[JAKEPEAVY21]

Seems like nothings changed with the Giants they have solid pitching but they will struggle to score runs especially when the wind is whipping around Oracle Park and knocking balls down like Ruf's ball that he crushed in the 7th only for it to get knocked down on the warning track for the third out.

Padres take game 1...

[Otters27]

Philies score 5 in bottom of 8 for the comeback vs mets

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Philies score 5 in bottom of 8 for the comeback vs mets

gutting loss for the Mets

[JMobile]

Nick Martinez had a good start for the Padres last night

[EmpireMaker]

@AJCassavell
·
3h

MacKenzie Gore has a locker in the Padres’ clubhouse. There’ll be a vacancy in the San Diego rotation come Friday, when Blake Snell likely lands on the IL. Gore was the obvious choice to fill it.

[EmpireMaker]

The Mets have placed right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker on the 10-day injured list with shoulder bursitis per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Walker started yesterday’s game against the Phillies, pitching two scoreless innings with four strikeouts before leaving the game with shoulder irritation. Though the right-hander himself indicated he’d be alright following an MRI earlier today, it appears the team will be taking a more cautious approach. DiComo adds that Walker will miss at least a couple turns through the rotation as he will stretch out on a rehab assignment when he’s cleared to pitch again.
Electric closer Edwin Diaz will return from the bereavement list and take the roster spot vacated by Walker, sparing the Mets from any further roster shuffling for the time being. With New York’s rotation already thinned following Jacob deGrom’s untimely IL stint, the team will presumably have to rely on internal options— perhaps long reliever and last-year starter David Peterson— to patch over some rotation gaps early in the season.
Some other injury developments from the young season…

• The Angels announced that they have moved infielder David Fletcher to the 10-day IL with a left hip strain. Infielder Andrew Velazquez, acquired in an offseason waiver claim from the Yankees, has been recalled to man the shortstop position in tonight’s game against the Marlins. It’s an inauspicious start to the 2022 season for Fletcher, who struggled offensively (.622 OPS) across 157 games in the first year of his five-year extension.
• Twins right-hander Jorge Alcala is also headed to the 10-day IL with right elbow inflammation, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park. Elbow discomfort has followed Alcala around since this spring, so down time may do some good for one of the more quietly effective members of the Twins’ pitching staff the past few seasons. Right-hander Griffin Jax, who saw a plenty of action out of the team’s rotation last year, has been called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

[jrgum3]

Should be an interesting rubber match between the Padres and Giants tomorrow especially since the Padres got a little pissed that Dubon bunted with a big lead.

[stevenash]

gutting loss for the Mets

Hope they lose 20 more in a row.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Darvish got lit up

[Otters27]

Colorado Rockies are 4-1. Good start

[stevenash]

Darvish got lit up

'ya think?
I was switching between NBA and the Pads.
It was like he was pitching batting practice.

He'll be OK, shake it off fella.

[boscokid]

Happened to catch the LAD-MIN game today. Kershaw looked outstanding, love seeing a crafty vet who has lost a couple miles off his fastball get by on cunning, guile and a nasty slider.

Doubt I will ever again see a game like Kerry Wood's 1998 20k performance against the Astros but this is probably the closest I have seen since.

[JMobile]

Dodgers looking good now. Padres, sinking back down again.

[Cross]

Love all these clueless baseball fans that can’t believe Kershaw didn’t finish that game and people getting mad at the Giants dude for laying down a bunt.

[jrgum3]

Love all these clueless baseball fans that can’t believe Kershaw didn’t finish that game and people getting mad at the Giants dude for laying down a bunt.

I didn't realize this but there is now incentive in MLB to run up the score because the tiebreaker instead of a 163rd game is run differential so scoring a boatload of runs is actually something that might come into play if teams wind up tied for a playoff spot at the end of the year. Whatever the case may be some of the "unwritten" rules are pretty stupid if you ask me.

[jrgum3]

Darvish got lit up

Yeah that was a rough one he killed my money league roto fantasy team and naturally I owned him in DFS so he got me a whopping -16.85 DK points which may be the worst score I've seen from one player that I've ever rostered in the 4 major DFS sports.

