As Spring Training gets underway, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Pitchers and catchers continue reporting:
The Cubs and Dodgers have already gotten started on Spring Training ahead of next month’s early start to the regular season in Tokyo, but the rest of the league is beginning to catch up to them today with many clubs hosting their first workout for pitchers and catchers. In Florida’s Grapefruit League, the Braves, Red Sox, Tigers, Marlins, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Pirates, Cardinals, Rays, and Nationals all host their first official workout today. The same is true for the Diamondbacks, Athletics, White Sox, Reds, Royals, Angels, Padres, Giants, and Rangers in Arizona’s Cactus League. With the start of Spring Training, these clubs also unlock access to the 60-day injured list for roster maneuvering purposes, while club officials figure to offer health updates on players as they begin to trickle into camp.
2. Cardinals arbitration results expected:
As noted by the Associated Press, utilityman Brendan Donovan went to an arbitration hearing against the Cardinals yesterday, asking for a $3.3MM salary while St. Louis countered at $2.85MM. Decisions on the cases of both Donovan and his teammate Lars Nootbaar, who went to a hearing against the Cards last week, are expected today. Nootbaar filed at $2.95MM and the club countered with $2.45MM. Teams have won a slim majority of cases to this point in the process, taking home victories against right-handers Johan Oviedo, Dennis Santana, and Mark Leiter Jr. while outfielder Mickey Moniak and infielder Luis Rengifo emerged victorious. Nathaniel Lowe of the Nationals and Andre Pallante of the Cardinals are expected to go to hearings later this week, though it’s theoretically possible an agreement could be reached before then to avoid arbitration.
3. Kershaw move to be made official?
The Dodgers finally reached their long-awaited agreement with future Hall of Famer and franchise face Clayton Kershaw yesterday, though the deal is pending a physical. Notably, Kershaw was already in camp with the club yesterday, which suggests that the southpaw’s physical could be squared away in relatively short order to make way for an official announcement of the deal. Terms of the agreement should come to light soon. The physical isn’t a completely meaningless step in the process given the soon-to-be 37-year-old’s injury history, but considering the longstanding expectation of a deal, it’s reasonable to expect the sides will work out some sort of agreement regardless of what the physical may reveal.
I still don’t get why the 60-Day IL begins today.
It’s still the offseason, isn’t it?
Either have a 60-Day IL that’s in effect throughout the entire offseason, or don’t have one in effect until Opening Day.
It’s the ~pre~season now.
Meow – Well not really until the ST games start.
But still, how can a player be put on the IL when there isn’t even a 26-man active roster yet?
The whole point of the creation of an Injured List is to be able to replace players in regular season games without losing rights to the injured player. Without regular season games being played, who cares if a player is injured or not? There’s like 60 players on each team in ST.
I’d argue that players reporting is the start of the preseason and a sensible time to open up the IL. After all, if you have an injured player under contract, now is when the injury starts causing them to miss relevant time.
Meow – I guess it depends on each person’s interpretation of relevant. To most, relevant starts with the regular season.
But it looks like most people here agree having it begin today is just a way to create some 40-man space for additional temporary acquisitions.
I tried to research how long ago they began opening up the 60-Day IL on the first day of ST, couldn’t find anything on it.
Players on the 40 get different pay and bennies than non roster players. FA that are still available want that roster spot.
It gives more players a chance to catch on with a team when it matters, during spring training, because 40man roster spots open up. However, I agree that if you know a guy is out all year with TJ, you should have the 60 day in the offseason too. I don’t see the reason for not having it year round. Or maybe to break it up into specific years, it could start on January 1st.
Neither side will fight for it to start on opening day. Better for the players to get more guys paid. Better for the team to get better players in early. No incentive to push for a delay.
Jbig – I understand it’s obviously advantageous for teams to have use of the 60 day IL beginning today because they can add more players, but it seems like a bad thing for players.
Would make more sense to have the 60-Day IL a year-round thing, and Fangraphs seems to agree. The only potential drawback would be a watered down Rule 5 draft which doesn’t seem like a big deal.
blogs.fangraphs.com/why-isnt-the-60-day-dl-year-ro…
Jbig – Players don’t get paid during Spring Training, they receive just a small weekly allowance of less than $440.
