two-homer afternoon against Toronto on Thursday. His eighth career multihomer game increased his long ball total for the season to eight and gave him 18 RBI in 17 games.


The left fielder also doubled and made a leaping catch at the wall to take away an extra-base hit from Chris Davis.
Willians Astudillo went deep for the Twins, who have won seven straight over Baltimore.


Dwight Smith Jr., Renato Nunez and Pedro Severino homered for the Orioles.
Playing the makeup of a game postponed by rain on Friday night, Minnesota took a 6-3 lead with a three-run sixth against Jimmy Yacabonis (1-1). A hit batter and double by Jason Castro preceded a double to right by Buxton, the No. 9 hitter, and Nelson Cruz capped the uprising with an RBI single off Miguel Castro.


Down 6-5 in the eighth, Baltimore got runners on second and third with two outs before Taylor Rogers struck out Smith.
Rogers struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.


Jose Berrios (3-1) gave up all three Baltimore home runs but made it through six innings, allowing four runs, eight hits and three walks.
Straily needed 98 pitches to get through five innings. He gave up three homers, two doubles and a single.

Then Cruz hit 2 more in the nightcap...Twins on a tear yesterday

[batt33]

Reds' Votto pops out to 1B for first time in career


LOS ANGELES -- A remarkable baseball streak ended Wednesday when Joey Votto innocuously popped out to first base.

The slugger somehow had made 6,827 plate appearances over 13 seasons with the Reds without ever popping out to first.

He finally did it in Cincinnati's 3-2 loss at Dodger Stadium, fouling out to Cody Bellinger to end the eighth.

Votto had played 1,591 games in a career that began in late 2007 without popping up to first.

The six-time All-Star first baseman is a career .310 hitter, always showing strong plate discipline and rarely wasting at-bats.

Votto had popped up only 88 previous times in his career, including only seven popups from 2010 to 2018.
Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez induced the popup on a belt-high 3-1 outside changeup.

wow thats a crazy stat..

[JaimeMiro]

I think he will be successful in the NFL

Time will tell. Kid is mad talented

[JMobile]

Diamondbacks still look tough.

[franklee168]

wow thats a crazy stat..

unbelievable

[Cross]

Look at the Twins with that 12-7 start!

[EmpireMaker]

Following a recent elbow scare, Mets ace Jacob deGrom may not be headed for an MRI after all, according to Newsday’s Tim Healey. After being scratched from his most recent start and placed on the 10-day injured list with elbow soreness, deGrom was able to play catch on Saturday, with the pitcher saying that he felt “completely normal.” DeGrom cited his illness, which prevented him from maintaining his usual routine throughout last week, as the primary source of his soreness. Both deGrom and manager Mickey Callaway expressed little concern over the soreness, leading the Mets to reconsider the previous plan to schedule an MRI for Monday. To be sure, that remains on the table, as doctors will continue to monitor the 2018 Cy Young Award winner; however, the organization has expressed confidence that additional imaging will not be necessary, and deGrom has stated that he intends to start on Friday, when he can be activated from the IL.
Here’s the latest on other injuries from around baseball…

• DeGrom’s teammate Robinson Cano exited Sunday’s matchup with the Cardinals after he was hit in the hand with an Andrew Miller pitch. X-rays returned negative results, but Healey notes that Cano was wearing a cast after the game and will likely undergo further testing to determine the seriousness of the injury. Off to a slow start with his new club, Cano certainly does not need an injury to complicate an already challenging April.
• Nationals ace Max Scherzer suffered an unusual injury earlier today when he tweaked his left intercostal while dodging a foul ball that found its way to the Nats’ dugout. Per Byron Kerr of MASN, Scherzer is optimistic that the injury will only keep him out of commission for a couple of days and will not require an IL stint. Scherzer started Saturday’s game in Miami, so such a time frame would not require the righty to miss any scheduled starts.
• According to Pedro Moura of The Athletic, the Dodgers will activate southpaw Rich Hill and catcher Russell Martin this weekend when the Pirates visit Dodger Stadium. Both veterans are currently on the 10-day IL, with Martin suffering from lower back inflammation and Hill, who has yet to make his 2019 debut, recovering from a left knee sprain. The Dodgers’ rotation has excelled even without Hill, but the club will certainly welcome the 38-year-old back into the fold, further strengthening the pitching staff.
• Bad news for the Blue Jays’ rotationcontinues to pile up, with right-hander Aaron Sanchez exiting Sunday’s game due to a broken fingernail on his right middle finger. Notably, Sanchez has a history of finger issues, which have led to IL stints in each of the previous two seasons. However, manager Charlie Montoyo told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link) that he is hopeful the injury will not force Sanchez to miss any starts.

