Pen State

The Fresh Prince is showing something his first week up. And to think that Keibert Ruiz is supposed to be better than him, Ooooh eeeeee!

He’s turning into Baez / Garcia, Part II. Seems like every time one of those two come in a ball ends up in the stands.

Three HR’s in his last two appearances es no bueno por Urias. Maybe he’s just trying to get his ERA up there equal to the rest of the Bozos.

GO DODGERS!!!

Dodgers' Tony Cingrani: May be out for season after surgery

Rotowire 15H ago

Cingrani will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder this week and will likely miss the rest of the season, Alanna Rizzo of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.

Cingrani was shut down from throwing after feeling renewed pain in his left shoulder during his rehab assignment last week and is now facing a lost season. The 29-year-old had been sidelined with shoulder soreness since mid-March but is now facing an even longer absence.

Why the MLB Draft could open up the market for Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel

Keuchel and Kimbrel remain unsigned in early June, but that could soon change

by Dayn Perry @daynperry

1 hr ago • 2 min read

Monday's MLB Draft may help unlock the markets for free agents Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel. Despite the fact that contending teams are always on the lookout for pitching and despite the past successes of the duo in question, the former Cy Young winner Keuchel and the All-Star closer Kimbrel remain unsigned

So what do the free-agent fates of two veterans in their thirties have to do with the MLB Draft? It's all about the draft-pick compensation system.

Keuchel and Kimbrel each received qualifying offers (QO) last offseason. They each turned down the one-year contract in favor of hitting the market. However, that they were tendered QOs means that their former teams -- the Red Sox in Kimbrel's case and the Astros Keuchel's -- were entitled to draft-pick compensation. That comes in two forms. First, the Red Sox and Astros would receive compensatory picks if those QO-receiving free agents signed elsewhere. Second, the teams that signed Keuchel and Kimbrel would be forced to forfeit picks, among other penalties. Via MLB.com, here's how those penalties are scaled:

A team that exceeded the luxury tax in the preceding season will lose its second- and fifth-highest selections in the following year's draft, as well as $1 million from its international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period. If such a team signs multiple qualifying-offer free agents, it will forfeit its third- and sixth-highest remaining picks as well.

A team that receives revenue sharing will lose its third-highest selection in the following year's draft. If it signs two such players, it will also forfeit its fourth-highest remaining pick.

A team that neither exceeded the luxury tax in the preceding season nor receives revenue sharing will lose its second-highest selection in the following year's draft, as well as $500,000 from its international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period. If it signs two such players, it will also forfeit its third-highest remaining pick and an additional $500,000.

However, as of Monday, June 3 -- i.e., draft day -- none of that applies to qualifying-offer free agents from last offseason. That means the teams that eventually sign Keuchel and Kimbrel will do so without penalty. Likewise, the Red Sox and Astros will not receive picks once the duo signs.

Obviously, the primary impediment to a deal with either hurler is money, but the loss of draft assets is absolutely baked into each team's calculus when it comes to deciding which free agents to target and how much to offer them. No team is going to pass on a free agent solely because of draft considerations, but the compensation system does create a potential barrier. For Keuchel and Kimbrel, that barrier is now gone.

As for specifics, the Cubs, Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, Rays Twins, and incumbent Red Sox have been linked to Kimbrel in recent days. Keuchel, meantime, is reportedly of at least some interest to the Cardinals, Yankees, Padres, Rays, Brewers, Twins, and Phillies.

@bnightengale


Can anyone possibly stop the #Dodgers ? Their starting rotation, after Walker Buehler's gem (8 IP, 2 hits, 11 Ks, 0 walks), is insane. Their starters are 21-2 with a 2.23 ERA, and 228 strikeouts and 29 walks since April 25, and they're 15-1 with a 1.81 ERA in the last 21 games.