Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman left today’s spring action with a right wrist issue, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Such a potentially minor occurrence might not warrant mention for most players, but Freeman missed significant time last year owing to issues in the same area, and he was proceeding cautiously as he ramps up for the 2016 season. (Indeed, as O’Brien has previously written, Freeman has long dealt with difficulties in his right wrist and hand.) For now, it’s only a situation to monitor, but there’s obviously added concern in his case.
Here’s more on Freeman and some other interesting players in the NL East:
- Of course, Freeman was the topic of plenty of trade speculation this winter as the Braves continued to tweak their player assets — at least until GM John Coppolella made as clear as possible that Freeman wouldn’t be going anywhere. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark explores the big lefty’s interesting offseason, reporting that Atlanta may have been closer to moving Freeman at one point than the organization has been willing to acknowledge. Coppolella denies that anything ever seriously progressed, while acknowledging that there was outside interest (which, of course, is no surprise). Freeman himself said he heard a lot of the chatter, but was eventually put to ease by the front office. And Coppolella explains that the first bagger is the organization’s “rock.” You’ll want to read the whole piece for the full story, as it is full of interesting content.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo had some interesting comments today in an interview with MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link). He said that righty Stephen Strasburg “could be a long-term fit” in DC and suggested that the organization would seek to explore a new deal with the pending free agent. While “health is obviously a big factor with him,” said Rizzo, it seems clear that the Nats at least have interest in seeing what an extension (or, potentially, a free agent deal) would look like. The club GM and president also talked about star Bryce Harper’s long-term status, saying that the “money part of it … is going to be extreme and complicated” while noting that he feels the Nationals have done a good job of selling Harper on the organization as a fit down the line.
- Rizzo also talked more Nationals matters on the podcast of ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. In addition to providing some more thoughts about Strasburg and Harper, more from an on-field than a contractual perspective, Rizzo spoke at length about top shortstop prospect Trea Turner. The Nats’ head baseball decisionmaker wouldn’t commit to an Opening Day roster job for the youngster, but also didn’t rule it out, and emphasized that Turner is “not far away from the big leagues” while crediting him not only with 80-grade speed, but also outstanding maturity. As for the deal that brought him to DC, Rizzo tipped his cap to the scouts who helped to identify Turner and Joe Ross as targets within the Padres organization. He explained further: “[W]hen they showed interest in Steven Souza … we made it clear that, you know, we had to have these two players in the trade or we wouldn’t be interested in moving Souza.” The Nats were able to “get[] involved in a three-team trade later in the process” — the Rays, of course, being the organization that ultimately ended up with Souza — to land a return that has looked quite promising ever since the deal was struck.
- Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia spoke again with the media today, emphasizing — as he said recently — that he was not using any banned substances when he was tagged with his second and third positive tests, as Laura Albanese of Newsday reports (Twitter links). While he acknowledged his initial suspension was valid, he “framed it as an accident,” by Albanese’s characterization. Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com notes on Twitter that it appears Mejia’s lifetime ban was never formally appealed, so there may be some possibility that he could still have a chance at contesting the decision. As Nathaniel Vinton of the New York Daily News reports, it appears Mejia will attempt to do just that, though it should be noted there could well be procedural hurdles. For its part, the league issued a strong statement rejecting Mejia’s claims of a conspiracy against him, calling the righty a “repeated user of banned performance-enhancing substances” who is doing nothing more than “hiring aggressive lawyers and making wild, unsupported allegations about the conduct of others in an effort to clear their names.” Newsday’s David Lennon was among those to tweet the full statement.
Yankees are going hard after Strasburg with the contracts of Tex, Chapman and Beltran coming off the books at the end of the season. No way he is signing without hitting the open market.
And lemme guess, you guys get Harper and Harvey too by the end of 2018? lol.
But yes I definitely think the Yankees are going to pursue Strasburg big time. It’s no secret that team needs pitching and with all that money coming off the books too.
I think the Dodgers are another obvious fit too. Strasburg is a California native and the Dodgers also need pitching and may look to him as a ‘Greinke replacement’ I’d imagine other clubs like the Cubs, Boston and maybe a dark house club like Philadelphia bids aggressively for Strasburg’s services as well.
I think Harper is a Yankee after 2018. Harvey, no. I’d take Matz over any starter the Mets currently have. He has a very high ceiling. Lefties with his stuff don’t grow on trees.
Of course Freeman is the “rock” of the organization. Until he’s traded. I get the game the organization has to play from a PR standpoint but if the right offer comes there will be considerations made. Its business. Assuming his wrist doesn’t blow up and he continues production his contract is very good for the right amount of years.
Who knows, the Olivera experiment could finally find itself at first.
Im very curious to see what strasberg will get, with all those injuries and inconsistent production he’s kind of a mystery
Since 2010…..ERA 3.16, 3.00, 3.14,. 3.46….FIP 2.83, 3.21, 2.94, 2.81……..K/9 11.1, 9.4, 10.1, 11.0…….That’s inconsistent?
