The Rangers and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japan Pacific League have announced a partnership. Gerry Fraley of SportsDay wrote a full report on the news, noting that the partnership will include exchanging of “ideas and information” about business, ballpark construction, scouting and player development. Notably, the Fighters will also send one of their own instructors both to Rangers spring training camp and to travel with the team during the regular season. The partnership may have evolved from the depth of scouting personnel that Texas deployed to scout players such as Yu Darvish, Yoshinori Tateyama and Shohei Ohtani. “We look forward to helping each other in a variety of ways,” Rangers President Jon Daniels said of the new alliance. It’s fair to wonder whether this partnership will allow Texas to get its foot in the door with future Fighters talent interested in making the transition to MLB.
More items from the American League’s western clubs…
- The Athletics recently hired 24-year-old Haley Alvarez as their scouting coordinator; she’s the first woman to be hired by the club as a talent evaluator. Alyson Footer of MLB.com wrote a piece on the subject detailing the former intern’s rise to her new position. Alvarez’ journey to scouting began with baseball operations experience she gained during her college days at the University of Virginia, followed by internships with the Commissioner’s Office and the Boston Red Sox organization. Following an internship with the A’s, GM David Forst offered to sponsor her for scout school. Though Alvarez didn’t even know such a thing existed, she was excited about the opportunity, and used it to fuel her career path. She’s now using modern analytics and new advanced technology to help the A’s bring in talent. “You don’t have to have played baseball, which is a common misconception,” says Alvarez, who hopes to inspire other women to pursue career paths in baseball operations.
- In other Athletics news, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports that sophomore Chad Pinder is preparing to play first base for the club on occasion. Because Ryon Healy was shipped to Seattle this offseason, the club needs a backup first baseman. “I think the last time I played first base was in eighth grade,” said Pinder, though he did take ground balls during practice there last season. The Oakland utilityman started at six different positions for the club last season while hitting .232/.292/.457 across 309 plate appearances with 15 homers and 42 RBI. The righty-hitter struck out in nearly 30% of his plate appearances.
- Angels GM Billy Eppler is headed to Japan in order to help with Shohei Ohtani’s transition process, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. He’ll be bringing three other Angels personnel with him. “We spent so much time saying what we’re about to Ohtani and putting things forward for him,” said Eppler. “The main purpose of this is now to get his input and feedback on things.” Eppler also added that Ohtani is scheduled to get on a mound in two weeks; there don’t seem to be any concerns about his health at this time.
Good work this offseason Eppler. Let’s top it off now with another top of the rotation starter grab.
Ever have deja vu ?
Yes I have
One word: no
nobody worth it
Great work this offseason Eppler. Now let’s top it off with another top of the rotation starter grab
Ever have deja vu?
Yes I have
Ever have deja vu?
One word: no
The former intern was certainly able to rise up fast.
or just normally the way most interns do
Yes, generally talented people are able to rise through the ranks of their field quickly. Congratulations to the A’s for refusing to be boxed into the notion that only ex-players can be scouts.
She’s 24 years old, which is incredibly young for someone who is coordinating scouting. My guess is her role is more on the analytics side. Regardless of whether anyone played the game or not, experience matters. Time will tell if this was a good hire.
The A’s don’t have a big front office and have had the same people in positions for years. Lots of opportunities open up when change is in the air.
Her parents are loaded and have connections. She’s been on the fast track since her UVA days. That’s not to say she’s not bright and hard-working, but she’s been given opportunities that a lot people would be lucky to have.
Wow. Maybe she could be President? I mean, that dude has never worked a day in his life and he is the most powerful human being on Earth.
At the rate she’s going, she probably will be, and likely do a better job!
You just described the former President.
Are you really saying that Trump never worked a day in his life? Really? He may be an a-hole, but he has worked his “a” off his entire career.
I believe it was Obama who was the “community organizer”. Trump turned a few million dollars into a few billion dollars then ran arguably the best campaign in modern history. That was a ton of work. Beyond what most people would ever consider. I should point out in an hourly worker and I operate machinery for a living. I’m Not defending the president, but let’s try living in reality and not the delusional world CNN and incompetent college professors are creating. Let’s not slander our president just to make you feel better.
If you honestly think he ran anything you are delusional. He simply picked and chose the scum of the earth to tell him what to do and fortunately for them, they were running against a candidate that already had over 50% of the population hating her. ‘Her’ also being the operative word.
I’ve got you babe
Mark Canha played a lot of 1B in AAA. Why not let him take some reps there as the A’s backup? If he’s finally healthy, his bat plays well there.
Canha needs to prove he can hit because the last 2 years he hasn’t. Pinder can play everywhere on the field and most likely be their utility guy. He can hit too so Canha do or die year is this year.
Canha’s bat plays well at 1B? Lol, uh, no it doesn’t?
Mark Canha sucks. There’s a reason he’s a Rule 5 guy.
Canha’s bat does not play well in MLB.
So this alleged elbow issue is a non issue? I haven’t heard much about it.
it was blown wayyy out of proportion by fans trying to make it seem like they didn’t miss out on much
This has got to be the longest JeDi has gone without making a deal.