As MLB’s Spring Training continues, here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on today:
1. Cole awaits MRI results:
Reigning 2023 AL Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole is awaiting results after undergoing an MRI on his elbow yesterday. The Yankees ace has been struggling with recovery between his starts this spring, and the club intends to seek out multiple opinions regarding a treatment plan for the right-hander. That search for multiple opinions could “possibly” delay any announcement regarding Cole’s status, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, though the results of the MRI figure to be available to the club today.
The 33-year-old Cole was the lone stabilizing force in the club’s rotation last year as he pitched to an excellent 2.63 ERA with a 3.16 FIP in 209 innings across 33 starts. The strong performance saw Cole suit up for his fifth consecutive All Star game while receiving Cy Young Award votes for the sixth consecutive season. While the Yankees bolstered their rotation mix this winter by adding veteran right-hander Marcus Stroman, a significant absence from Cole would leave the club to depend even more heavily on southpaws Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes returning to form after 2023 campaigns marred by injuries and ineffectiveness. It’s conceivable that a major injury could push the Yankees to aggressively pursue either Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, though the enormous luxury tax implications for signing either player have been well documented by now.
2. Padres outfield moves on the horizon:
Reporting yesterday indicated that the Padres remain engaged in talks with free agent outfielders Michael A. Taylor, Adam Duvall, and Tommy Pham. Each of those aforementioned outfielders would make plenty of sense for the Padres, as they’ve proven themselves to be reliable, quality outfield regulars in recent years. That’s an area in which San Diego’s roster is severely lacking; while Fernando Tatis Jr. is entrenched in right field, Jose Azocar and Jurickson Profar are the only other outfield bats on the club’s 40-man roster at the moment.
That lack of outfield depth on the roster leaves the club all but certain to make a roster move in the outfield in the near future, regardless of what happens regarding Taylor, Duvall, and Pham. While San Diego’s domestic Opening Day isn’t for another two weeks, their first regular season game will occur in just eight days, when they head to Seoul to face the Dodgers as part of a two-game set. Prior to that series, the club figures to add at least one of its many non-roster invitees in the outfield to the big league roster. Perhaps the most exciting option would be top prospect Jackson Merrill, a shortstop who started taking reps in center field this spring.
3. MLBTR Chat today:
While teams around the league are already making preparations for Opening Day, a handful of the winter’s top free agents remain unsigned. Are you wondering what’s next on the hot stove, or how your favorite team stacks up with the end of Spring Training in sight? If so, tune in this afternoon when MLBTR’s Steve Adams hosts a live chat with readers at 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, and that same link will allow you to join in on the chat once it begins or read the transcript after its completed.
And that’s all she wrote. If Cole is out for the season with TJ NYY can’t possibly finish above .500. They will be without 30 quality starts and I hear Boras is on line 1 with Snell & line 2 with Monty. The NYY would literally need BOTH to replace Cole. This is huge trouble. No? Just when it looked like the Yankees hitting, getting on base and scoring woes were in check this happens. Also, AJ is batting .140. Is there a problem? Soto is putting up better numbers than Showtime & where is Stanton? Cashman is pacing in his office right now. SHP.
Also Lucas Gioliti and his agents at CAA seem to have scammed the BoSox lol 2 years guaranteed 40 mil and all of a sudden out for the season…? This is insane. How can they get and injury like that past the Sox medical staff? Didn’t he have a physical? Wouldn’t they look for injuries like this? hmmmmm
178 – MRI’s are not SOP for free agent signings unless the player reveals discomfort or pain.
Red Sox got what they deserved for such an overpay without questioning why he sucked the past two years. They didn’t learn from the Story signing.
How do you know what is SOP?? You don’t think you get every possible view of muscles and bones when you spend hundreds of millions of dollars? You’re an MLB doctor?
Giolito hasn’t had arm problems since 2912. This probably happened after he signed. I think it was a great move for the Red Sox. Last year with the White Sox was nothing but turmoil and a terrible defensive team. In a new environment, with a new P coach, I think Gio will regain his form next season.
Maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t injured at that time, and the injury occurred during spring training. Are all the other injured pitchers scamming their teams, too? All players have the “pending physical” clause attached to their contracts.
What’s up drama!! Snell had a better ERA and better K/9. Would I rather have a healthy Cole? Absolutely, but NYY has plenty of offense to pick up Snell and be fine. You’re way over reacting. And trust me Scott Boras is not a man who paces. He’s sitting patiently with a big cigar and a bigger smile!!! He represents Cole and he still couldn’t be happier.
Cole had a much better FiP. Snell’s strand rate/BABIP will not be duplicated, especially if he leads the league in walk-rate (BB/9). It helps when your home field is Petco as opposed to Yankee Stadium.
Agree on all, my point is just when you start a post with “That’s all she wrote” and you have Snell as a replacement and the offense of the Yankees, you are being a little over dramatic. Not a Yankees fan but relax.
