Matt Harvey threw his fastball between 92-94 mph for the second straight outing and even topped out at 97 mph
Koda Glover is reportedly likely to win their closer job. Reportedly likely? Come on now. That means nothing by the way. Maybe Glover will be named the Nats closer, and maybe he won’t. Here is what Dusty Baker said on Saturday.
“We’ve kind of settled on a guy, but we’ve got to tell the guy first”
If you take that as “Koda Glover is our closer” then you are much smarter than I, and might want to go read Fangraphs instead. Wait, no. Stay.
Ben Zobrist plans to return today or tomorrow after missing a week with neck soreness. The Cubs also have been without Addison Russell since Friday, when he was scratched because of back soreness. Are you still concerned about Javier Baez getting enough at bats in Chicago this season? Don’t be.
Devin Mesoraco is still recovering from the shoulder and hip surgeries he had last year and is likely to start the season on the disabled list. Imagine that. Actually, I can’t imagine him healthy so..
Jake Lamb showed some serious splits in his first full major league season (2016):
- Overall: 29 home runs, 31 doubles, 91 RBI
- 1st Half: .291 average, 371 OBP, 20 homers, 84 hits in 289 at bats
- 2nd half: .197 average, .283 OBP, 9 homers, 46 hits in 234 at bats
- Vs. Lefties .164 average, .279 OBP, 18 hits in 110 at bats
- Vs. Righties: .271 average, .346 OBP, 25 homers, 112 hits in 413 at bats
Charlie Tilson will wear a walking boot for a few more weeks but the White Sox have yet to name a center fielder to replace him.
Although the Cardinals third base job was an ‘open competition’ heading into spring, Mike Matheny suggested Friday that Jhonny Peralta will be guy.
Jedd Gyorko owners need not fret, as he will still get plenty of at bats at several positions. He entered last season without a set position and ended up with 400 at bats and led the team with 30 home runs. Feel better? Good.
He’s looked as good as we had hoped, [I am] really happy with where Johnny is right now. I like how he’s swinging the bat. I like how he’s playing third. He’s done what he’s needed to do this spring at third base. I kind of anticipated that we’d see that strength back in his swing, But you never know for sure. It definitely looks like it’s supposed to, and like it did before he got hurtMike Matheny on Peralta
Giovanny Urshela and Yandy Diaz, are still in camp and the Indians still need a third baseman.
Michael Conforto may start the season with the Mets if Juan Lagares needs to hit the disabled list after he strained his left oblique running out a foul ball.
Brody Chernoff, son of Indians GM Mike Chernoff was interviewed by Indians play-by-play man Tom Hamilton yesterday…pretty funny stuff
The Rays have shown interest in Rob Refsnyder so the Yankees put his talent on display when they played against each other on Sunday. Refsnyder played a little left field and a little right field. The Yankees seem happy to make a deal as this would open up a spot on the 25-man roster for shortstop Pete Kozma.
The Twins optioned Jose Berrios to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, so the fifth spot in the rotation will go to either Adalberto Mejia or Tyler Duffey. That’s what happens when you miss the first couple weeks of spring pitching in the World Baseball Classic.
It looks like the Padres will open the season with Yangervis Solarte at short and Erick Aybar at third.
Colby Rasmus is probably going to start the season on the disabled list because he hasn’t fully recovered from the surgeries he had late last year.
We’ve been trying to progress up to that point but it’s probably looking like I’m going to start on the DL, It’s nothing major but I don’t feel that I’m ready to run something down in the gap for nine innings. I’ve been doing a lot of outfield work and it feels pretty good but I don’t think I’m quite to that point yet. We’ll just have to see how it goes day by day. I had hoped that I would be able to maybe DH, but that’s not what they’re looking for me to do.Colby Rasmus
Manager Kevin Cash agreed.
Gregory Polanco was not in the lineup Sunday due to a sore shoulder, and GM Neal Huntington said it’s too early to make a definitive statement about his Opening Day status
Travis Jankowski, Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe will man the outfield in San Diego, and Jabari Blash would make a nice fourth outfield option or a potential platoon-mate with the left-handed Jankowski. Blash hit home run number six on Saturday, putting him tied for the second most homers this spring.
Jason Heyward finally hit yesterday. There is a great article on Heyward over at mlb.com, by Joe Posnanski. It is worth a read if you are a Cubbie fan or if you happen to own Heyward. It is worth a read if you even remotely like and respect Theo Epstein. It is a great read, period.
I want to grasp on to the hope for Heyward’s comeback so bad, especially when I see Theo saying things like this:
If in baseball, you have a culture where it’s OK for guys to hide every time they struggle, you’ll never amount to anything, The critical moments are defined by how you respond to adversity, as a player but as a team too. Here is one of our highest-paid players, a huge character guy, and he’s struggling. How does he respond to that? He doesn’t hide. He holds his head up high. He takes responsibility. And he leads — he still leads. That’s just a great example for everyone. Who knows how it’s going to turn out for Jason? We don’t. But he deserves it. Everyone is pulling for him.Theo Epstein on Heyward
Carlos Rodon was scratched from his start Friday with tightness in his bicep and will likely miss the start of the season. Stay tuned, as he is on his way to getting a second opinion.
Steven Matz has no ligament damage in his elbow but his expected return is unclear. Zack Wheeler and Seth Lugo might share the rotation spot until Matz is back in action.
Matt Cain and Ty Blach could share duties as the Giants fifth starter, or the Giants could do without a fifth starter altogether for the first month of the season.
The Pirates may not announce their fifth starter until hours before the game on opening day. GM Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle have both said none of the four candidates have separated themselves from their competition this spring. The four candidates include: Tyler Glasnow, Steven Brault, Trevor Williams and Drew Hutchison
Cha-Cha made his radio debut in the city this past weekend when him and Tony C spoke about the Tout Wars drafts on their show ‘Fantasy Bagels and Baseball’. Plus they are joined by special guest Patrick Davitt from Baseball HQ.
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