[EmpireMaker]

In the days leading up to the start of the regular season, the Red Sox had extension discussions with star infielders Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers. The team didn’t reach a long-term deal with either player, and it’s not believed they want to continue negotiations during the season.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post now sheds more light on the respective talks, characterizing the sides as being $100MM or more apart in both instances. Heyman reports that Boston offered Bogaerts around $90MM over four seasons. Boston’s offer to Devers isn’t clear, but Heyman suggests there was a rather notable gap on the length of the commitment, with the young star seeking a much longer guarantee than the team put on the table.
Bogaerts’ and Devers’ situations aren’t analogous, so it’s worth considering them separately. The excellent shortstop is the more immediate concern, as Boagerts can reach free agency at the end of this season. The right-handed hitter is signed for $20MM annually between 2023-25, but he can opt out of the final three years on his deal at the end of this season. According to Heyman, the Red Sox offered to tack on around $30MM in 2026 while keeping his salaries for the next three years the same.
It’s no surprise that wasn’t an appealing proposition for the three-time All-Star. He’s just six months away from having a chance to test the open market in advance of his age-30 season. Bogaerts wouldn’t receive the kind of decade-long commitment the younger Corey Seager did, but he could be in position for a deal of seven or even eight years if he performs as expected in 2022.
This offseason, the Rockies signed Kris Bryant to a seven-year deal worth $182MM heading into his age-30 campaign. The Rangers signed Marcus Semien for seven years and $175MM for his age-31 through age-37 seasons. Trevor Story and Javier Báez — each of whom was headed into their age-29 seasons — inked six-year pacts worth $140MM with opt-out opportunities.
It’s fair for Bogaerts and his representatives at the Boras Corporation to argue for a deal that tops all those contracts. Going back to the start of 2019, the four-time Silver Slugger Award winner owns a .302/.375/.523 slash line that translates to a 135 wRC+ (indicating offensive production 35 percentage points above the league average). That’s much better than the respective marks for each of Bryant (123), Semien (128), Story (113) and Báez (104). Bogaerts also has the edge if one looks back two seasons, while Semien was similarly productive last year.
A deal matching Semien’s $25MM average annual value that takes Bogaerts through his age-37 campaign would pay him $200MM over eight seasons. He’ll need a typically strong platform year to land that kind of money on the open market, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Bogaerts isn’t the caliber of defender that Semien, Story or Báez are, but he has a longer track record of offensive excellence than any of those players.
Of course, it’s possible that Bogaerts gets injured or underperforms in 2022. In that instance, the remaining $60MM on his deal affords him plenty of security, since he could elect not to opt out. (The deal also contains a $20MM vesting option for 2026). Forgoing an opportunity at $175MM — $200+MM to raise the floor of his existing contract from $60MM to $90MM isn’t a particularly appealing concept. Heyman writes that Bogaerts’ camp decided not to make a counteroffer, with a friend of Bogaerts calling the team’s proposal “a slap in the face.”
Nothing prevents the Sox from upping their offer after the season if Bogaerts tests the open market, and they’d presumably have to do so significantly to keep him in the fold. Whether they’ll have interest remains to be seen, but Boston signed Story to the aforementioned $140MM deal this past offseason. Story was a career-long shortstop with the Rockies, and while he moved to second base in deference to Bogaerts, the Sox could kick him back to his old position next year. Boston has one of the game’s top second base prospects, Nick Yorke, at High-A. Former top prospect Jeter Downs is coming off a rough season in Triple-A but was nevertheless added to the 40-man roster last November.
That could be a precursor to Bogaerts’ eventual departure, but chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom tells Heyman the Story signing “doesn’t change our desire to keep” Bogaerts and Devers. He added “we’re hopeful we can keep both guys,” but declined to discuss the specifics of the team’s offers.
Unlike Bogaerts, the team can unilaterally keep Devers around in 2023. The slugging third baseman is arbitration-eligible once more next winter, when he’ll be due a raise on this year’s $11.2MM salary. With notable earnings already in the bank, Devers shouldn’t have much financial pressure to accept a team-friendly deal. He’s coming off his first All-Star campaign and Silver Slugger after hitting .279/.352/.538 with 38 home runs.
Devers, who debuted in the big leagues as a 20-year-old, is on track to reach free agency in advance of his age-27 campaign. He’ll face some questions about his ability to stick at the hot corner over the long haul given his subpar defensive metrics, but there’s little doubt about his offensive capability. Devers ranks 28th in wRC+ among 159 hitters with 1000+ plate appearances over the past three seasons, with his .290/.350/.537 line translating to a 129 mark.
The Red Sox, it should be noted, have plenty of long-term payroll flexibility. Until last month’s Story pickup, Bloom and his staff had shied away from making free agent splashes since he was hired in October 2019. Boston opened this season with a payroll in the $220MM range, but they’d have just $72MM in 2023 guaranteed commitments (before accounting for arbitration) if Bogaerts opts out. That number would drop to about $57MM in 2024, with Story and Chris Sale the only significant expenditures that year. (Sale himself can opt out after this season, but he looks less likely to do so after his last three years have been dampened by injuries). That sets up some interesting decisions for the front office around which players they’d like to build over the long haul.

