Baseball Chatter 12/26

The Diamondbacks are entering into the first season of a new television contract said to be worth more than one billion dollars. They are also expected to see their payroll increase by about $17 million.

Yasmany Tomas had surgery to remove scar tissue from his last surgery…should be ready to go by spring training

The Indians president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti, expects the 2018 payroll to be higher than last years franchise record of $124 million

“We’ll continue to be active,We had a certain amount of flexibility headed into the offseason that we had to use judiciously. This represents the vast bulk of that flexibility because the cost of retaining the nucleus of our team is about $25 million to $30 million based on escalating contracts and players going through the arbitration process. Our expectations is that this will be one of our signification free agent acquisitions of the offseason, but we’ll see how the next few weeks evolve and what opportunities present themselves.

The Tigers look forward to their new pitching coach, Chris Bosio, working with Daniel Norris to unlock some of the potential Norris has yet to realize.

The Yankees can afford to be patient on a pitcher right now, which is probably at least partially the reason they have not made a deal for Gerrit Cole.

Cole isn’t the only pitcher the Yankees are showing interest in. If you believe everything you read, the Yankees are interested in every player and they all would make a great fit in the Bronx

If baseball started tomorrow, the Rays starting third baseman would be Matt Duffy, who missed all of 2017 with complications from heel surgery. He is expected to be fully healthy by the spring.

Don’t expect the Blue Jays to trade Josh Donaldson any time soon because they feel they can compete in 2018 even though they didn’t make the playoffs in 2017

It seems like it was one rumor that came out at the trade deadline, and people have continued to build off that rumor, We’re trying to win, and I can’t imagine our team being better without Josh Donaldson.Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins

The Blue Jays could still be shopping as they have been linked to the following players:

Though Miami Marlins executive Gary Denbo indicated earlier today the club intends to keep Starlin Castro,


The Nationals are currently slated for a 30 percent tax on all overages beyond the $197MM threshold, though that tax bill will rise if the Nationals spend beyond the $217MM mark. There doesn’t seem much chance that Washington will pass the threshold again next year, however, as the club has several big contracts coming off the books, so the Nats will be well-positioned to spend big in the vaunted 2018-19 free agent class, which includes such notable D.C. players as Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy.

The Nationals had to pay the Luxury Tax last year for the first time ever, and expect to pay it once again in 2018, with a current expected payroll of about $210 million. They will save a bunch of money if they stay under about $217 million.

The Twins are showing interest in Mike Napoli

Here is what the Texas Rangers Beat Writer Evan Grant said on Monday when he was asked if there is an urgency to deal Jurickson Profar by spring training:

The Rangers would say there is no urgency. Teams would never acknowledge urgency. But I think there is. There is no regular spot for him on the roster. He’s already made it clear that the utility role doesn’t really suit him and his bat doesn’t seem to respond to it. He’s not a great baserunner, which limits him even more as a utility option. And he’s out of minor league options. I see no way they can carry him all season and even if they did, to what end, as a possible replacement for Elvis Andrus if he opts out of his contract or Adrian Beltre if he goes to free agency? Great, then you’d have a guy who has played precious little major league baseball as what amounts to a 26-year-old, out-of-options rookie with only two years of control going into 2019. What long-term solution is that? Do the kid a favor and move him somewhere he can play everyday. Ask for some kind of controllable pitcher as part of the return. Understand you are maybe getting a serviceable pitcher, but not a star, in return. Everybody moves on. Evan Grant

Winter League Baseball:

Pedro Martinez worked with Luis Severino down in the Dominican Republic last offseason, and Severino entered 2017 a brand new, confident starting pitcher.

Martinez is in the Dominican again, coaching a new class of youngsters, specifically Mets prospect Hansel Robles

Royals Prospects

  • Jorge Bonifacio hit .266 with a .324 OBP, six doubles, one triple, two homers and 16 RBIs. He also struck out 24 times in 94 at-bats.
  • Billy Burns hit .275 with a .333 OBP, four RBI, 10 steals, 11 walks and 17 strikeouts.
  • Frank Schwindel, the 2017 Triple-A Omaha player of the year, set career highs with 43 doubles, 23 home runs and 97 RBI.

He continued his success in the Dominican this winter:

Schwindel was also featured in a song on the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers Christmas sing-a-long album


Share this Post

Leave a Reply