Morning Update - 2/22/2021
Brett Gardner returns for season #14 in the Bronx, the Red Sox are still in contact with JBJ, & much more.
Good morning.
It’s February 22nd, 2021 and here’s everything that happened in the world of baseball from 5:00 PM EST Friday to 9:00 AM EST today.
The Most Important Thing
As expected, OF Brett Gardner is returning to the Yankees for his 14th season in the Bronx.
Everything Else
Transactions
The Mets’ deal with RHP Taijuan Walker is now official. 2 years, $20 million. To make room for Walker, RHP Noah Syndergaard was placed on the 60-day IL as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
The Mets signing of OF Kevin Pillar is also now official. 1 year, $5 million. To make room for Pillar, OF Guillermo Heredia was designated for assignment.
RHP Chaz Roe will re-sign with the Rays, reports Robert Murray. Roe has a career 3.82 ERA over 216.2 relief innings.
OF Cameron Maybin is signing a minor league deal with a spring training invite with the Cubs, per Jon Morosi.
RHP Aaron Sanchez’s deal with the Giants is now official. 1 year, $4 million. To make room for Sanchez, RHP Trevor Gott was designated for assignment.
RHP Shun Yamaguchi will sign a minor league deal with the Giants, per Susan Slusser. Yamaguchi will be brought along as a starter, per Andrew Baggarly. He notes that he’ll have an opt-out clause at the end of spring training that allows him to walk if he doesn’t make the major league club.
RHP Luis Frias was placed on the 10-day IL by the Diamondbacks. Dbacks manager Torey Luvallo had announced last Wednesday that Frias and C Stephen Vogt had tested positive for COVID.
OF Travis Demeritte has been outrighted to AAA Gwinett by the Braves. The Braves had claimed him off waivers from Detroit. He had a very poor .172/.273/.207 line in 29 at-bats last season.
C Wynston Sawyer is signing a minor league deal with a spring training invite with the Padres. Sawyer, 29, has yet to make his major league debut.
1B/3B Jake Lamb is signing with the Braves, reports Mark Bowman. Lamb played well for Oakland after signing in September, posting a 143 OPS+ in 49 plate appearances.
RHP Ben Heller is signing a minor league deal with Arizona, per Robert Murray.
OF Jake Marisnick’s deal with the Cubs is now official. One year, $1.5 million with a mutual option for 2022. To make room for Marisnick, the Cubs designated OF Phillip Ervin for assignment.
Cubs INF Sergio Alcantara has cleared waivers and will be outrighted to AAA Iowa, per Jordan Bastian.
RHP Ricardo Pinto is signing a minor league deal with a spring training invite with the Tigers, per Marcos Grunfeld. Pinto has struggled mightily in his 32 major league innings-pitched.
Rangers RHP Jimmy Herget, who was designated for assignment, has cleared waivers and will be outrighted to AAA Round Rock, per John Blake. Herget will be a non-roster invitee to camp, as will 2B prospect Justin Foscue.
1B Adrian Gonzalez will play in the Mexican League this summer and plans to represent Mexico in the Olympics next season.
Injuries & Chatter
Reds RHP Brandon Bailey will have Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2021 season, reports Bobby Nightengale.
Interim Angels pitching coach Matt Wise tested positive for COVID. Wise is filling in for Mickey Callaway, who is suspended pending an investigation into sexual misconduct.
Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said the team remains in contact with free-agent OF Jackie Bradley, Jr.
Top prosject Jarred Kelenic of the Mariners will not be on the opening day roster, President Kevin Mather said.
RHP Stephen Strasburg feels no residual side effects after undergoing carpal tunnel surgey last year.
LHP Marco Gonzalez will be the Mariners’ opening day starter for the third consecutive season.
Notes from Angels manager Joe Maddon: 3B Anthony Rendon may be late arriving to camp due to the weather issues in Texas; RHP Jaime Barria has reported to camp; RHP Felix Pena has lost 15-20 pounds.
Notes from Pirates GM Ben Cherington: OF Gregory Polanco is in camp and healthy; LHP Austin Davis won’t be ready for the start of spring training games after some off-season elbow soreness; RHP Jose Soriano is on track with his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
OF Ian Desmond is opting out of the 2021 season for now, he announced.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez says RHP Joe Ross, RHP Erick Fedde, and RHP Austin Voth may all get a shot at the fifth spot in Washington’s rotation.
