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It goes without saying that the Jays have to add to their starting pitching to take the next step forward but now that they're opening their pocketbook in free agency something tells me they arenn't done this winter pursuing their most pressing needs which happens to be starting pitching.Comment -
The only new rule I liked last year was the Universal DH which I didn't think I would like being a NL guy pretty much ever since I started following baseball back in the 80's. I don't like the 7 inning double headers but I get why they did that. With the condensed schedule and postponements it came in handy to do all these 7 inning games. I just didn't like it as a sports bettor but I also think they shouldn't alter the game that much.Comment -
I want all nine innings as a fan. Isn’t the game for fans?Comment -
RIP Hank
God has been putting together an amazing team this month.Comment -
Rest in peace Hank, a true legend of the game.Comment -
Washington Nationals re-signing Ryan Zimmerman to one-year, $1M deal, source says
The Washington Nationals are re-signing Ryan Zimmerman to a one-year, $1 million contract, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Zimmerman opted out of the 2020 season because of concerns about his family's safety amid the coronavirus pandemic but is set to play his 16th major league season, all with the Nationals, who selected him with their first pick in the 2005 amateur draft shortly after the club moved to Washington from Montreal.
Zimmerman's future in Washington had been uncertain after the Nationals acquired Josh Bell to play first base, but general manager Mike Rizzo said last month that the team was open to bringing the 36-year-old back.
Zimmerman, a two-time All-Star, batted .257 with six home runs and 27 RBIs for the 2019 World Series champions.
While Zimmerman gave up a $2 million salary because he skipped last season, he did receive a $2 million buyout for the declined option at the end of his previous deal, which covered 2014 to 2019.
USA Today first reported on Zimmerman's return to Washington.Comment -
10:32am: Profar’s contract contains an opt-out clause after each of the first two seasons, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
10:02am: The Padres have agreed to re-sign infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar on a three-year, $21MM contract, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). Profar is represented by the Boras Corporation.
A new deal with Profar marks the latest strike in an ultra-aggressive winter for the Padres, who have already acquired Blake Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove on the trade market in addition to signing Korea Baseball Organization superstar Ha-Seong Kim on a four-year deal. Kim’s ability to bounce around the infield and support the trio of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth at any position likely means that Profar is again ticketed for more work on the outfield grass than in the infield, although his versatility will allow him to be deployed virtually anywhere skipper Jayce Tingler sees fit.
The three-year term on the Profar deal registers as a bit of a surprise, though the Padres had some competition for the soon-to-be 28-year-old. The Royals were known to have interest in Profar, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Red Sox “tried hard” to sign Profar before he ultimately returned to San Diego.
The 2020 season was Profar’s first with the Padres, who acquired him last winter in a deal with the A’s. Profar got out to a disastrous start to the season but rode a sizzling hot streak over the final three-plus weeks of the season to finish out the year with a .278/.343/.428 batting line.
Profar’s season is representative of the difficulty in evaluating players on the heels of such a short year; the end results look solid, but it also should be noted that as late into the season as Aug. 27, Profar was batting .181/.291/.319. That was surely a cause of some concern for some clubs, as was the fact that Profar ranked in the 23rd percentile or worse in terms of exit velocity, hard-hit rate and barrel rate, per Statcast.
That said, Profar was clearly still a fairly in-demand free agent. That’s plenty understandable given that back in 2013, he was regarded as the consensus No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. Profar rocketed through the Rangers’ system after being signed as an amateur out of Curacao, making his MLB debut at just 19 years old in the final weeks of the 2012 season. Unfortunately for both him and for the Rangers, a pair of shoulder injuries led to multiple surgeries, wiping out two full years of development.
Profar never established himself as a regular in Texas, struggling to find playing time behind a veteran infield that included the likes of Adrian Beltre and an in-his-prime Elvis Andrus. Profar had an above-average year at the plate in 2018 as a utility player but still found himself traded to Oakland that winter — a match that didn’t pan out whatsoever. The A’s picked up Profar in hopes that he could solidify second base for his remaining two years of team control, but he battled a borderline case of the yips that resulted in a slew of throwing errors and batted just .218/.310/.401 in 139 games. Oakland traded him to San Diego after that lone year.
Three-year deal notwithstanding, Profar is in many regards still something of a project. The 2020 and 2018 seasons are the only two years he’s ever been at least average at the plate, and as this past season showed, he’s yet to find much consistency at the dish. That said, it was Padres general manager A.J. Preller who was running the Rangers’ international scouting operations when Profar originally signed as a 16-year-old. Based on not only the surprising size of the contract but also the multiple opt-out provisions, Preller seemingly remains a firm believer that Profar can match or exceed last year’s composite output.
That said, the inclusion of the two opt-out clauses effectively saps any upside for the Padres in this contract. If Profar reverts to his ways as a light-hitting utility piece without a position where he’s a true plus defender, the Friars will be on the hook for the full $21MM. If he, at any point, performs at an above-average level, he’ll surely head back to the open market in search of a larger deal — especially given his relative youth. The best outcome for the Padres would be for Profar to rake in 2021 and head back to market, and this contract structure is essentially a $21MM bet that that’ll be the case.