[boscokid]

Anybody other than Peavy remember this? Minute 1:20 of video

[stevenash]

JP?
What's the lowdown on this Mackanzie Gore?

[jrgum3]

Happened to catch the LAD-MIN game today. Kershaw looked outstanding, love seeing a crafty vet who has lost a couple miles off his fastball get by on cunning, guile and a nasty slider.

Doubt I will ever again see a game like Kerry Wood's 1998 20k performance against the Astros but this is probably the closest I have seen since.

Nobody is allowed to go long enough to get 20 strikeouts. At least it seems that way as many pitchers including some of the best in the game are on a pitch count. I don't like it but pulling Kershaw yesterday was definitely the right move even though there has only been 23 perfect games in the history of the game.

[Cross]

April is such a fun time for baseball. Gotta love it.

[EmpireMaker]

3:42PM: Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told Kaitlyn McGrath and other reporters that the team will be cautious with Hernandez’s injury, but it doesn’t appear to be as severe as initially thought.
3:14PM: The Blue Jays have placed outfielder Teoscar Hernandez on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. Infielder Gosuke Katoh has been called up from Triple-A to take Hernandez’s spot on the active roster. The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath reported earlier today that Katoh had joined the Jays in New York for tonight’s game with the Yankees, and The Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley also tweeted earlier that Hernandez was thought to have an oblique-related injury.
Hernandez suffered the injury during a sixth inning at-bat in last night’s game, as the outfielder looked pained after taking his first swing. Hernandez waved off a visit from the team trainer but then continued to show discomfort after grounding out to end the plate appearance. Hernandez didn’t take the field for the bottom of the sixth, replaced in the lineup by Bradley Zimmer.
As Longley noted, this isn’t the first time Hernandez has missed time with a left oblique strain, as a similar injury resulted in a 10-day IL stint in September 2020. That proved to be a mild strain that resulted in Hernandez missing only the minimum 10 days, but oblique strains are notoriously tricky injuries that can often lead to weeks or even months on the IL, depending on the severity. It was just three days ago that the Jays lost another regular to an oblique strain, as catcher Danny Jansen is expected to miss several weeks of action.
Losing Hernandez for any length of time is a blow to Toronto’s lineup, as the 29-year-old slugger has hit 49 home runs and slashed .295/.347/.538 in 825 PA since the start of the 2020 season. Even for a Blue Jays team that has plenty of hitting, this type of production can’t be easily replicated, especially since the Jays already lost some depth when Jansen went down.
Raimel Tapia and Zimmer (both acquired in offseason trades) figure to get the bulk of outfield work in Hernandez’s absence, and Cavan Biggio also has some experience as an outfielder. In the minors, Mallex Smith and Nathan Lukes are potential options, though neither are on the 40-man roster. The same is true of veteran Dexter Fowler, but Fowler only signed with the Jays at the end of Spring Training and is still participating only in sim games as he works his way back from a torn ACL.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

JP?
What's the lowdown on this Mackanzie Gore?

You should know as a baseball guy, nasher.

He's a highly touted left hander. He ran into delivery and control problems the past couple of years but seems to have sorted that out.

His stuff is really good so hoping he can throw strikes and have a great debut.

[Otters27]

Nobody is allowed to go long enough to get 20 strikeouts. At least it seems that way as many pitchers including some of the best in the game are on a pitch count. I don't like it but pulling Kershaw yesterday was definitely the right move even though there has only been 23 perfect games in the history of the game.

Really it's amazing that pitchers do as well as they do vs quality hitting.

Whatever happened to the sticky substance investigation s

[stevenash]

You should know as a baseball guy, nasher.

He's a highly touted left hander. He ran into delivery and control problems the past couple of years but seems to have sorted that out.

His stuff is really good so hoping he can throw strikes and have a great debut.

I know, what I'm asking is he ready?
Bad wording, my bad.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

I know, what I'm asking is he ready?
Bad wording, my bad.

I'd say yes(assuming he throws strikes).

He has top of the rotation stuff and has looked really good in spring training and his first start in the minors this year.

He had to battle some adversity the last 2 years and that will probably serve him well going forward since he has had to work hard and battle to sort that out.

