The 2020 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[JMobile]

Less than four weeks from baseball!!

I hope this 2nd wave doesn't ruin it

[batt33]

I read it off of MLB.com. They listed 5 potential DH's for each NL club and Pence and Pablo were mentioned. Another candidate is Joey Bart who is interesting since the Minor Leagues won't be playing this year and he needs reps. He won't get them at Catcher in the Big Leagues as long as Buster is around but he could learn from him and get at bats on a regular basis as the DH. Of course, Pablo and Pence make more sense because Hunter is in a platoon situation in the outfield and Pablo is coming back from injury which means 3B will mostly be occupied by Longoria. They could use his bat if he's healthy enough to play though so the DH definitely helps the Giants.

Looks like no Giants players will sit out the season due to the virus

[jrgum3]

I'm a throw back, old school.
I still believe pitchers should bat in both leagues.

Now having said that I can live with a DH as long as it applies to both leagues.
I hate the AL DH only.

Yeah I don't like it either but I think the Universal DH might be a good thing if only for this shortened season. I get the feeling though that it is probably going to be here to stay and I'm not sure I like that.

[EmpireMaker]

A number of players are opting out of playing this season:
Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond will opt out of playing in the 2020 MLB season. He provided a thoughtful explanation of his decisionmaking process in an announcement on Instagram.
Desmond explains that “the COVID-19 pandemic has made this baseball season one that is a risk I am not comfortable taking.” He says he’s compelled to stay home “with a pregnant wife and four young children who have lots of questions about what’s going on in the world.”
Fortunately for all of us that care about the future of the game, the widely respected Desmond says he intends to work with his local Little League (in Sarasota, Florida) while he’s not playing this year. He did not offer an indication of his future plans for returning to the diamond.
Desmond’s announcement is essential reading for all baseball fans. It’s a powerful call to action to deal with glaring inequity in the game, from its lowest to its loftiest levels.
Three other big leaguers preceded Desmond in announcing that they would not participate in the 2020 season. No doubt others will follow. It is not known whether Desmond had any personal medical issue that will allow him to opt out while still accruing salary and service time. If not, he will forego a pro-rated portion of his $15MM salary for the year. He remains under contract with the Rockies through 2021; the club also controls him in 2022 via club option.

[Otters27]

I hope this 2nd wave doesn't ruin it

It might. They probably make it work though

[Chi_archie]

It might. They probably make it work though

they better work their asses off and use their brains and find experts to do everything they can to prevent it

[stevenash]

Second wave is ramping up.
It doesn't look good.

[BigSpoon]

Second wave is ramping up.
It doesn't look good.

When did the first wave end?

[JMobile]

Well, minor league baseball already canceled their season.

[Cross]

I will give it a 20% chance that this season happens as planned.

[batt33]

Well, minor league baseball already canceled their season.

Kinda figured that was going to happen

[jrgum3]

I will give it a 20% chance that this season happens as planned.

I'm optimistic that they'll get this season in but it is a very real possibility that they don't. Just got to hope that they are able to get the season in at this point.

[JMobile]

Colorado Rockies sign Matt Kemp to a minor league deal. How does Kemp go from a 2018 spectacular season to a shitty 2019 season and then pick up a minor league contract for half a 2020 season????

[ApricotSinner32]

Colorado Rockies sign Matt Kemp to a minor league deal. How does Kemp go from a 2018 spectacular season to a shitty 2019 season and then pick up a minor league contract for half a 2020 season????