The Padres were already projected to open the season with a roughly $167MM payroll prior to their new deal with Profar. That would’ve been a franchise-record in its own right, but Friars ownership will continue to buck the common trend of shedding payroll taken by most clubs this winter, instead spending at new levels in their effort to dethrone the Dodgers, who have won eight consecutive division titles and, of course, toppled the Rays in the 2020 World Series. The $7MM annual value on Profar’s deal also pushed the Padres to more than $177MM in luxury-tax obligations.Comment -
Yeah I didn't like the runner on second rule either. As for the relief pitcher rule I guess I didn't like that rule either because it took jobs away from guys like Lopez who were called upon to retire that one tough lefty in the lineup and then come out after doing their job which often times only required them to face one batter.Comment -
Runner on 2nd rule is ridiculous.Comment -
Pleased to see Profar back in San Diego. He played well last year and like the positive attitude and love of the game he has.Comment -
Both rules are dumb.Comment -
All the new rules are dumb with the possible exception of uniform DH's in both leagues.
I'd rather have no DH, but if you're going to have a DH in one league than make it for both leaguers.Comment -
Watching pitchers bat has been such a joke for years. I’m actually good with the DH.Comment -
10:45 pm: A trade does appear to be on the horizon, potentially as soon as tomorrow, per Jason Mackey (via Twitter). By all accounts, nothing has been finalized. The Pirates are said to be looking for high-ceiling prospects, even if that means taking players who are further away from reaching the Majors.
8:45 pm: The Yankees are indeed one of the teams talking to the Pirates about Taillon, tweets MLB Insider Jon Heyman. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter) goes as far as to say they “appear to be emerging as the frontrunner.” The Yankees are not the only team involved, however, as the Pirates have offers from multiple teams, adds Jason Mackey of PGSportsNow. Taillon has two years of control remaining.
2:23 pm: Joe Musgrove now gets his paychecks from the San Diego Padres, and Josh Bell his from the Washington Nationals, so it’s only natural that someone step into the void as the “next Pirates player to be traded.” According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter), right-hander Jameson Taillon is in the proverbial on-deck circle. Feinsand and MLB.com’s Adam Berry hear that Jameson could be moved as soon as this weekend.
When Taillon made his debut as a 24-year-old in 2016, he and then-rotation-mate Gerrit Cole represented a promising core that was meant to build on the success of a 98-win 2015 team. That future never quite came to be, of course, as the Pirates fell back to the basement of the NL Central and now face yet another organizational rebuild. From that perspective, trades of the roster’s veterans are borderline inevitable. Still, a Taillon trade at this juncture is not without its complications, given his uncertain status returning from Tommy John surgery. Taillon went under the knife in August 2019, missing the entire 2020 season. It was the second Tommy John surgery of his career.
Taillon’s one full season came in 2018 when he made 32 starts and logged 191 innings with a 3.20 ERA/3.46 FIP, 22.8 percent strikeout rate, 5.9 percent walk rate, and 46.2 percent walk rate. That’s the version of Taillon that will stick in the heads of opposing teams as they consider acquiring the 29-year-old. Generally speaking, Taillon brings better-than-average strikeout rates, near-elite walk rates, and a career-average 85 FIP-. Though expectations should be tempered to reflect his injury status, it’s fair to hope that Taillon might again provide mid-rotation-or-better production for a contender.
The Yankees were linked to Taillon earlier this offseason and could still be a potential landing spot. Of course, it would not be hard to find a team in need of a starting pitcher – even one coming off his second TJ surgery. Given the caution with which most teams are approaching increasing workloads for 2021, a rehabbing hurler like Taillon may benefit from a smoother transition back to action, as he would not be expected to post a 200-inning season out of the blocks.Comment -
Pitchers are rally killersComment -
Shortstops were too until the Cal Ripken's of the world came on the scene,
Back in the day shortstops couldn't hit their weight either.
If you allow the DH because your starting pitcher can't hit a lick then why not a DF (designated fielder) because your firstbaseman has hands of stone, or a DR (designated runner) because your fat catcher is slow as sin.
Screw it all, just make it designated everything league.Comment -
Yankees get Tallinn from the Pirates in a trade.
Yankees give up a box of rocks for him.
NY American League font runners again.Comment -
The Nationals are in agreement on a one-year contract with lefty reliever Brad Hand that guarantees him $10.5MM, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) was first to report the sides were closing in on a one-year deal. The contract does not contain any option years or incentives, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Hand, 30, has been one of the league’s best relievers over the past five seasons. He broke out with the Padres in 2016 immediately after being claimed off waivers from the Marlins. San Diego traded him to the Indians midway through the 2018 season, where he continued to shine. In two-plus seasons in Cleveland, Hand pitched to a 2.78 ERA over 107 relief innings with a stellar combination of strikeouts (34.8%) and walks (7.9%).
