(Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images) The New York Mets made a short-term move to improve their offense by signing J.D. Martinez to a one-year, $12 million contract on March 23, with spring training being almost over. They knew, when they got him, that he would need a few weeks to get himself in game shape…
(Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) The Cincinnati Reds have been solid to open the year, with a 14-11 record. A big part of their early success can be attributed to exciting shortstop Elly De La Cruz. After a somewhat inconsistent debut year in 2023 (13 home runs and 35 steals, but 144 strikeouts) the dynamic…
(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) The New York Mets have been inconsistent, but they are 13-11 and in third place of the NL East. They have been surprisingly competitive despite offseason (and 2023) personnel losses, injuries, and other circumstances. The pitching, which was expected to be a liability, has been surprisingly solid. Still, it wouldn’t…
(Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) A couple of years ago, when the Washington Nationals traded Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres, they demanded that one of the pieces they received was CJ Abrams. A star prospect back then, Abrams took some time to develop. Now, however, the Nationals have one of the premier young…
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is an accomplished star. He is a four-time All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger award winner, and a two-time Gold Glover. He also signed a contract well above $300 million to be the face of the Mets for years to come. Still, he had a…
Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the San Francisco Giants. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as our own observations. This is the fourth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below:…
From now on, maybe we should ignore the numbers until Juan Soto is leading the league in walks. Soto has had the highest walk rate in baseball in each of the last four seasons. And he’s close this season! He’s got 21 walks (tied for first) and a 17.4% walk rate (tied for third). But…
Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports Justin Slaten is well on his way to becoming a Rule 5 success story. Selected by the Mets out of the Rangers organization this past December and subsequently swapped to the Red Sox on the same day, the 26-year-old right-hander has come out of the Boston bullpen eight times and relinquished…
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports Pat Murphy is nominally in his first season as a full-time MLB manager, having previously helmed the Padres for a 96-game interim stint in 2015. But it’s not like he just fell off the turnip truck; he started coaching so long ago I’m not sure they even had trucks or turnips…
Welcome to another edition of Five Things My weekly column that highlights strange and often delightful happenings from the last week of baseball. My own baseball watching was a bit stilted this week, for the best possible reason. I went to three Giants games, an exciting event made possible by cheap ticket deals, a friend’s…
