Robbie Ray was one of only 12 starters that struck out 200 batters in 2016, Ray finished with 218 K in 174.1 IP
Rockies GM Jeff Bridich have “checked in” with the reps of Greg Holland, but acknowledges only that show of interest
Eduardo Rodriguez suffered a minor right knee injury during a winter ball appearance. Dave Dombrowski says he only “tweaked” the joint, explaining that “it doesn’t appear to be anything serious.”
The Rangers are “likely” to strike a deal to re-sign Josh Hamilton. Team doctors have determined that Hamilton’s surgically repaired left knee should be ready to go next spring.
Arizona GM Mike Hazen makes it sound as if the Diamondbacks are looking for a ‘minor addition’ but the club continues to keep tabs on Matt Wieters
Zach Britton allowed only one earned run in his last 58 appearances in 2016.
Clayton Kershaw allowed two or less earned runs in 19 of his 21 starts last season
Opposing No. 3 and No. 4 hitters were 8-for-61 vs. Andrew Miller, with two extra-base hits and 29 strikeouts
Ender Inciarte was third among center fielders in Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, he was 21st among all players in baserunning, and he hit .341 with an OPS of .836 after the All-Star break.
The Tigers went 4-14 against the Indians last season. The Indians outscored the Tigers 106-71, batting .284, with a .354 on-base percentage and an .828 OPS against Tigers. Six Indians hit .280 or better with an OPS above .875. Those six players (Jason Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Mike Napoli and Tyler Naquin) amassed 181 total bases in 18 games.
Josh Bell batted .273 with a .775 OPS in 45 games last season.. He walked 21 times while striking out only 19. Bell is a switch hitter who faced a lefty just 23 times in 152 plate appearances. He felt he got into a bad habit of looking ahead to the next few opponents, seeing right-handed heavy rotations and bullpens, and taking fewer batting-practice reps from the right-handed side. This winter, he’s giving equal time to each side.
The Marlins had some interest in Doug Fister earlier this winter, but they don’t “appear to be high on” him, as they would like to find a low cost starter for depth.
Trevor Plouffe could be a good fit for the Marlins as a right-handed hitting complement to Justin Bour at first base as well as a backup third baseman for Martin Prado.
With Mike Trout in center field for the Angels, Ben Revere might spend most his time playing left field against right-handed pitchers. The Angels might have one of the best defensive teams in the league with players like Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun, Danny Espinosa, and Andrelton Simmons who led American League shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved last season.
Angels Catcher Martin Maldonado is also regarded as a very good pitch-framer.
The Cardinals are still interested in adding some right-handed pop to the lineup, and rumored to be “very much” in the mix for Brian Dozier
The Red Sox are interested in Trevor Plouffe if he is willing to take a one-year deal worth $2-3MM.
The Pirates plan to use Josh Bell as the everyday first baseman in 2017 even though he played the outfield most of his career. Bell did get 150 innings in at first base last season in the majors, committing three errors.
In a radio show with 610 AM’s Bob Fescoe, the Kansas City Royals GM Dayton Moore said that the Wade Davis/Jorge Soler trade Involved other players at one point in time. This shows that the Cubbies and Royals are interested in players on each other’s rosters. Who are these players and could the Cubs and Royals be working out another deal?
There were rumors during the Winter Meetings that the Cardinals and Dodgers were talking about a Lorenzo Cain/Wade Davis package.
Were the Cubs also trying to work a deal for Lorenzo Cain? Could the Royals be interested in 24-year-old second baseman Javier Baez.?
David Ortiz was worth 52 runs more than the average hitter last season (according to Weighted Runs Above Average, an all-in-one metric for a player’s offensive contribution) while Mitch Moreland was worth four runs fewer – a difference of nearly 60 runs.
As a team, the Red Sox outscored the next-best offense (Indians) in the American League by 110 runs. Swapping in Moreland for Ortiz would have wiped out more than half of that advantage.
The Orioles pulled the offer made to Mark Trumbo, but they did that for Chris Davis a year ago and ended up re-signing him.
Trade talks between the White Sox and Yankees regarding Jose Quintana have expanded to include closer David Robertson
It’s been a rough winter for Braves outfielder Mallex Smith, who left his Puerto Rican league team after a recurrence of a strained oblique that undermined his brief stint with a Mexican league team in October.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny have both heaped praise onto Kolten Wong this winter, further suggesting that Wong isn’t likely to be traded.
Braves Corey Knebel, Carlos Torres and Jacob Barnes are internal options to pitch in the ninth inning.
Joe Blanton has a 2.14 ERA, and 0.99 WHIP since he moved to pen full-time (2015 All-Star break)
Pitchers who recoil get less extension on their pitches and release the ball farther away from home plate than pitchers who follow through.
The average extension on a major-league two-seam fastball is 6.12 feet; Yordano Ventura’s average is 5.56 feet. In other words, Ventura releases the ball farther away from home plate than the average pitcher.
Ian Kennedy releases his four-seam fastball with 6.40 feet of extension — major-league average on that pitch is 6.19. Both Ventura and Kennedy are 6 feet tall, but Kennedy is releasing his fastball closer to home plate than Ventura.
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