MLB - NEWS & NOTES

It was suspected yesterday but confirmed today: Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes will have Tommy John surgery.

Reyes had an MRI yesterday which confirmed a tear in his UCL. The Cardinals said yesterday that he?d seek a second opinion, but TJ surgery has been decided upon. He will be out for the entire 2017 season. Assuming the Cards are cautious with him, he will likely get a late start in 2018, but he will likely be able to pitch a good deal next season assuming no complications.

Reyes has been one of the top prospects in baseball. He made his debut in the second half of last season, pitching in 12 games, starting five, and posting an ERA of 1.57 while striking out 52 batters in 46 innings. Earlier in the year he pitched in the Futures Game in San Diego.

Tough break for Reyes and the Cards.

 

Mike Napoli is bringing his party back to Texas.

The Rangers and Napoli on Thursday announced that they had finalized a one-year contract with a club option for 2018. According to a source, the deal is for a minimum of $8.5 million, with a $6 million base, an $11 million option and a $2.5 million buyout.

"I've been fortunate to play on a lot of winning ball clubs," said Napoli, who played with the Rangers from 2011-12 and again for the final two months of the '15 season. "Coming back here was something I saw that was a chance to do that."
Texas had held off announcing the deal until it could make room on the 40-man roster and Napoli could take the required physical. The Rangers made room on the roster by placing pitcher Jake Diekman and infielder Prince Fielder on the 60-day disabled list on Tuesday.

"[Napoli] is a guy who has been part of some big moments for the Rangers over the years here," said general manager Jon Daniels. "We're glad to have him back."

 

Weird I thought Prince retired?

 

u dog-so did i? odd. maybe it saves them money by being on the IR like when the Flyers put Chris Pronger on the LTIR to avoid his cap hit?

 

Padres sign Jered Weaver to one-year, $3 million?deal

The Padres have reportedly signed free agent right-hander Jered Weaver to a one-year deal, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports. The club was said to have offered Weaver a deal north of $1.75 million back in January, but Nightengale reports that the figure has increased to $3 million with no additional incentives.

Weaver, 34, completed an 11-year track with the Angels in 2016. His performance was underwhelming, reaching a career-worst 5.06 ERA and -0.2 fWAR over 31 starts in Anaheim. While his numbers have been in steady decline since 2011, his leadership and ability to absorb innings should benefit a San Diego rotation that features Clayton Richard, Jhoulys Chacin and Trevor Cahill, among several other rotation candidates.

 

Weaver's fast ball lost 3-4 mph on it too. once that happened, he got hit around a lot. still not a bad move. i wish the phils would've signed him.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/h...stem-cells-to-avoid-tommy-john-162916970.html

the possible end to Tommy John surgery? Wow.

 

Wieters to the Nats on a 2 year deal.

 

Umpires Bob Davidson, John Hirschbeck, Jim Joyce, and Tim Welke have?retired

MLB.com?s Brian McTaggart reports that umpires Bob Davidson, John Hirschbeck, Jim Joyce, and Tim Welke have retired.
Davidson, 64, was known as ?Balkin? Bob? for his tendency to call pitchers for balks.?Davidson has also made a name for himself picking fights with players and managers, as well as unnecessarily escalating situations.

Hirschbeck, 62, didn?t quite have the reputation Davidson had, but he had a couple of notable incidents on his profile as well. Last year, when ejecting Twins slugger Miguel Sano, Hirschbeck said, ?Get the [expletive] out of here.? In 2013, he threw a drum of oil on a fire that very easily could?ve been snuffed out with Bryce Harper.

Joyce, 61, was a well-liked and well-respected umpire who will go down in history for one mistake. On June 2, 2010, Tigers starter Armando Galarraga was one out away from a perfect game. Indians second baseman Jason Donald hit a weak grounder about halfway between first and second base. Miguel Cabrera went to his right to field it and flipped to Galarraga covering first base. It was a close call, but Joyce incorrectly ruled Donald safe, ruining Galarraga?s perfect game. To both Joyce?s and Galarraga?s credit, both handled the mistake with the utmost class.

Tim Welke, 59, actually announced his retirement last year, but I guess it wasn?t made official until recently. He underwent a left knee replacement procedure in January last year and then had his right knee replaced five months later. (NBCSports.com)

 

Cowboy Joe West needs to freaking retire too!

 

mlb is forgetting a few things? what about a steal during this? a overthrow of the ball and a man from 3b can score? this takes everything off the table now as far as strategy!

what's next the K zone replacing home plate umpires now?

 

I hate the removal of any consequences or strategies from the IBB play, too (hence my earlier "boo says I" comment), but OTOH when's the last time you actually saw anything like that happen? I don't like it one bit and I don't think it really helps their time issues any appreciable amount, but it probably won't really affect anything one way or the other, either.

Players would love an automated strike zone, I'd imagine. The umpire's union, not so much.

 

The Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies will all play in their Grapefruit League home parks against college opponents, and some of the best players and prospects in the game will be on the field.

Games start at 1:05ish PM ET...

 

u wanna speed up the game- make at bats continuous. no stopping. no stepping off the mound or batter's box to scratch your balls or ass or readjust batting gloves you OCD freakazoids. once pitch 1 starts, the at-bat will not stop until the batter is out or gets on base. no stepping out.

 

lol-the phils C team lost to a DIV II college power house 2-3 yrs ago. People had a field day about how is that possible. It wasn't even the Phillies real team. It was a bunch of wannabes and hopefuls, not Utley, Rollins, Hamels and Howard etc.

 

The best Red Sox-related post-college exhibition game freakout was 2007 when they spent all that money for Daisuke Matsuzaka and the college kid drilled a double off the first pitch he threw.

 

McCutchon is going to right field this season. Marte probably in center because he's faster and a stronger arm would be my guess. Not sure who's going to be in left field. I also read they have 4 starters named and 4 competing for the 5th spot. The other 3 to the bullpen.......Jung Ho Kang caught DUI in Korea for the 3rd time. No telling when or if he'll be back......

 

Mets 3, Red Sox 0, 7th inning and a no-hitter so far.

 

there goes the no-hitter, lol. 3-2.

 

freaking dice-k. his wbc rookie card was worth $125! 2 yrs later and it was worth 25 cents! doh!