I’ve become increasingly convinced that a lot of the subtle roster construction hacks some teams use to get the most out of their prospects — service time manipulation, extremely restrictive pitcher workload management, drafting by bonus demand rather than picking the best player available — are too cute by half. Sometimes it pays off, but…
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) Elbow injuries have eaten pitchers alive this season in MLB. The number of hurlers suffering ligament damage or flexor tendon strains is growing by the day. Of them, Cleveland Guardians young starter Gavin Williams was getting closer to a return to action. He originally suffered elbow discomfort after a weighted ball…
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) Before the start of the 2023 season, the Boston Red Sox signed outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract. In his first campaign, he had a .783 OPS with 15 homers and 33 doubles in 140 games. This year, however, he was off to a miserable start…
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) The Chicago Cubs got some crushing injury news on Wednesday. One of their best players, Cody Bellinger, was placed on the injured list with a rib fracture, per MLB insider Jon Heyman. “Cody Bellinger has a fractured rib and Pete Crow-Armstrong has been called up, Cubs manager Craig Counsell tells…
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) We have said many times, even on this site, that Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout has little to no support from his teammates. That situation can be partially explained by the fact he has nine home runs to this point and only 12 RBI to show for his efforts….
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) The Los Angeles Dodgers signed a top player in Shohei Ohtani, a guy with a unique set of skills who had already won two AL MVP awards. What they didn’t imagine is that he had room to get even better. That’s apparently what he is doing right now. “In his…
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) The San Francisco Giants have been forced to place left-handed starter Blake Snell on the 15-day injured list with a left adductor strain. There is a chance he needs more than the 15 days on the shelf, given the place and the nature of the ailment. One has to think…
(Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images) The San Francisco Giants did everything in their power to bring in some impact talent in the offseason. They were able to sign Jung Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman, Jordan Hicks, and Blake Snell, the latter being secured very late into spring training. Snell didn’t open the season on…
John Jones-USA TODAY Sports Monday afternoon’s game between the A’s and Yankees ended in impressive fashion for Oakland, with closer Mason Miller buzz-sawing through the top of New York’s lineup to close out a 2-0 victory. The 25-year-old righty struck out Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge consecutively on 14 pitches, mixing eight four-seam…
Kyle Hendricks has long been lauded as a cerebral pitcher, and for good reason. Nicknamed “The Professor,” the 34-year-old Chicago Cubs right-hander not only has an economics degree from Dartmouth College, he relies far more on guile than gas. The antithesis of your prototypical power arm, Hendricks subsists with a heater that sits in the…