Notes from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts: Mitch White and Joe Kelly are still dealing with soreness; C Keibert Ruiz is having visa issues and has not arrived at camp. He’ll have to quarantine when he arrives; Clayton Kershaw threw his first bullpen session Saturday.
LHP Clayton Kershaw told reporters he feels like “he has a few years left in the tank.”
Notes from Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoya: expectations are high for LHP Robbie Ray; team will stretch RHP Trent Thornton out during camp but will keep options open for a potential relief role.
RHP Michael Lorenzen is making a push to be the Reds’ fifth starter this season. He has only started five games since his debut season in 2015. Mark Sheldon notes he’s competing with RHP Tejay Antone, RHP Jeff Hoffman and RHP José De León for the final spot in the rotation.
Notes from Marlins manager Don Mattingly: the team’s first three spring training games will be 7 innings each; LHP Ross Detwiler will be exclusively in the bullpen in 2021; Jorge Alfaro will be getting the bulk of the catching opportunities.
A’s C Sean Murphy is at A’s camp and has underwent a physical, reports Martin Gallegos. Murphy is recovering from surgery to repair a collapsed lung.
RHP Victor Arano is having visa issues and will be a late-arriver to Braves camp.
AJ Hinch says Miguel Cabrera will play 1B “once or twice a week” this season.
Even after breaking his thumb last week, Phillies C JT Realmuto caught a bullpen session on Saturday for RHP Brandon Kintzler.
Cardinals RHP Dakota Hudson is ahead of schedule in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, says Zachary Silver. His target date to return is March 15.
The Mets hope LHP David Peterson will compete for a spot in the starting rotation. He started 9 games in New York last season, posting a 123 ERA+.
Braves manager Brian Snitker says it’s too early to assume top prospect Christian Pache will begin the year as Atlanta’s starting CF.
White Sox top prospect LHP Garrett Crochet added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, notes Scott Merkin. Crochet consistently reached 100-101 in his appearances last season.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said OF prospect Jarren Duran will be playing a lot with the major league club in spring training.
LHP J.A. Happ tested positive for COVID and is asymptomatic.
Astros RHP Forrest Whitley is unable to report to camp as of now, says manager Dusty Baker. Baker said he could not say why, but that Whitley’s arm is healthy.
LHP Ranger Suarez is one of five Phillies dealing with visa issues that are delaying their arrival to camp.
RHP Ryan Pressly is the leading candidate to be the Astros’ closer, writes Brian McTaggert.
Posts With Your Toast
More power rankings: this time it’s MLB.com. As with all the others we’ve linked, the Dodgers are first and the Pirates are last.
Anthony DiComo predicts lineups, rotations, and closers for every team for 2021.
Kyle Farmer hopes his drastic swing change helps him win Cincinnati’s starting SS spot, writes Bobby Nightengale.
Nathalie Alonso explains how Franciso Lindor’s defense could transform the Mets.
Evan Grant wonders if Matt Bush has a comeback in him.
Jesse Dougherty says Dave Martinez, with contract extension in hand, is looking forward to Nationals spring training.
Paul Hoynes on Cleveland’s options to close games.
Playoff foes Yasmani Grandal and Liam Hendricks team up to give the White Sox a boost, writes James Fegan.
In a speech made public, Mariners CEO Kevin Mather addresses Jarred Kelenic, team finances and more.
Zach Wheeler is aiming for consistency in his slider, writes William Ladson.
AJ Cassavell on the Padres rotation strategy for 2021. In this: LHP Adrian Morejon is the likeliest candidate to start if the Padres opt for a six-man rotation.
Andrew Baggarly fills you in on what you might have missed in the first week of Giants’ camp.
Anthony Mazziotti wonders if the Phillies did enough to compete in 2021.
Craig Kimbrel holds the key to the Cubs’ 2021 bullpen, says Meghan Montemurro.
Daryl Van Schouwen on the possibility of Dylan Cease being future Cy Young material.
Random Baseball Rewind
Foul Tips
Brendan Kuty on a Yankees prospect whose family endured the Texas winter storm’s toughest moments.
Domingo German’s teammates know too much to let him off easy, writes Ken Davidoff.
God bless and good day!
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