Baseball Chatter 03/21

Chatter March 21, 2017

David Price will probably not be available before the calendar flips to May, according to Dave Dombrowski.

J.D. Martinez suffered a mid-foot sprain on Saturday and X-rays were negative. He had an MRI taken on Sunday and then went to see Dr. Anderson — who performed surgery on Miguel Cabrera’s ankle two years ago — to review the MRI results. Dr. Anderson agreed that there was no structural damage but he has to wait a week before he can take a stress CT scan, which is why we all wait until Friday for an update.

Don’t expect Devin Mesoraco to be ready for opening day.

I’m a guy who hasn’t played in two years, essentially,For me to come out catching one full game and getting 15 at-bats in spring training, that’s probably not putting me or the team in the best position. If everybody thinks I’m perfectly ready and ready to go, I’ll be in there. If not, it’s fine.Devin Mesoraco

If Mesoraco’s not ready, the Reds could turn to either Rob Brantly or Rule 5 pick Stuart Turner to start the season. Brantly is hitting .286/.381/.400 in 21 at-bats this spring and Turner is hitting .450/.650/.577 in 20 at-bats.

“They’ve worked hard with (Major League catching coordinator) Mike Stefanski and (roving catching instructor) Corky Miller and have gotten better,” Bryan Price said. I’d be comfortable with either one of those guys making the ballclub if Devin’s not ready to go. They’ve both made a positive impression on us throughout the course of the spring.”

Lance Lynn has a 1.29 ERA over 14 innings this spring

Taijuan Walker gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings, and now has a 3.56 ERA in 17 ⅔ innings.

Pedro Alvarez can opt out of his minor league contract in May if he doesn’t make the Orioles roster. Over 40 games from July 3 to Sept. 2, he hit .290/.331/.603, hitting 11 of his 22 total home runs.

Kyle Hendricks has 14 strikeouts and zero walks in 13⅔ spring innings

Brett Anderson will likely be the Cubbies fifth starter, with Mike Montgomery in the bullpen in a long-relief/spot-starter role. This, of course, depends on Anderson’s ability to stay healthy, which is always a question.

Manager Joe Maddon has refer-red to the Anderson-Montgomery situation as less of a battle for the fifth spot and more of a “hybrid” plan that involves an occasional sixth starter.

Joe Maddon says Ian Happ could be in the Cubs’ plans this season.“It’s up to him. Right now he looks great,” Maddon said.

Reynaldo Lopez moved from the right side of the pitching rubber to the middle, and it seems to have worked.

Yandy Diaz is hitting .417 with a .548 OBP with seven RBI 12 games this spring. He has walked six times and struck out only three. He has hit and shown good plate discipline at each minor league level and if it were up to Lenny, it would be Diaz playing second base in place of Jason Kipnis to start the season.

Due to getting strep throat, Julio Urias has only pitched five innings this spring, putting him at a disadvantage to his competition for a spot in the rotation. He might need to go to extended spring training once the season starts to work his way up to throw a hundred pitches. He will also be on an innings limit in order to make sure he can pitch in the postseason. With the Dodgers having several viable choices for their rotation, it would be reasonable to believe he will not open the season in the rotation.

Adam Conley remains upbeat even though his spring numbers aren’t very good. He only made one three-inning start over the final seven weeks of last season due to a finger injury on his pitching hand obtained in mid-August. However, he did start 25 games last total and at one point set the club record for consecutive scoreless innings by a starter ( 11 1/3).

If the Didi Gregorius injury is major The Yankees would probably hunt for a shortstop elsewhere — options from other teams could be someone such as White Sox middle infielder Carlos Sanchez or the Phillies’ Freddy Galvis. Both fit that bill because their teams have young shortstops on the move.

Jose Osuna is batting .417 and has hit safely in 14 of his 15 games this spring. He leads the team in homers (five) and RBIs (14).

He’s got a really good swing,It’s not just a spring training swing where you see guys get hot. You can tell it’s a pretty legit swing.

Although his best position is first base, Osuna also can play third and in the outfield. Hurdle like’s Osuna mature approach at the plate and ability to stay poised.

The box (offense) is where I believe he’s going to be an impactful player. I got a lot of calls, ‘He’s on the 40-man? Who is this guy?’Obviously, they hadn’t been paying attention. He’s been a developing player.