[EmpireMaker]

4:00pm: Minor League Baseball has formally announced the cancellation of its 2020 season.
12:15pm: The 2020 minor-league season will be canceled, according to a report from Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper and Josh Norris. While widely expected, the news comes as a major blow to the minor-league teams and many young players who were hopeful of continuing to chase after a coveted MLB roster spot.
This was already shaping up to be a rough campaign for the minors long before the coronavirus was on anyone’s radar. As 2019 came to a close, a tense and rather high-profile battle was already underway regarding MLB’s plans for cutting down on the number of minor-league affiliates.
Minor League Baseball’s effort to defend its member teams was greatly imperiled by the global pandemic. Public attention, for good reason, has been elsewhere. And minor-league teams have experienced a more-or-less complete halt to revenue.
A resumption of play might have helped. There were times when it seemed plausible, but any hope dissipated over recent weeks. Even as MLB and its players haggled over the terms for a big league resumption, a ramp-up of virus transmission in many parts of the United States served to increase the already great logistical challenges to a MiLB season.
We’ll see how the broader picture turns out. For now, it’s a rough situation for minors clubs that rely entirely upon in-person gameday revenue (and advertising associated with anticipated spectatorship).
The situation is obviously also detrimental to the players that are now sitting at home without a clear path to playing baseball in 2020. Some limited number of prospects — generally, those with clear paths to the majors — have been invited to participate in MLB summer camps and ongoing training. But those that weren’t named to 60-man player pools will have to get creative.
There is a potential indie ball outlet, but that’s not likely to provide many opportunities. The Baseball America team has reported that some players are participating in local amateur leagues, though the level of competition will obviously not be up to the typical standard. Fortunately, most MLB teams are committing at least to paying $400 weekly stipends to the minor-leaguers that are left in limbo. That’s a help, but hardly a full solution for those players that were not already cut loose from their organizations.

[Chi_archie]

4:00pm: Minor League Baseball has formally announced the cancellation of its 2020 season.
12:15pm: The 2020 minor-league season will be canceled, according to a report from Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper and Josh Norris. While widely expected, the news comes as a major blow to the minor-league teams and many young players who were hopeful of continuing to chase after a coveted MLB roster spot.
This was already shaping up to be a rough campaign for the minors long before the coronavirus was on anyone’s radar. As 2019 came to a close, a tense and rather high-profile battle was already underway regarding MLB’s plans for cutting down on the number of minor-league affiliates.
Minor League Baseball’s effort to defend its member teams was greatly imperiled by the global pandemic. Public attention, for good reason, has been elsewhere. And minor-league teams have experienced a more-or-less complete halt to revenue.
A resumption of play might have helped. There were times when it seemed plausible, but any hope dissipated over recent weeks. Even as MLB and its players haggled over the terms for a big league resumption, a ramp-up of virus transmission in many parts of the United States served to increase the already great logistical challenges to a MiLB season.
We’ll see how the broader picture turns out. For now, it’s a rough situation for minors clubs that rely entirely upon in-person gameday revenue (and advertising associated with anticipated spectatorship).
The situation is obviously also detrimental to the players that are now sitting at home without a clear path to playing baseball in 2020. Some limited number of prospects — generally, those with clear paths to the majors — have been invited to participate in MLB summer camps and ongoing training. But those that weren’t named to 60-man player pools will have to get creative.
There is a potential indie ball outlet, but that’s not likely to provide many opportunities. The Baseball America team has reported that some players are participating in local amateur leagues, though the level of competition will obviously not be up to the typical standard. Fortunately, most MLB teams are committing at least to paying $400 weekly stipends to the minor-leaguers that are left in limbo. That’s a help, but hardly a full solution for those players that were not already cut loose from their organizations.

sorry minor leagues

[stevenash]

Colorado Rockies sign Matt Kemp to a minor league deal. How does Kemp go from a 2018 spectacular season to a shitty 2019 season and then pick up a minor league contract for half a 2020 season????

Because he's going to be 36 this summer and his bat has slowed down.
He's closer to 40 now than 30 years old, your skills diminish at that age.
You know this JM.

He did have a monster 2011 but that was almost a decade ago, Coors will help his numbers this year but he's pretty much finished.

[Otters27]

Well, minor league baseball already canceled their season.

Feel sorry for the lower round picks. They might not get another chance

[BigSpoon]

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day. (And Canada Day)

[stevenash]

Happy Bobby Bonilla day.

Bobby Bonilla waiting on that $1,193,248.20 deposit to hit tonight.

[Cross]

Great financial decision deferring that contract.

[stevenash]

Great financial decision deferring that contract.

