There is some concern over Jon Lester (38) losing David Ross which makes some sense. He has a 2.75 ERA in 578.7 IP with Ross and 3.71 in 1425 IP with every other catcher throughout his career. I think he’ll be in the low-to-mid 3.00s.
Shawn Kelley finished the first year of his 3-year/$15M deal with the Nationals with a 2.64 ERA, a 2.97 FIP, 11 walks (1.71 BB/9) and 80 Ks (12.41 K/9) in 58 IP, , and will get the opportunity to become the Closer in Washington
Between June 23 and July 30th, Kelley converted 6 of 8 save opportunities, posting a 3.24 ERA, 1.08 BB/9, 30 Ks (16.20 K/9) and a .262/.279/.615 line before returning to a set-up role.
In his career, Adam Eaton is a career .261 hitter in the first half. When the second half arrives, he turns into a very different player.
Lucas Duda suffered a stress fracture in the lower vertebrae of his back, which explains his horrible season last year, which was likely responsible for near-career worsts in every major offensive category. Who knows when or if he will be able to man first base 4-5 times a week. The Mets are preparing for Plan B, which includes turning Michael Conforto into a first baseman.
Mike Napoli still appears to be the Rangers prime target, but nothing is imminent on that front.
WOW The Rockies signed Domonic Brown to a minor league contract The 29-year-old Brown was once lauded as one of the five best prospects in all of baseball, coming off a season in which he batted .327/.391/.589 in 93 games between Double-A and Triple-A as a 22-year-old. Brown debuted with the Phillies late that season but didn’t hit much, and he struggled to produce in both 2011 and 2012 as well.
Matt Adams has been mocked as “Fat Adams” over the past couple seasons, but that nickname doesn’t fit anymore. After offseason dieting, a better workout routine and a consistent dose of Pilates, Adams has lost 25 pounds.
Give me the gold glove after that…and a bucket of nachos…and a bud. #SoFatSoGood
— Fat Matt Adams (@FatMattAdams) April 9, 2014
Rich Hill became interested in spin rate in 2015 when he played for the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate because the stadium was equipped with TrackMan Doppler radar pitch tracking.
Fangraph’s Steamer projects the Astros’ strikeout rate to be the second-lowest in baseball. The Red Sox are projected to strike out the least. Last year’s six struck out a combined 27% of the time. This year’s replacement six are projected to strike out just 16% of the time.
- Jason Castro is gone, replaced by Brian McCann.
- Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gomez are gone, replaced by Josh Reddick and Nori Aoki.
- Carlos Beltran isn’t particularly strikeout-prone, and he’ll bat most days.
- Alex Bregman has an excellent minor-league record of contact.
- Yulieski Gurriel is the biggest question mark, but in last year’s cup of coffee, he only struck out 12 times in 137 at bats.
Chris Carter’s agent, Dave Stewart, tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that signing in Japan is a possibility. Although, the Rays are still in need of his services, and so do the Marlins, who are still looking to complement Justin Bour at first base,
David Dahl will compete with Gerardo Parra for the left field job. Dahl posted an 88.02 mph average exit velocity on 135 batted balls last season, which was better than any full-time major leaguer (with 300-plus batted balls).
Devin Mesoraco is expected to begin spring training without any limitations after playing just 39 games over the last two seasons because of hip and shoulder injuries. The 28-year-old former All-Star catcher is expected to ease into spring training drills, but with the hope he’ll be ready for the season.
Tigers position players out of options:
- Dixon Machado, whose glove is major league-ready. His bat remains a work in progress, but the Tigers’ project him to hit enough to stay in the big leagues.
- Tyler Collins and
- Steven Moya, who is entering the most important spring of his eight-year professional career.
Carlos Gomez liked the new swing he found after joining the Texas Rangers in August that he staged his own hitting tutorial in the offseason.
- With Astros, Gomez hit 9 HR, .342 SLG, 221 AVG, with a .619 OPS in 444 at-bats.
- With the Rangers, Gomez hit eight homers, .543 SLG, .284 AVG with a .905 OPS in 116 at-bats.
ATTENTION MATT HARVEY FANS!! – Royals prospect Kyle Zimmer is coming back from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery,
Texas Rangers Pitching Coach Doug Brocal talks Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and Martin Perez
The signing of Brandon Moss makes Cheslor Cuthbert a trade chip for the team to acquire a starting pitcher who can slot in the rotation immediately.
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