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Post by Blunashun on Nov 11, 2020 18:10:48 GMT
Matching one MLB free agent with every team: DJ LeMahieu returns to Yankees, Trevor Bauer heads west and more
MLB free agency is underway and there are plenty of names who could change teams
Blue Jays
Justin Turner (3B) - The likelihood of Turner departing the City of Angels is rather slim. Nonetheless, if the crew from Toronto can outbid the reigning champs for his services, the Blue Jays would love to add an everyday, veteran third baseman to add to their young core.
Marlins
Yasiel Puig (OF) - Maybe this is just wishful thinking. In fact, I've been trying to speak this into existence for three years now. Nonetheless, the Fish could use some extra bop in their lineup, and Puig could make for a nice platoon option with Corey Dickerson and serve as a fourth outfielder. Puig in Miami ... it just sounds right.
(We should ask Mattingly what's right.).
Phillies
Brad Hand (RP) - A bullpen ERA north of 7.00 is less than ideal -- second worst in MLB history type stuff. Hand was waived by Cleveland and his $10 million option was passed on by the other 29 teams around the league this past week. Hand is an example of how some very productive players could be directly impacted by the market. Since 2016, he has 434 strikeouts in 320 innings to go along with a 2.70 ERA .
Cardinals
Cesar Hernandez (2B) - Speaking of needs at second base, St. Louis opted to move on from Wong despite not having many options, if any at all, to fill his spot. In a perfect world, the Red Birds trade for Nolan Arenado and move Tommy Edman to second. In a more realistic world, Cesar Hernandez can serve as a short-term answer.
Brewers
Howie Kendrick (1B) - Milwaukee's offense was all over the place in 2020, including that of 2018 MVP Christian Yelich. Perhaps it had something to do with him not having much protection around him. Kendrick could provide manager Craig Counsell with a versatile veteran who sports the highest batting average (.320) in the league since 2017.
Padres
Trevor Bauer (SP) - Ah, the biggest domino on the market in beautiful San Diego. What a delight it would be. The Friars were contenders last year until they lost their two best starters in Clevinger and Lamet. In fact, Clevinger and Bauer have a friendship that dates back to their time in Cleveland. The always aggressive A.J. Preller will show no hesitation in pulling the trigger. A rotation consisting of Bauer, Clevinger, Lamet, Davies and Paddack/Gore sounds juicy.
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Post by Blunashun on Nov 13, 2020 1:23:22 GMT
Los Angeles Dodgers Retweeted
@dodgerinsider
On the day that Nashville declares "Mookie Betts Day," Dodger outfielder nearly accomplishes a rare MVP feat. Betts ends up finishing second in NL MVP voting.
Cary Osborne
Follow
Nov 12 · 3 min read
by Cary Osborne
Mookie Betts’ incredible debut season with the Los Angeles Dodgers nearly resulted in a historic honor. Instead, Betts finished second in the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting to Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman.
Had Betts won, he would have been the second player in Major League history — joining Hall of Famer Frank Robinson — to win an MVP in the American and National League.
Betts received two first-place, 21 second-place and five third-place votes for a total of 268 votes. Freeman received 28 first-place and two second-place votes for a total of 410. San Diego’s Manny Machado finished third.
Betts led the Majors in bWAR in 2020 at 3.4. He was second in the NL in fWAR (3.0) to Freeman’s 3.4.
The Dodger right fielder, however, did receive a pair of other honors on Thursday. The city of Nashville and Mayor John Cooper declared Nov. 12 “Mookie Betts Day.” His high school uniform number, №7, was also retired by his alma mater John Overton High School in Nashville. Betts was told by his mother, Diana Collins, that he needed to go to the high school on Thursday for a photoshoot. Instead, he was surprised to find a celebration in his honor.
Betts led all NL outfielders in 2020 with 11 defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs, and he led all Major League right fielders with five outs above average, according to Statcast. He tied for third in the NL in home runs (16), ranked fourth in runs (47), tied for 10th in hits (64) and tied for fifth in stolen bases (10). Betts batted .292/.366/.562/.928. He became the sixth player in franchise history to win the Rawlings Gold Glove and Louisville Silver Slugger Awards in the same season.
This is the 12th time a Dodger has finished as the NL MVP runner-up.
