MLB - NEWS & NOTES

LOS ANGELES -- Jordan Schafer the outfielder will also be Jordan Schafer the pitcher when he tries to make the Dodgers as a non-roster invitee this spring. The club has not confirmed the signing.

The Dodgers envision Schafer in a hybrid role as a defense-first center fielder and a left-handed reliever, with the emphasis on pitching. He was a pitcher in high school but has not taken the mound in a professional game.

Schafer earned $1.55 million last year and reportedly will receive $1 million this year if he makes the Major League roster.

Schafer, a free agent with five years of Major League experience in the outfield, was released by the Twins last June after returning from a right knee strain. He was Minnesota's starting center fielder on Opening Day last year and was originally drafted in the third round by Atlanta in 2005.

There have been a number of pitchers who converted to position players over the past 15 years, with Rick Ankiel and Brian Bogusevic being two of the more prominent ones. There have also been pitchers such as Micah Owings and Madison Bumgarner getting regular reps as pinch-hitters, though never playing the field. Switching from the field to the mound is more rare, though Jason Lane made the change in 2014, appearing in three games for the Padres seven years after his last big league appearance as an outfielder with San Diego.

The most recent example of a player signed with the intention of serving as a hybrid was Brooks Kieschnick. He was a two-way star at the University of Texas and was taken 10th overall in the 1993 Draft by the Cubs, who chose to use him as an outfielder. After bouncing around the Majors and Minors for a decade, the Brewers signed him before the 2003 season and used him as a right-handed reliever and left-handed hitting pinch-hitter.

Over the course of two seasons, Kieschnick hit .286/.340/.496 in 144 plate appearances and posted a 4.59 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 74 relief appearances (96 innings). He played in three games in the outfield in 2003 and became the first player in Major League history to hit home runs as a pitcher, designated hitter and pinch-hitter in the same season. He did not play the outfield in 2004 but did have 68 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter. He was released by Milwaukee during Spring Training in 2005. (MLB.com)
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I find these types of signings interesting. You get 2 birds with 1 stone kinda deals. Those types of players, if their good at what they do, would put butts in the seats too.

 

interesting Will...

 

O's getting pissed at Davis. They basically asked him "how much is enough?"

greed man, greed.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDD1tW59Mjg[/video]

 

I'd of let him walk! Too many factors play into the future like injuries, bad year, a bad accident outside of baseball, etc. The owners are setting themselves up for new high'$ *STOP*

 

Cespedes close to signing a new deal with somebody, but thats the big question... who?

About 5 teams in the mix...

 

Over 185 IP 3 of 4 years.
2012: 4.02 ERA vs 4.08 AL average
2013: 4.07 ERA vs 3.99 AL average
2014: 3.54 ERA vs 3.81 AL average
2015: 3.34 ERA vs 4.01 AL average

Throws a lot of innings and has been quite good the last 2 years. That's what the market pays now.

 

Davis is a boom or bust signing to me. I see the attraction but I'm skeptical, 1 year removed from a really bad season.

 

Five teams, five favorites to win AL Central

1. Indians
Key additions: Mike Napoli, a potential Gold Glover at first and a guy with an .837 career OPS. For a club that was 18th in runs scored last season, he's a solid addition. With a full season of shortstop Francisco Lindor and third baseman Giovanny Urshela, the Indians are excited about the possibilities.
Strengths: Pitching, pitching, pitching. Cleveland's rotation was fourth in the AL in ERA (3.94) and third in innings (979 1/3). The Indians have so much pitching depth that they toyed with the idea of trading a starter to add a bat.
Questions: A slow start (10-19) again put the Indians in a deep hole from which they were unable to recover, and that will be one of the focuses of Terry Francona's spring message.
Path to October: This is the easy part. The Indians have the kind of rotation that can control a division race, and those kids will add energy and production. Could be a fun baseball summer in Cleveland.