So let’s say a pitcher gets traded today to the Dodgers. They don’t really need him, but they want to get a look at him during ST and they have a newly created roster spot because Stone was placed on the 60-day IL today.
Then the Dodgers release him right before Opening Day, which means he gets paid nothing AND has lost out on other opportunities with teams that could have really used him.
Just seems like another way for teams to cycle in and out players without making a financial commitment to them or bumping another player from the 40-man.
@Fever – Someone noted that the 60 day IL is unlimited. While true, teams can’t just add players to the 60 day IL without assigning a 40 man roster spot to someone else.
There has to be a legit injury (remember Mets GM Billy Eppler had to resign for abuse of the 10-15 day IL). And while there isn’t a 26 man roster limit now, teams still have to adhere to the 40 man roster limit.
And players on the 60 day IL not only get paid, but they accrue service time. Teams aren’t going to stash guys on the IL just to claim someone…they’ll just sign those guys to minor league deals if they can. And when they need them they’ll add them to the 40 man.
the clock doesn’t start on spring training IL postings until the regular season starts.
jbigz: I would argue that, in the case of the LAD, the 60-day IL is a way to stash away their second major league team.
have you heard of this new concept called medical records?
Sal – You mean like when players have physicals in December and January?
I mean this notion of putting people on the 60-day IL without an actual injury is ridiculous. Might be some of that with the short lists but not the 60-day.
Sal – I totally agree. If I’m not mistaken, once a player gets put on the 60-Day IL between today and Opening Day, he has to remain on the 60-Day for at least 57 days during the regular season.
However I do think sometimes players, especially pitchers, are kept on the IL rehabbing longer than needed just so they can work on mechanics or something.
To prevent 40 man manipulation
@Fever – There’s no off-season IL to prevent teams from stashing players then dropping them at the start of ST. It gives those players on the edges a chance to find another team before ST.
We’ve seen teams abuse the 10day IL so they had to change it to 15 days for pitchers. If you had an off-season IL, that’s ripe for even more abuse.
Fernando – I get what you’re saying, so the abuse starts today instead of in December or January ….. right?
Teams can still acquire players today, then cut them loose right before Opening Day.
Like anything else in life just follow the money!!
Mike – Ain’t that the truth! There’s no shortage of greed in this world, that’s for sure.
Riveting. Ahahahahaha!
Tim & team, the Opener is a good idea but how about adding., The Closer, where you do a recap of the days biggest events each evening, its got “Winner” written all over it. Just trying to give back & do my part. Ahahahahaha!
No one should trust the Riddler and his ideas.
What is the maximum number of spots on the 60 day injured list.?
Unlimited
Let the arm blowouts begin. The royal f-up of MLB forcing pitchers to try to throw 100 MPH. How many TJ surgeries can we have this year?
whyhayzee: I don’t know if they’re forced to, but I think they want to so they can impress the manager. The result more times than not? TJS.
Players and teams both accept this as the cost of the pitching business. Fans are the only people upset about it.
To keep them at the top of baseball news for the umpteenth day in a row, the Dodgers will announce that the physical revealed that Kershaw is actually right-handed…
Why not? Hyun-Jin Ryu is right handed.
Just like CC is.
I’m disappointed I didn’t get a non-roster invite. Pure agism. Or lack-of-talent-ism
I don’t think the 2-3 day difference has much of an impact. Most FA signings have a longer delay than that between the two parties agreeing to a contract and the signing of said contract, with physicals and waiting for the team to clear out a 40-man roster spot.
Lifelong Cardinals fan but our stupidity continues to amaze me. Zero real additions, in the midst of a not at all clearly defined “reset”, yet willing to go to war with two of our young core players over a collective one million dollars.
Make it make sense, Billy D…
all these rules are negotiated in the CBA if players don’t like it then they can change it
Today is the official start of MLB spring training. The Dodgers put one guy on the 60 day IL yesterday and the Cubs zero. Not a big deal when they have to whittle their active rosters down faster than the other teams do in order to play in Japan the week before the official MLB opening day.
Going into Spring Training and the Regular Season the Seattle Mariners are the team to watch in the AL and the New York Mets are the team to watch in the NL.