The previous times were:
· 2011 Matt Kemp to Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun
· 2004 Adrián Beltré to San Francisco’s Barry Bonds
· 1997 Mike Piazza to Colorado’s Larry Walker
· 1996 Mike Pizza to San Diego’s Ken Caminiti
· 1978 Steve Garvey to Pittsburgh’s Dave Parker
· 1966 Sandy Koufax to Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente
· 1965 Sandy Koufax to San Francisco’s Willie Mays
· 1956 Dodger Sal Maglie to Dodger Don Newcombe
· 1955 Dodger Duke Snider to Dodger Roy Campanella
· 1946 Dixie Walker to St. Louis’ Stan Musial
· 1941 Dodger Pete Reiser to Dodger Dolph Camilli
This wraps up award season for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
In the NL Rookie of the Year balloting, Tony Gonsolin finished fourth and Dustin May finished fifth. Dave Roberts finished fifth in the NL Manager of the Year voting. Clayton Kershaw finished tied for ninth in the NL Cy Young Award balloting. Corey Seager finished ninth in the NL MVP voting.
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Post by Blunashun on Nov 13, 2020 1:25:15 GMT
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Post by Blunashun on Nov 13, 2020 18:56:02 GMT
Marlins hire former Dodgers exec Kim Ng as MLB’s first female GM
Ng, with the Dodgers from 2002-11, believed to be first female GM for a major pro sport men's team in North America
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Post by Blunashun on Nov 14, 2020 2:48:32 GMT
Twitter reacts to Marlins hiring Kim Ng as first female general manager in MLB history Ng brings over 30 years experience to the job By Shanna McCarriston 5 hrs ago 1 min read Kim Ng made history on Friday when she was named General Manager of the Miami Marlins. Ng is now the highest-ranking woman in baseball operations among the 30 MLB teams and is believed to be the first woman hired as a GM for a men's team in any major North American professional sports league. She is also the first Asian-American GM in baseball history. Ng brings over 30 years experience to the job, including roles with the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB commissioner's office. She has been part of eight postseason appearances, six league championship series and three world championships. "I entered Major League Baseball as an intern and, after decades of determination, it is the honor of my career to lead the Miami Marlins as their next General Manager," Ng said in a statement. " We are building for the long term in South Florida, developing a forward-thinking, collaborative, creative baseball operation made up of incredibly talented and dedicated staff who have, over the last few years, laid a great foundation for success." twitter.com/Marlins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1327276960595243009%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbssports.com%2Fmlb%2Fnews%2Ftwitter-reacts-to-marlins-hiring-kim-ng-as-first-female-general-manager-in-mlb-history%2F |
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Post by Blunashun on Dec 7, 2020 16:59:33 GMT
Four Dodgers named All-MLB finalists
By Thomas Harrigan @harriganmlb
December 6, 2020
Finalists for the 2020 All-MLB Team presented by CohnReznick were revealed Sunday, with MLB Network's exclusive announcement of this year’s official All-MLB Team set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
This year marks the second annual selection of the All-MLB Team, which recognizes and commemorates the top performances by players in the regular season.
Like 2019, the All-MLB Team will be split into a first and second team, each with one catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop and designated hitter, plus three outfielders, five starting pitchers and two relievers.
The selection process, featuring a star-studded group of nominees, started in early November, with 50% of the vote coming from fans and 50% coming from a panel of experts. Fans were able to vote once every 24 hours until 2 p.m. on Nov. 13.
Here’s a look at the 2020 All-MLB Team finalists, listed alphabetically by position.
Catcher
Travis d'Arnaud (Braves)
Salvador Perez (Royals)
J.T. Realmuto (Phillies)
The 2020 season saw d’Arnaud thrive (.321/.386/.533, nine homers) in his first year with the Braves, while Perez returned from Tommy John surgery to hit .333 with 11 homers and a .986 OPS for the Royals. As for Realmuto, he continued to show outstanding skills on both sides of the ball, remaining an elite pitch-framer while contributing an .840 OPS over 47 games for the Phillies.
First base
José Abreu (White Sox)
Freddie Freeman (Braves)
Luke Voit (Yankees)
This position is as impressive as it gets, featuring both of this year’s MVP Award winners in Abreu and Freeman as well as the Major League home run leader in Voit. Abreu led MLB in RBIs (60) and total bases (148) and the American League in hits (76) and slugging percentage (.617), while Freeman topped all players in doubles (23) and runs (51) while posting a 1.102 OPS. As for Voit, he went deep 22 times and drove in 52 runs over 56 games.
