Evening Update - 2/16/2021
Jed Hoyer refutes the Kris Bryant trade rumors, Craig Kimbrel will be closing for the Cubs, & more.
Good evening.
It’s February 16th, 2021, and here’s everything that happened in baseball from 9:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST.
What You Missed While Working
Cubs President Jed Hoyer met with reporters today and provided several nuggets, most notably refuting recent reports that the team was involved in trade discussions with the Mets surrounding 3B Kris Bryant.
He also mentioned that the team would be announcing a a bullpen signing soon.
And a few more pieces of info:
Everything Else
Twins RHP Ian Hamilton cleared waivers and will be at major league camp as a non-roster invitee.
The Braves won their arbitration hearing against Dansby Swanson. He will be paid $6 million as opposed to the $6.7 he requested.
RHP Craig Kimbrel will be the closer for the Cubs this season, manager David Ross said.
LHP Tyler Anderson will sign a major league deal with the Pirates, per Ken Rosenthal.
Barry Jackson and Craig Mish report the Marlins could have had OF Andrew Benintendi as part of a three-team deal that “would have involved the Marlins trading a position player, a veteran who isn’t assured of a starting spot.” The two also report that Marlins OF Adam Duvall could play 130-140 games in RF. He could move to left field if Corey Dickerson is unavailable.
More from Jackson & Mish: The Marlins spoke with Baltimore about OF Anthony Santander, but the deal never got close. Be sure to read that full column - lots of good Miami info in there.
C Jeff Mathis will sign a minor league deal with the Phillies, per Jon Heyman. He will earn $1.8 million if he makes the major league club.
The Red Sox officially signed RHP Hirokazu Sawamura. The deal is for two years with a dual club/player option for 2023.
Robinson Chirinos will have a $1 million base salary with $500k in incentives in his deal with the Yankees, per Jon Heyman.
The Reds announced they signed RHP Cam Bedrosian to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. Bedrosian was good last season for the Angels, posting a 2.45 ERA in 14.2 innings.
Joe Maddon says RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani will be “full-go” entering the spring.
The Mets released RHP Brad Brach, who was designated for assignment last week. RHP Corey Oswalt, who was also DFA’d, will be outrighted to AAA Syracuse.
1B/DH Albert Pujols is undecided about his playing future beyond 2021.
LHP Mike Montgomery will make $2.25 million with the Mets if he earns a spot on the major league club, per Bob Nightengale. He has opt-outs on March 28th and June 1st if he’s not on their major league roster.
Buster Olney notes Justin Wilson's contract structure with the Yankees “will be a little more complicated to account for CBT issues, with options involved. Average value could be in $2m-$3m range.”
INF Humberto Arteaga and OF Ramon Flores signed minor league deals with the Nationals, relays Jesse Dougherty.
Derek Shelton, Pirates manager, says SS/OF Cole Tucker will get some work in the outfield for versatility, but most of his time will be spent in the infield, reports Rob Biertempfel.
INF Matt Davidson has signed a minor league deal with a spring training invite with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers traded RHP Josh Sborz to the Rangers for RHP Jhan Zambrano. The Rangers designated RHP Jimmy Herget for assignment to make room for Sborz,
The Phillies announced several non-roster invitees to major league camp and spring training mini-camp.
Matt Wise will be the Angels interim pitching coach while Mickey Callaway is suspended pending an investigation, reports Jeff Fletcher. Dom Chiti will replace Wise as the bullpen coach.
The Cubs have kept INF Eric Sogard “on their radar,” reports Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney.
The Dodgers announced their non-roster invitees to camp, which includes top pitching prospect Josiah Gray.
Tigers’ VP Al Avila said LHP Joey Wentz, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, is throwing out to 120 feet and will be going through pitcher-catcher workouts, notes Chris McCosky.
Hall of Famer Barry Larkin will serve as a Reds TV analyst for Fox Sports Ohio this year. Larkin notes he is in no way trying to get closer to the managing position for the Reds.
The Brewers and FS Wisconsin announced a new multi-year agreement.
Herb Washington, who played for the A’s in 1974 and 1975, is suing McDonald’s. Washington claims he was forced to sale his franchises to white owners.
Evening Reading
FanGraphs released their projected postseason odds. The Dodgers, Padres, and Yankees are all over 90%. Worst odds? Baltimore - at 0.0%.
John Shea examines how the Giants will handle the Buster Posey/Joey Bart catching dynamic.
Joel Sherman opines that Gerrit Cole is baseball’s most indispensable player.
Jay Jaffe on how far RHP Jake Arrieta has fallen since his last stint with the Cubs.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel says Yankee prospect Jasson Dominguez is “more advanced” than Mike Trout was at that age. Slooow down.
Kerry Crowley on where the Giants stand in the long process of creating a contender.
Matt Snyder says more than half the league could be positioned to spend big next offseason.
MLB.com predicts 10 big breakout hitter picks for 2021.
Taking a look at the longest affiliations in minor league baseball.
Tony Wolfe says the Rays finally have a full rotation, at least for now.
Julian McWilliams thinks a lot of questions will be answered by the Red Sox in spring training.
A Podcast For The Drive Home
Baseball By The Book discusses “Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth’s Shadow” with author Dave Heller.
Random Baseball Rewind
From 1989 Sports Illustrated: “As gambling charges—and the media—engulfed him, Pete Rose awaited his fate”
God bless and have a good evening!