[EmpireMaker]

TODAY: The Yankees have officially recalled Estrada and placed Judge on the IL with a left oblique strain, as per a team announcement. Manager Aaron Boone described Judge’s injury as “pretty significant” in comments to reporters (including Jack Curry of the YES Network), and said the outfielder would be re-evaluated in two weeks, though no specific timetable was given on when Judge could return.
SATURDAY, 5:38pm: The Yankees expect to recall infielder Thairo Estrada to replace Judge on their 25-man roster, per a team announcement.
5:08pm: An already packed, talent-rich Yankees injured list is on the verge of adding another household name. Superstar right fielder Aaron Judge left Saturday’s win over the Royals with an oblique injury and is likely heading to the 10-day IL, manager Aaron Boone told Sarah Langs of MLB.com and other reporters. Judge will go for an MRI in the meantime.
Judge’s impending IL placement continues an absurd early run of injuries for the Yankees, who, at 10-10, have tread water sans a slew of cornerstones. They’ve been without fellow starting outfielders Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton for all or most of the year, while catcher Gary Sanchez, third baseman Miguel Andujar, ace Luis Severino, setup man Dellin Betances, and shortstops Didi Gregorius and Troy Tulowitzki are also among the walking wounded. The only players nearing returns in that group are Stanton and Sanchez, who, like Judge, rank among the Yankees’ premier power threats.
As far as position players go, no one is of greater importance to the Yankees than the hulking Judge, one of the game’s foremost producers since he burst on the scene in 2017. Dating back to his transcendent rookie season, Judge ranks third in the majors in wRC+ (161) and fifth in both fWAR (14.1) and home runs (83). Factoring in Saturday, when he picked up a homer and a single, Judge is off to a dazzling .288/.404/.521 start (150 wRC+) with five HRs in 89 plate appearances.
Should Judge miss significant time, as is often the case with oblique issues, it will be the second straight year in which an injury has shelved him for a long period. Judge missed all of August and half of September last season after suffering a chip fracture in his right wrist, which also came against the Royals. By then, though, the Yankees had all but sewn up a playoff spot, making his absence easier to handle. They’re now left to hope he makes it back in short order; otherwise, Stanton’s forthcoming return will become all the more timely.
Stanton aside, the Yankees will need reserve outfielders Brett Gardner, Clint Frazier and Mike Tauchman to continue offering the solid to great production they’ve posted this season. Tyler Wade replaced Judge in right on Saturday, though he hasn’t hit at all in 157 major league PA. Meanwhile, the Yankees’ 40-man roster doesn’t include any other healthy outfield options, and their most experienced veteran in Triple-A Scranton, Billy Burns, hasn’t produced in either the majors or the minors since a respectable rookie season with the Athletics in 2015.

[batt33]

Buster Posey hit a home run today....First time in his career against the pirates............ and his first since June of last year.

[Chi_archie]

Buster Posey hit a home run today....First time in his career against the pirates............ and his first since June of last year.

nice work buster

[franklee168]

nice work buster

X2.

[Otters27]

When will Bellinger slow down?

[dudekid]

I really liked Cano as a buy low player too, terrible timing on the injury as he had hits in his last 3 games including a homer

[JMobile]

When will Bellinger slow down?

He's on PED.

[BigSpoon]

Buster Posey hit a home run today....First time in his career against the pirates............ and his first since June of last year.

Wonder if the Giants would trade Buster and what his trade value would be?

[koz-man]

MRI on deGrom's elbow comes back clean

An MRI on New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom's right elbow came back clean, GM Brodie Van Wagenen told reporters on Monday.
"MRI was good, clean, no problems whatsoever," Van Wagenen said. "Jacob threw a bullpen today, and is on track to make his start when he's able to come off (the IL)."
The Mets placed deGrom on the 10-day IL retroactive to April 16 after the NL Cy Young Award winner reported a sore right arm.
The 30-year-old had been scheduled to pitch Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Van Wagenen and Mets manager Mickey Callaway said last week they were being overly cautious with their ace's elbow.
DeGrom could make his start as soon as Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

[batt33]

Wonder if the Giants would trade Buster and what his trade value would be?

Good question....Buster seems like he is on the backside of the career.

[jrgum3]

Good question....Buster seems like he is on the backside of the career.

I thought about this and I wonder if they’d be reluctant to trade him because their already declining attendance would decline even more if Buster were traded imho.

[EmpireMaker]

The Mets announced today that they’ve placed southpaw reliever Justin Wilson on the 10-day injured list, as Tim Britton of The Athletic was among those to cover (Twitter links). He’s experiencing elbow soreness, but the club indicated it anticipates a brief IL stint after receiving the results of an MRI.
The imaging gods are shining on Queens, it seems. Ace starter Jacob deGrom’s MRI came back negative, so his elbow scare appears to be just that. deGrom was able to throw a pen session earlier today; it seems likely he’ll be ready for activation at or near the 10-day minimum.
A few other roster tweaks are also in the books. The Mets activated third baseman Todd Frazier, as anticipated, and called up infielder Luis Guillorme. (Guillorme boosts the infield depth further with both Robinson Cano and Amed Rosario dealing with minor issues.) To create an additional active roster spot, the Mets optioned down righty Paul Sewald.
Wilson’s absence leaves a notable hole in the New York pen — though the hope is it’s only a temporary one. Wilson has thrown 8 1/3 useful innings to open the year, allowing three earned runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and four walks. There are two other southpaws available in Luis Avilan and Daniel Zamora, but the former has been torched while the latter hasn’t yet pitched in the bigs this season.