Second base
Jake Cronenworth (Padres)
DJ LeMahieu (Yankees)
Brandon Lowe (Rays)
Cronenworth was one of the top rookies in the game this past season, slashing .285/.354/.477 over 54 games for the Padres. LeMahieu, meanwhile, followed up a stellar showing in 2019 with a terrific encore, winning the MLB batting title with a .364 average and leading the AL in on-base percentage (.421) and OPS (1.011). However, LeMahieu’s Yankees finished second in the AL East to the Rays, thanks in part to Lowe’s 14 homers and .916 OPS.
Third base
Manny Machado (Padres)
José Ramírez (Indians)
Justin Turner (Dodgers)
After an underwhelming first season with the Padres, Machado registered career highs in average (.304), on-base percentage (.370) and slugging (.580) while playing all 60 games in 2020. Ramírez also rebounded from an up-and-down campaign, blasting 17 homers, scoring an AL-best 45 runs and recording a .993 OPS for the Indians. And Turner remained a consistent performer for the Dodgers, hitting .307 with a .400 on-base percentage.
Shortstop
Corey Seager (Dodgers)
Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres)
Trea Turner (Nationals)
Tatis was one of the biggest stories of the year, turning heads with his electric skill set and finishing with 17 homers, 11 steals and a .937 OPS. Seager actually outperformed the Padres shortstop by a slight margin in that final category, recording a .943 OPS along with his .307 average and 15 homers. And Turner produced a big league-leading 78 hits with 12 homers, 12 steals and a .335/.394/.588 slash line.
Outfield
Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
Mookie Betts (Dodgers)
Michael Conforto (Mets)
Bryce Harper (Phillies)
Eloy Jiménez (White Sox)
Juan Soto (Nationals)
George Springer (Astros)
Mike Trout (Angels)
Mike Yastrzemski (Giants)
The group of outfield finalists is loaded with star power. Collectively, these nine players produced 120 home runs with a .966 OPS and recorded 20.3 Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs. Betts (3.0), Yastrzemski (2.7), Trout (2.6), Soto (2.4), Acuña (2.4) and Conforto (2.0) all ranked among MLB’s top 20 position players in fWAR.
Designated hitter
Michael Brantley (Astros)
Nelson Cruz (Twins)
Marcell Ozuna (Braves)
Splitting his time between left field and designated hitter, Brantley hit .300/.364/.476 in 2020, his sixth season in the past seven years with at least a .299 average. Cruz, meanwhile, continued to swing a potent bat despite his advanced age, slugging 16 homers and posting a .992 OPS at age 39. And Ozuna made a run at the NL Triple Crown, leading the NL in homers (18) and RBIs (56) while finishing third in average (.338).
Starting pitcher
Trevor Bauer (Reds)
Shane Bieber (Indians)
Gerrit Cole (Yankees)
Yu Darvish (Cubs)
Jacob deGrom (Mets)
Max Fried (Braves)
Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)
Dallas Keuchel (White Sox)
Dinelson Lamet (Padres)
Kenta Maeda (Twins)
Aaron Nola (Phillies)
Hyun Jin Ryu (Blue Jays)
Bieber and Bauer won the Cy Young Award in their respective leagues this past season, and they are joined here by the pitchers who finished second (Maeda), third (Ryu), fourth (Cole) and fifth (Keuchel) in the AL race, as well as the hurlers who placed second (Darvish), third (deGrom), fourth (Lamet), fifth (Fried), seventh (Nola) and ninth (Kershaw) in the NL voting.
Relief pitcher
Nick Anderson (Rays)
Alex Colomé (White Sox)
Jake Diekman (A's)
Brad Hand (Indians)
Liam Hendriks (A's)
Devin Williams (Brewers)
Anderson (0.55), Colomé (0.81), Diekman (0.42) and Williams (0.33) all posted sub-1.00 ERAs in 2020, while Hand (2.05 ERA, 16 saves) and Hendriks (1.78 ERA, 14 saves) ranked first and second, respectively, on MLB’s saves leaderboard.
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