Despite that consistent run of success, the Indians made the decision to decline a $10MM option on Hand’s services for 2021 after last season. Before paying Hand a $1MM buyout, Cleveland placed him on outright waivers in the hope another club would claim him and exercise the option (thus saving them the cost of the buyout). All thirty teams passed on the opportunity to bring in Hand at that $10MM price point.
In the long run, though, Hand makes out a bit better than he would have had Cleveland (or any other team) simply exercised the option. In addition to picking up the aforementioned buyout money, Hand winds up guaranteed an extra $500K in 2021 salary. Of course, teams have a better understanding of their payroll outlooks now than they did last October. The free agent market, while extremely slow, has also been a bit more favorable than many expected on the heels of a 2020 season without gate revenue.
While Hand’s results haven’t tailed off at all, his velocity has fallen rather precipitously over the past couple seasons. Hand averaged a solid 93.8 MPH on his fastball as recently as 2018. That mark fell to 92.7 MPH the following season and was down to 91.4 MPH last year. His swinging strike rate, too, was down notably in 2020. From 2016-19, Hand reliably got whiffs on around 13% of his pitches each season. Last year, that rate was down to a slightly below-average 10.5%.
Despite Hand’s dip in velocity, it’s easy to see the appeal for Washington. The Nationals’ bullpen has been a persistent problem for years. Last season was no exception, as Washington relievers ranked 23rd in the league in ERA (4.68) and 22nd in SIERA (4.46). Longtime closer Sean Doolittle is now a free agent, leaving very little in the way of proven left-handed relievers on the roster. It remains to be seen whether Hand will take over the ninth inning, as he generally had in Cleveland, or if manager Dave Martinez plans to use Hand in high-leverage spots in the middle innings and let Daniel Hudson close.
After signing Hand, Washington’s projected payroll is up to $199MM, per Roster Resource. That’s a $12MM increase over last season’s figure (prior to prorating), so it’s not clear whether or to what extent ownership will greenlight further spending. The Nationals’ luxury tax ledger sits just below $196MM, Roster Resource estimates, $14MM shy of the first tax threshold.Comment -
Now designating a hitter for a position player, that is funny.Comment -
MLBPA rejects MLB's proposal of universal DH, expanded playoffs
The Major League Baseball Players Association has turned down the latest MLB proposal for the universal designated hitter and an expanded playoff format, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The news was first reported by MLB Network.
The union's stance has been all along that it did not want to talk about a trade of the universal DH -- which benefits a group of players -- in return for expanded playoffs. Nonetheless, MLB included the two items in its proposal, and that concept has been turned down, per sources.
The universal DH and expanded playoff format were implemented for 2020 during the 60-game shortened regular season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
NL teams have used a DH when playing in AL parks since interleague play was instituted in 1997.
MLB implemented a 16-team playoff format for the 2020 postseason. The top two teams in each division, plus the two remaining teams with the best records in each league, made up the eight-team fields in the American and National Leagues. The division winners were the top three seeds in each league, with the second-place teams slotted as seeds 4 through 6, and the remaining two qualifiers seeded Nos. 7 and 8.
The working relationship between the two sides continues to be tense, compared to much of the interplay since the resolution of the 1994-95 players' strike. Last summer, negotiations over the truncated 2020 season and players' compensation dragged out publicly over many weeks. As MLB and the union try to settle their unresolved issues before the 2021 season, this looms on the horizon: the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire in December 2021.
ESPN's Buster Olney contributed to this report.Comment -
There should be a universal DH.Comment -
I agree.
Both leagues or none at all.
I still don’t like the DH though.
If a pitcher fields a position then he should hit too.
Just like I said before, if you can designate hitter for a position player that can’t hit well then you should be able to a designate a fielder for a position player that can hit but can’t play defense well.Comment -
Masahiro Tanaka and the Rakuten Eagles are in the “late stages of negotiations,” writes Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com. An offer does not appear to be made yet, but a report from Sankei Sports suggests Tanaka is close to returning to the Nippon Professional League. Tanaka does not appear to have closed off the possibility of returning to MLB entirely, but opportunities to woo the right-hander may be dwindling. Tanaka played for the Eagles from 2007 to 2013. Caldera notes that Tanaka’s camp could receive the official offer from the Eagles sometime this week.
Tanaka’s stay in New York was an unmitigated success. Over seven years, he posted a 3.74 ERA/3.91 ERA with a 47.5 percent groundball rate, 23.1 percent strikeout rate, and 4.8 percent walk rate over 1,054 1/3 innings. He made two All-Stars teams and had been nails in the postseason before two rough playoff starts in 2020. Many assumed that he would just return to the Yankees this winter, but New York has thus far moved in a different direction with the additions of Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon. Meanwhile, there has been very little buzz regarding a return to pinstripes for Tanaka.
That said, if Tanaka desires to stay in the States, he should have no trouble finding a home. The 32-year-old’s track record makes him one of the top starters left on the market. Our free agent predictions had Tanaka as the No. 10 free agent on the market – the top starting option remaining after NL Cy Young Trevor Bauer. Teams have been slow to dole out money this winter, however, which could certainly play a role in Tanaka looking elsewhere for a place to pitch in 2021.Comment