I am not saying that I believe Jenrry Mejia for a second, but let’s pretend he is correct. Just imagine the fallout if what he was saying were true. MLB might never be able to suspend anyone ever again over drugs just because of the lost credibility. You also would have to wonder about the reception for Mejia from his teammates and the fans. Would his teammates welcome him back with open arms or would he just be a pariah in the clubhouse? It isn’t an exact parallel, but Curt Flood was HATED by fans for challenging the baseball hierarchy. A lot has changed since 1970, but I can imagine Mejia being booed heavily at the very least. Of course this is probably a moot point since he has almost no chance of winning this argument. Either way, it is fun to imagine sometimes.
Personally I think there’s a major difference between Curt Flood fighting the reserve clause and Jenrry Mejia declaring MLB is out to get him. Mejia is saying an institution is out to get him, Flood said part of an institution was wrong. There’s a huge difference and frankly more than a little insulting to Curt Flood’s memory to compare them.
Cui bono? Why would MLB frame a relative nobody for something like this? It makes no sense.
All I know is if Mejia pulls some more Ryan Braun b.s. and drag someone’s life through the mud to save their own skin and the league lets him do it, I will not be happy.
Mejia is really doing the only thing he can do right now. He got bagged 3 times. He has let his team, the fans and MLB down tremendously and is now just making himself look like a complete fool instead of taking it like a man and admitting that he tried to cheat without getting caught.
If he performs this season, I’m expecting that Strasburg gets a 7-8 year deal this offseason worth roughly 180M (and maybe more).
A. He will only be 28 in July. That’s two years younger than Price and four for Greinke.
B. He has a career 3.09 ERA, if anything he is underrated because of how overhyped he was as a amatuer and in the minors. You want to know who else has a career 3.09 ERA? David Price. Greinke has a career 3.35 ERA.
C. While he did have a somewhat lengthy DL stint this year, he has been mostly injury free since his TJS in 2010.
There are some flaws to his game, some feel he is timid on the mound and is easily frustrated when a ball/strike call doesn’t go his way/ his defense lets him down. But if he does his part this summer, there will be plenty of teams this winter willing to pay him big money.
Isn’t the expected life of TJS 5 years? If it is, that might affect the length of contract a team is willing to give.
you would think. but competition for good starting pitchers is so stiff that SOMEONE is going to give him a 6-7 year deal, with at least one, may two opt out years after his 2nd and 4th years. yeah….it’s goofy….but…it’s baseball mentality right now.
Mejia is innocent. It already has been proven by recent drug testing. Plus there is a bombshell of a scandal by the MLB…stay tuned should break soon
Mejia…is that you?
Wouldn’t recent drug testing only show what he has used recently? It doesn’t disprove prior tests. Only shows that he got his act together since.
The Mejia situation has seemed odd since his second positive test. My question is: did he have a clean test before the second positive? Michael Morse years ago claimed to have been suspended twice fir the same usage, and it seems possible that this happened to Mejia.
As far as Mejia’s claim that MLB wanted him to reveal his source of PDAs, it sounds like the ARod Biogenesis fiasco. MLB is more than capable of strong arm investigative tactics.
I would like to know the whole story here.
Not saying he deserves a pass but originally when the story broke it sounded like Mejia had problems understanding english and the exact consequences no excuse, but it is obvious lawyers are taking him a ride for every penny he has now.
That Jayson Stark article recommended is regurgitated dribble and a waste of time to read. The Braves may never trade Freeman, but if they do not it is a terrible mistake. If at any point he gets his performance back to expectations he needs to go. His salary increases 70% next year and he becomes un-affordable. He would have to generate 5.5 to 6.5 WAR to justify the cost on a team that averages under $3 Million per WAR. Braves need to get what they can and Houston or Boston are the places to start.
AJ Reed, Bregman, and outfielder or Devers, Travis, and Bradley Jr, or Moncada.
He would also have to generate 5.5-6.5 to justify those trade packages you proposed. He’s a 1B with average power and average D.
There was nothing average about his career-high HR pace in 2015 that was halted by the wrist. He’s putting altogether if he can get past the wrist ailment – a big “if”.
Ask most outside of Braves fan base and they would stay say Freeman is a Top 5 1B in the league. He is still you and power is growing, hits great average and has better range.
Not that I generally agree with Trademeister, but if he can get past this wrist ailment, his stock will be back up. Astros, Pirates, and anyone with a solid 1B prospect could be a good match. Also Yankees for future or Cards for present need are obvious partners.
Who did Ryan Braun “drag through the mud?” The sample collector who mishandled the sample to begin with?
Don’t even pretend to defend that scum. Come on now. Do you defend arod too? What next, chapman and Reyes?
There is an ENORMOUS difference between “defending that scum” and pointing out the FACT the man who was supposedly “dragged through the mud” was only put in that position to begin with because HE FAILED to fully comply with the procedures of handling a sample. This was his job. He failed at his job. He was fired for failing at his job. His failure was THE reason Braun was able to win his appeal to begin with.
I am subject to random drug tests at my job, along with having to take them if I were to have an accident at work, and also when I want to renew my forklift operator liscence. You damn well better believe if I ever found out a sample collector mishandled my sample (whether or not I test positive or negative), I would be all over it.
I am not, nor will I ever defend someone who broke the rules his employer has in place. He was punished, which his employer had every right to do.
But, to say or even imply someone’s reputation or job was harmed by Braun is absolutely 100% false.
He got the dude fired who collected or delivered the sample. (I don’t remember which one)