2. White Sox
Key additions: Third baseman Todd Frazier, second baseman Brett Lawrie and catcher Alex Avila.
Strength: Front of the rotation (Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Carlos Rodon) and back of the bullpen (David Robertson).
Questions: How do the offensive pieces fit? Does Adam LaRoche have another productive season in him? Will this finally be the breakout season long expected of Avisail Garcia? Adding Frazier and Lawrie to the lineup should help everyone.
Path to October: If you look at the White Sox a certain way, it's easy to see them winning this division. It means nice seasons from Melky Cabrera and Adam Eaton. It means LaRoche having a bounce-back year. And it means keeping Sale, Rodon, etc., healthy.

3. Royals
Key additions: Re-signing left fielder Alex Gordon is huge. Re-signing right-hander Chris Young deepens the rotation. Likewise, free-agent reliever Joakim Soria and the bullpen.
Strength: Bullpen, defense and winning core.
Questions: Mostly about the rotation. Can Kris Medlen bounce back from two elbow surgeries? Will Yordano Ventura mature into the ace he's expected to be? With Ben Zobrist gone, can Omar Infante -- or someone -- fill a big hole at second base?
Path to October: Not that complicated. Keep the pitchers healthy. Get the usual from Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, etc. Keep the magic going.

4. Tigers
Key additions: Starter Jordan Zimmermann and relievers Francisco Rodriguez, Justin Wilson and Mark Lowe.
Strength: Still the big guys in the middle of the order: Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez. If they stay healthy, the Tigers almost certainly will score enough runs. And suddenly the bullpen looks pretty darn solid.
Questions: What does Justin Verlander still have in the tank? Is the bottom of the rotation -- Mike Pelfrey, Matt Boyd, Daniel Norris -- good enough?
Path to October: Verlander, Cabrera and V-Mart have monster seasons.

5. Twins
Key additions: Designated hitter Byung Ho Park and catcher John Ryan Murphy.
Strength: GM Terry Ryan has methodically assembled a solid starting rotation. Glen Perkins emerged as a first-rate closer. Miguel Sano could hardly have been more impressive in his first season.
Questions: Depth of the rotation and bullpen. Seeing how the new and old lineup come together.
Path to October: Two of baseball's most highly regarded youngsters -- Byron Buxton and Sano -- have a chance to usher in the next great chapter of Twins baseball. If they live up to expectations, the Twins could have one of those shock-the-world seasons. It wouldn't be their first.

 

Moronic organization of the month goes to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays have taken Josh Donaldson to arbitration over a $450k difference. Now a club representative has to sit in a room and explain, in front of Josh Donaldson, to an arbiter why Josh Donaldson is worth $11.35M and not $11.8M. So basically he has to state every concern and flaw the club sees in JD to JD. That's not going to be good for club/player relation when arb comes up again the next 2 years and I bet you JD won't be taking any home town discount before he reaches free agency after the 2018 season. Those damaged relations simply aren't worth 450k. Just plain stupid.

EDIT: Many clubs make it a point to never go to arbitration in order to avoid damaging player relations. I don't know exact numbers on any other clubs, but the Cardinals haven't been to arbitration since 1999. A club policy saying any player who files an arb number will go to court is just closed minded and foolish. This is a business in which you need people, don't alienate those people.

 

greed is good !

 

yeah to lose the reigning MVP over $450k is silly.

 

i was there once during hurricane sandy. all east coast teams cancelled but francona wouldn't. they played 5 innings in an absolute monsoon and somehow the hurricane went up to Maine and they got in game 2 of the doubleheader! i had tix by the Pesky pole for game 1. awesome!

 

decent pitcher. high era. i don't care for his theatrics on the mound.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b...akes-the-tigers-contenders-now-202121746.html

that's a lot of money for upton! wow. tigers making moves.

 

The Mets and former Pittsburgh Pirates lefty Antonio Bastardo have agreed to a two year, $12 million deal.