He's fat.

[DiggityDaggityDo]

He's fat.

Is he hung though?

Between the legs I mean.

[deadphish]

hmmm, so now the vibe is no 2020 MLB?

[jrgum3]

Great financial decision deferring that contract.

Greatest contract ever signed. He must laugh all the way to the bank every July 1st.

[Otters27]

It will be great having NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB all in the same short period of time

[stevenash]

It will be great having NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB all in the same short period of time

I'll watch a game or two of the NBA but not much.

My baseball handicapping approach will be altered some for this shortened season.

[JMobile]

How are players still on the injury list when the season has been on a break...I don't get it.

[EmpireMaker]

After Major League Baseball and the MLBPA couldn’t agree to a season length during their long-running, contentious negotiations, MLB decided to impose a 60-game schedule last week. In an ideal world for the players, they’d have gotten at least 80-some games (they proposed 89 on June 9), but commissioner Rob Manfred told Dan Patrick of Fox Sports Radio on Wednesday that the league never intended to play more than 60 games this season as a result of the “unpredictable” and “unmanageable” coronavirus pandemic, per Bradford William Davis of the New York Daily News.
“The reality is we weren’t going to play more than 60 games no matter how the negotiations with the players went,” said Manfred.
Manfred’s revelation surely won’t go over well with the Tony Clark-led union, which accused the league of negotiating in bad faith throughout the sides’ stalemate (MLB did the same to the MLBPA during the process). The union could file a grievance in response to Manfred’s comments, as its March agreement with the league said MLB would have to make a real effort to play as many games as possible this year. It’s unclear whether that will happen. Regardless, the commissioner’s statement could also further rile up the union enough for the two parties to have more difficulty coming to a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement when the current pact expires after the 2021 season.
Manfred went on to admit to Patrick that negotiations on a 2020 season produced “a sub-optimal result” (via R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports). And interestingly, Manfred added that “fans won’t get an expanded postseason.” Last week, Clark seemed willing to discuss a playoff pool consisting of more than 10 teams, but it appears Manfred has closed the book on that possibility.

[mr. leisure]

Great financial decision deferring that contract.

Very smart move

[deadphish]

After Major League Baseball and the MLBPA couldn’t agree to a season length during their long-running, contentious negotiations, MLB decided to impose a 60-game schedule last week. In an ideal world for the players, they’d have gotten at least 80-some games (they proposed 89 on June 9), but commissioner Rob Manfred told Dan Patrick of Fox Sports Radio on Wednesday that the league never intended to play more than 60 games this season as a result of the “unpredictable” and “unmanageable” coronavirus pandemic, per Bradford William Davis of the New York Daily News.
“The reality is we weren’t going to play more than 60 games no matter how the negotiations with the players went,” said Manfred.
Manfred’s revelation surely won’t go over well with the Tony Clark-led union, which accused the league of negotiating in bad faith throughout the sides’ stalemate (MLB did the same to the MLBPA during the process). The union could file a grievance in response to Manfred’s comments, as its March agreement with the league said MLB would have to make a real effort to play as many games as possible this year. It’s unclear whether that will happen. Regardless, the commissioner’s statement could also further rile up the union enough for the two parties to have more difficulty coming to a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement when the current pact expires after the 2021 season.
Manfred went on to admit to Patrick that negotiations on a 2020 season produced “a sub-optimal result” (via R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports). And interestingly, Manfred added that “fans won’t get an expanded postseason.” Last week, Clark seemed willing to discuss a playoff pool consisting of more than 10 teams, but it appears Manfred has closed the book on that possibility.

so we will get 2020 MLB?

[Cross]

COVID will decide on any sports seasons, thanks Trump.

[koz-man]

Great financial decision deferring that contract.

True...Payed until 2035

[BigSpoon]

COVID will decide on any sports seasons, thanks Trump.

Think NFL goes on no matter what the body count is in the Fall.

[Stallion]

The Mets ownership had invested with Bernie Madoff and he was making " 10% year after year" so the Mets thought. That's why he got this contract.