Kyle Schwarber is now a member of the Washington Nationals, in no small part because of Nats manager Dave Martinez, per ESPN. Schwarber, of course, won a World Series with Martinez as his bench coach in Chicago. In fact, Martinez was the Cubs bench coach for the first three years of Schwarber’s career. Said Schwarber, per ESPN, “I love [Martinez] to death. I’m so excited to play for this guy. He only wants to win.” Washington hopes Martinez can help Schwarber recapture some of the magic that made him a star in Chicago. Schwarber will also reunite with Starlin Castro, with whom he played as a rookie on the 2015 Cubs. Elsewhere…
- Royals Assistant General Managers Scott Sharp and Jin Wong remain active in reaching out to agents about potential free agents, writes MLB.com’s Jason Beck. The Royals have been one of the more proactive teams in the Majors so far this winter, coming to terms with Mike Minor, Greg Holland, Michael A. Taylor, and Carlos Santana to Major League deals, all before the new year. The Royals are still potentially on the lookout for a left-handed bat, notes Beck. With just about $87MM in payroll commitments, the Royals have just a couple million before matching last year’s payroll. It wasn’t long ago, however, that Kansas City ran up payrolls over the century mark, so it’s possible they could extend yet another Major League contract, should the right deal fall their way.
- Ryan O’Hearn, Franchy Cordero, and Nicky Lopez are the only pure left-handed bats on the roster, and only the latter has a guaranteed spot as a regular player. Adalberto Mondesi and Carlos Santana are switch-hitters who will be in the lineup every day, but both have traditionally fared better hitting from the right side. In terms of their targets, Beck also notes that the Royals are growing comfortable with Hunter Dozier as the regular third baseman. All that in mind, a lefty corner outfielder would fit nicely onto the roster. Should they not find a bat at an appropriate price point, however, the Royals are believers in the long-term ability of Khalil Lee, who is a candidate for playing time in 2021.
- Red Sox prospect Bradley Blalock was a 32nd round draft choice in 2019, but after adding 10 pounds and roughly six miles per hour to his fastball, the 20-year-old right-hander will enter 2021 as a player to watch, per Alex Speier of Baseball America. Blalock is more-or-less just beginning his professional career, having signed out of high school for $250K in July of 2019. The Georgia native made just four appearances in rookie ball, giving up five earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out four over 6 2/3 innings. Elsewhere in the system, the prospect gurus at MLB.com name Nick Yorke as a player who could rise quickly through Boston’s system, writing, “The California prep product has the sweet right-handed swing, bat speed, pitch recognition and discipline to potentially become a .300 hitter with 20 homers per season.” Yorke was the No. 17 overall selection of the 2020 draft.
It would be amazing if Yorke rose fast considering how the pick was panned by so many.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, great minds think alike
He signed for under slot and allowed Boston to go over slot to sign Blaze Jordan. I think Bloom knew what he was doing.
Exactly. Unlike other sports, baseball’s draft usually shouldn’t be evaluated for a couple of years at least.
Sounds like good prospects but they are just that, prospects.
Every garden started off as seeds.
Seen some pretty killer gardens that started from clones.
LOL! My kind of garden! =}
Sounds like good prospects but they are just that, prospects.
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I have no idea how to process that. What’s next? Pitchers are just pitchers, and comments are just comments?
Joe – agreed. Comments are just comments….many are guesses and many others are ill informed…..
Bloom was bashed for picking Yorke !!
Yorke was had 5 hits in his first 7 AB at the Alternative Training Site and looked great espicially for an 18 year old kid. I thought he did amazing as i watched him on TV.
Is Bradley related to Hank?
No, but he is the son of Mrs. Blalock, who used to babysit Damien of “Omen” fame…….Interesting woman, if you’re into that kind of thing….
Hes Mookie Blaylock and Bradley Coopers love child.
Hey guy… try to take 5 min and find the article from Verducci on SI.com about Tommy Lasorda. RIP Tommy.
Not sure I get what you’re saying. MLBTR did an entire memorial article for Tommy Lasorda.
Take thirty seconds to scroll down the main MLBTR page. This isn’t SI.com.
I know this isn’t SI… I’m not trying to take anything away from MLBTR. I’m on here at least 20 times a day. I was saying when you have a chance, to check out that article from Verducci too.
Okay. I think we might not be receiving your post the way you intended. I read some sarcasm into it that obviously wasn’t there. My apologies and thanks for the clarification.
Good for Schwarber to land with Martinez. There are so many major league managers who just don’t want to win.
I don’t think that’s the case as managers are following directives of the front office. If a young pitcher’s innings are limited, nothing much he can do. Same for speedy hitters who are told not to steal bases. It really depends on how a developing team uses its processes.
My comment was sarcasm.
I know this isn’t SI… I’m not trying to take anything away from MLBTR. I’m on here at least 20 times a day. I was saying when you have a chance, to check out that article from Verducci too.
That article? On Kyle schwarber’s free agent Journey? Okay will do. Thanks for the info.
Since when was Nicky Lopez a guaranteed regular player. I’ve seen articles saying that Merrifield is moving back to 2nd.
Yeah I’ve seen mixed reports on this
Could the royals be interested in AB from the Redsox? AB seems like he needs a change of scenery and the royals are looking for a LH bat?
Nice Prediction!
Two rebuilding teams, like Boston and KC, seldom match up well. They are both wanting to acquire young controllable players.
Curious why espn is interviewing the lowest of the bottom-tier signings like Schwarber. Nothing against Schwarber personally, it’s just that nobody cares.
It’s probably just a product of this super slow boring offseason.
Royals and Sawx could match up for AB if the Royals deal Singer and/or one or more of their high level pitching prospects.
no way the Royals deal Singer. Kahlil Lee its your time to shine. These big market teams like Boston need to realize you’re not going to get a young rising star for a has been. Royals young pitchers will resemble the 90s Braves staff soon. Get real Sox fans.
90s Braves staff was all-time great. If the projected Royals staff is half that good you’ll be happy. I’d probably set expectations a little lower, pitching today is far weaker than the 90s, I cant see any staff in today’s game coming close to that Braves staff.
Royals are after Profar but seems he prefers to stay with Padres if deals are comparable even with a likely reserve role