Baseball Chatter 03/24

Steve Pearce will play left field tomorrow for the first time this spring, but we still won’t know if he will be fully healthy by opening day. If your league uses a minimum of 20 games played to qualify at a position, Pearce will not make the cut as he only played 19 games in the outfield last season. He underwent surgery in September to repair the flexor mass tendon in his elbow, and if healthy, Pearce could be an affordable option for power and average if you are willing to take the chance that he remains healthy enough to matter. The 33 year-old is the poster boy for what we call a ‘high risk, high reward’ player. Chris Carter struck out 20 times in 37 at-bats heading into yesterday, and then went on ahead and struck out two of the four time he went to the plate. Carter’s strikeout average of .537 (22-for-41) dwarfs a batting average of .122 (5-for-41). Robert Gsellman had only one unearned run over 5 1/3 innings yesterday, and now has a 1.56 ERA over five starts this spring.

Baseball Chatter 03/16

Javier Baez will back up Ben Zobrist at second and occasionally Addison Russell at short as well as Kris Bryant at third. Manager Joe Maddon, ‘‘I’m certain that he’s going to play often.’’ Greg Holland pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning in just 10 pitches yesterday. The Mets are unsure if Matt Harvey will ever be the same pitcher he was two seasons ago.

Baseball Chatter 03/14

Who will replace Jason Kipnis at second base? The Indians could move Jose Ramirez from third to second base and play Giovanny Urshela at third. Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson will make their spring debuts in a minor-league game today in Clearwater. There is a good chance Donaldson makes the opening day lineup but there’s more healing to be done for Travis and opening day will be cutting it close.