Check out Snell’s splits with men on base. He did his best pitching with a guy(s) on. Looking at those numbers it has me thinking the walks are a lot less hurtful to Snell then probably any pitcher in the game.
or he got lucky
Read again, Cashman is pacing. lol Boras is most definitely in a recliner doing calls hands free to hold his champagne and caviar.
@bluesteele – I agree – Yankees should want snell, but the fact that Cole eats innings and is dominant year in and year out makes him more valuable than snell.
luckusciano: If you’re looking for an innings eater, than the Yankees should sign Cueto or Clevinger. Both pitched into the eighth inning a number of times with the Sox. They won’t get many wins with Cueto, but Clevinger is a better P than I gave him credit for when the Sox got him.
Not this year.
Stop it please! Do you not understand the implications of the luxury tax situation? If they are not willing pay it while Cole was healthy why in their right minds would they do it without Cole adding another $60-80 million to current payroll? Yankees will roll with Beeter, Warren and Gill and if they are close to a playoff spot come the trade deadline then maybe they trade for a starter however if they are a .500 team the most likely scenario is they hold key assets – Soto, Torres, Holmes, Verdugo to stack up the farm with talent for 2025 and build their future around Judge, Jones, Volpe, Dominguez, Wells, Warren , Hampton, Gill and Beeter what looks like a promising future.
Good gawd. Another horrible take. They didn’t feel they needed Snell with a healthy Cole. THATS why they didn’t get him. Now they need him. The Yanks are in win now mode. They traded for Soto for a reason. You have no choice but to add an elite arm and pay what it takes. Short term, high dollar, contract coming!!!
The reason they traded for Soto was to sell tickets. With or without Cole, Soto will sell tickets. Nothing has changed on that front.
Teams survive without their ace, rangers won a title with no Degrom. My Rays won 99 games without our ace and two other AS caliber pitchers. Chill out man its March 12th.
If Merrill makes the club the Padres will have a former SS at every position except C.
And only because Nola lost his ways, sigh.
Seems like injuries ruined Nola’s career. His sharp drop in performance in 2023 coincided with a concussion (resulting in eye problems, i.e. couldn’t track the ball).
He was definitely a bust as the trade piece coming back from Seattle, but he definitely had/has talent. Frustrating result for Padres fans, but I don’t hate the guy like .a “Hosmer”. (Hmm, more like a Myers underperformer than a Hosmer-who-never-had-that-much-talent kinda guy.)
Hopefully, things go well for him with the Royals, and he gets in a few good years before retirement.
Good that Cole is hurt. Yankees whole rotation is bought. Embarrassing way to go
But what if he’s ok? Still a possibility.
Lots of eggs.
No chickens.
That’s a remarkably terrible take TrollingSteve. Perhaps you should be more liberal in your opinion(s).
Yanks can have Snell. Giants don’t want him either. I am glad Farhan doesn’t overpay free agents. Look at all the shortstops last year! None of them had good seasons after mega contracts
Dansby Swanson put up a 4.8 WAR last year after starting slowly. I think the Cubs were happy with those results.
For the most part, we’re super happy with X, too.
I’m a Padres fan and have to say that, after a great start in April, I was disappointed with X after that. I’m hoping he’ll bounce back this year.
CK, Then you must have missed the 2nd half of the season when Bogaerts had a .321/.364/.493/.857 slashline and a 131 OPS+.
I am hoping he will be the same guy he was in 2021-2022 and the 2nd half of 2023. 5+ WAR and 130+ OPS+/wRC+
If “all” the Padres get is the overall player he was in 2023, I would be happy with that too. After all 4.4 WAR and 120 OPS+/122 wRC+ puts him in the top 5 as a SS or 2B.
Corey Seager says “hi”
wrong year,bumpkin
No, I’m pretty sure he had a damn good 2023.
As for when he signed, how does that matter? It’s how much he was paid that would determine whether it was a good deal, not when the deal was signed.
How about the hard, cold reality that the business HAS CHANGED SINCE IVY LEAGUERS STARTED BEING HIRED AS GMs? Huh?
It used to be baseball people running the teams.
They used to be involved because they LOVED THE GAME!
They had INTEGRITY AND RESPECT FOR THE FANS.
NOT ANYMORE, SINCE ALL THESE IVY LEAGUERS JUMPED ON BOARD TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS!
The Tiger guy, Harris, = did.he play ball?
Yes, I AM SHOUTING IT.
It seems to fall on deaf ears.
You say something? The Ivy League lovers of baseball had some computers running. We couldn’t hear you
You mean the counting machines? Counting the cash as you tank and rip off TRUE BLUE, MOTHER LOVING, APPLE PIE EATING, AMERICAN BASEBALL FANS?
I HEAR YOU.
Think about it. Maximizing PROFITS, by the inherent nature of it, means you need to calculate FAN TOLERANCE.