[jrgum3]

I'm liking this Carlos Rodon pickup more and more by the Giants. I know it's only been 2 starts but he has been a great addition to the Giants pitching staff and he looked good again today against the Guardians.

[EmpireMaker]

3:23pm: Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun) that Means has a muscular strain in his forearm. The southpaw is headed for further testing to determine if there’s any structural damage, and Hyde said the O’s will be without their top pitcher for “a while.”
2:15pm: The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve placed left-hander John Means on the 10-day injured list due to a left elbow strain. In his place, they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. from Triple-A Norfolk. Lefty Kevin Smith was outrighted to Norfolk after clearing waivers, thus opening a spot on the roster for Lakins.
It’s an ominous IL placement for Means, who’s been Baltimore’s top (and only consistently serviceable) starter since 2019. The 28-year-old southpaw carries a 3.72 ERA with a 21.2% strikeout rate and a stellar 5.1% walk rate through 353 1/3 innings in that time — including a 3.38 ERA in two starts this season. Means, however, exited his most recent outing due to forearm tightness, which is often a precursor to an elbow injury. The O’s haven’t made any further announcements about the extent of the strain or a possible timetable for Means’ return, though a strain, by definition, involves at least some degree of stretching or tearing.
Lakins, 27, will return for a third straight season of big league work with the O’s. He posted a strong 2.81 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Birds back in 2020, albeit with more dubious peripheral stats (in particular, his 11.2% walk rate). He tossed another 28 innings with the Orioles in 2021 but saw the pendulum swing the other direction on his results, as opponents knocked him around to the tune of a 5.79 ERA.
A sixth-rounder by the Red Sox back in 2015, Lakins has spent parts of three seasons in the Majors and compiled a 4.21 ERA in 77 frames, albeit with a sub-par 19.7% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. He’s posted similar numbers in 66 career innings at the Triple-A level as well.
As for Smith, the 24-year-old lefty had yielded just two runs through his first 7 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball this season. That said, he’d also issued six walks against just three strikeouts in that time — a continuation of last year’s troublesome penchant for issuing free passes. Smith didn’t have major control problems prior to reaching Triple-A, but since debuting at that level in 2021, he’s walked a sky-high 18% of the 306 opponents he’s faced. Paired with only an average strikeout rate, those issues locating the ball led him to go unclaimed by all 29 other teams. He’ll remain with the O’s and hope to work out those command issues.

[Otters27]

Hard to score on Dodgers at home in the dark.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

JP?
What's the lowdown on this Mackanzie Gore?

Gore looked pretty good.

[stevenash]

Gore looked pretty good.

I caught some of that game.
I read last year he was an up and comer, never saw him live until yesterday, I was curious.
Could have a nice future.

[EmpireMaker]

Sonny Gray left today’s start because of right hamstring tightness after facing just seven batters, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne (via Twitter). Gray is day-to-day, and they won’t move him to the injured list as of right now, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter). They should have a better idea tomorrow if they’re going to need to skip him in the rotation. Josh Winder pitched well in relief, and he could be an option for a spot start or two if Gray can’t go. With a six-man rotation, however, the Twins could also make do simply by skipping Gray’s spot. He’s not scheduled for another start until next Friday against the White Sox. In other Twins news…

• Right-hander Dereck Rodriguez has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A St. Paul, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter). Rodriguez made one appearance, giving up three earned runs over four innings before being designated for assignment. He spent last season in Triple-A with the Rockies, but did not make it to the Show. He posted a 6.72 ERA over 85 2/3 innings for Albuquerque.
• Byron Buxton’s MRI came back clean, and like Gray, the Twins are leaning towards leaving him on the active roster as he heals, per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. Buxton had his knee drained of fluid from inflammation, but with no structural damage, the hope is that Buxton can be back on the diamond in a couple of days. Buxton’s health is obviously a significant variable for the Twins this season, and they’ll want to be prudent before sending him back onto the grass.

[jrgum3]

Really it's amazing that pitchers do as well as they do vs quality hitting.

Whatever happened to the sticky substance investigation s

They are still checking the pitchers for sticky substances but instead of checking the belt buckle and gloves they're focusing directly on the pitchers hands.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Hunter Greene set a record yesterday with 39 pitches 100 MPH or faster...

[stevenash]

Hunter Greene set a record yesterday with 39 pitches 100 MPH or faster...

Rosenthal wrote a flattering piece on him the other day
He loves the kid.
He'll have a nice career if he takes care of his arm.