How much can you get away with.
One more FA is that much less profit.
( as opposed to just wanting to win )
Lol, you’ve been watching “Trouble with the curve” again, I see. Good flick, too.
The computer guys found their place on the clubs for one reason, and one reason only. Their statistical models positively impacted the club on the field. I agree, the nerds they hire need to have some baseball acumen. However, baseball as a business is a massive risk, particularly as it exists under the MLBPA contracts. I’ve always had to laugh at the idea that there’s a “baseball union”, yet every MLB player acts as an independent contractor, plying his trade for every last dollar, no matter how much 99% of the minor leaguers and half the major leaguers suffer. As long as the top 10% of ball players become multi-millionaires, the union is good for the players, right? But, I digress.
Every baseball owner is running a crap shoot gamble. Pay a guy hundreds of millions of dollars, guaranteed, he gets injured, it’s craps. If he underperforms, you get to pay EVEN more to replace him. Again, craps. If he gets lazy, comes to camp weighing 50 pounds more than last season, won’t work at his craft, underperforms, it’s craps again. There are 1001 ways for a franchise to go bust, and only a couple, variable routes to winning and making a profit.
So, yeah, you can darn well bet that the owners will bring in the best and brightest talent to lead and train their ballclubs, even if they don’t have a PhD in playing ball.
Pads probably haven’t signed those OFs because there is no money left in the budget, like two thirds of baseball teams who spent their budget already or are dealing with the RSN fiasco.
Nah, there’s money, just waiting on the baked goods to be marked down for quick sale.
The Pads problem is signing 30 year-olds to a 10 or 11 year contract. That was definitely a win-now decision, probably because the owner was dying. Now that he has passed, they have to recover from that and make better long term decisions. It’s not smart to sign players that probably won’t be able to start daily in the last couple years of their contract.
I think you’re barking up the right tree, ck. Only Xander, Yu and Manny are signed into their age 40 season… but I do think those types of long contracts are done for a bit. Tatis is signed through 35 years old.
Pads OF moves on the horizon? The article seems to imply there is a big need based on where things stood 2 months ago?
Merrill has already won the CF OD spot and looks great, and several other are battling for LF. They could add a LF like Duvall but it might not happen before OD. The Pads actually have higher priorities for available $, namely SP
Truth is, the NRI’s and prospects have performed, for the most part. Given the 2024 budget limits vs needs, AJ Preller isn’t about to sign a sub-par FA OF to a multi-year deal, that will soak up all the cash, thus limiting near-future options, when all they can provide is a minor hickup of WAR over the guys already in camp.
Just ain’t gonna happen. The author believes it’s a “near certainty” that the Padres will sign one of the three available OF. Lol, I’ll take that money. They are available in March because 29 other teams find that the value that they could add to their teams to be much lower than their asking price. AJP isn’t desperate OR stupid.
As I posted yesterday on the other thread, if Preller signs any of the three, it’s because their asking price has dropped to a 1 year, $1M deal, maybe with performance incentives, but not much more than that in terms of guaranteed money. Maybe $2M.
None of those guys make sense. The Pads need a left handed hitter. Taylor would be a last resort but dude is a K machine. Pham throws like a girl and is a defensive liability and Duval is Duval. Lets hope Merrill and Pauley can hit a little. They are the only LH hitters in the lineup short of Cronenworth and neither has played a play in the big leagues..
As usual, Acee is wrong. None of those players make sense for the Padres. They are 33, 35, and 36 years old. when the team is looking to get younger and has been saying so publicly over and over and over this spring. All are RHB when the Padres are saying they need a LHB.
I would think that with Merrill apparently going to be the starter in Cf to begin the season, to slot into LF and preferably someone still under 30.
Shildt has said that it would have to be a “true upgrade” and overall none of those guys fit that bill. All are below MLB average players at this point in their careers and the only direction their performance will move at their ages is down. At least guys like Azocar and Pauley have upside potential. Especially since Azocar, who is a very good defensive player, has started to show signs of power this spring.
He has to come up with something to talk about, even when nothing is going on.
Azocar has improved in all dimensions of baseball ability. He has God-given speed, but he used to be a clod on the bases. He’s improved dramatically in stealing. He’s a near-elite defender. All he needs to do is get on base, and maybe hit .240. Power would be a bonus. If he can get on base, the Pads have other power bats.
Sugar is a safe bet as a 4th OF, and maybe even do a little bit more.
Projections for Sugar are in .240s and .250s and they didn’t take into account the increase in power we have seen this spring.
He put on 15-20 lbs of muscle this offseason and came into camp looking really good.
His problem at the plate is still that he doesn’t take many walks. He might hit .250 with a 400 slg and still have an OPS of around .700 because his OBP is so low.
Both Azocar (and Kim for that matter) look like linebackers after offseason in weight room
We dubbed him Ha-Seong Urlacher the other day, had the nearby peeps rolling!