As Spring Training continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Spring Training games begin:
Today marks the first Spring Training game of the year, as the Cubs and Dodgers face off at the latter’s spring home of Camelback Ranch. Chicago and L.A. are getting an earlier start than the rest of the league thanks to their early start to the regular season in Tokyo, which is now less than a month away. The Dodgers are sending right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound for the spring opener, while the Cubs will counter with righty Cody Poteet. The Dodgers haven’t revealed who else they intend to pitch in the game beyond Yamamoto, but MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and Sonja Chen report that non-roster veterans Brad Keller and Brooks Kriske will pitch for Chicago today, as well as youngsters Daniel Palencia and Jack Neely.
2. Extensions coming down the pipe for the A’s?
The Athletics are a team without a permanent home for the time being, but that isn’t stopping them from locking up multi-year talent. After adding Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs to the rotation this offseason, the club extended star DH Brent Rooker with a five-year deal. Now that spring training has begun and the club’s roster is mostly set, the A’s have turned their attention to potentially working out extensions with more pieces of their young core. That reportedly includes outfielder Lawrence Butler, but GM David Forst indicated that the club is talking to other young players as well without naming specific names. Closer Mason Miller, outfielder JJ Bleday, and catcher Shea Langeliers are among the club’s other players who could make some sense as extension targets.
3. Cubs roster move expected:
The Cubs are known to be in agreement with veteran infielder/DH Justin Turner on a contract, and the 40-year-old veteran was reportedly in camp with Chicago yesterday getting his spring work started. That surely means that a formal announcement of Turner’s signing with the team is imminent, but one obstacle remains before the deal can be made official. Chicago’s 40-man roster is full, meaning that the Cubs will need to make room for Turner with a corresponding move in order to officially bring him into the fold. The club has no obvious contenders for a trip to the 60-day injured list, so that will mean either designating a player for assignment or perhaps working out a trade that clears a 40-man roster spot.
Expect Tucker to be DFA in order to make room for Turner in the 40 men roster.
Best you could do?
The Justin Turner signing is the best move the Cubs made the entire off season.
Extensions make a lot of sense for the Athletics, it’s a much better way to stay above that minimum payroll requirement than overpaying for risky free agents.
Something tells me they’re not going to have to overpay (at least not by massive overpaying standards) when they get to Vegas.
*if
*if is correct. Anyone placing money on them staying is Sacramento is probably not getting Longshot odds. Fisher doesn’t have the investors yet in Vegas. And that town doesn’t need him…A’s are a speck on the $$ there
Rick – Haha …. I get what you’re saying, but I was referring more to the overall salaries that free agents get vs extensions.
As The Fonz would say, teams tend to get kinda nutso when competing for free agents.
The A’s most pressing issue is Estuary Ruiz. Is he going to be healthy and start in CF? Has all the noise from last season quieted or are they going to have to trade him away. He has potential to be a great player.
If the A’s have to trade Ruiz for some reason, I’d love to see him on the White Sox. A Luis Robert for Ruiz trade would make a lot of sense.
Canario
Yes. They have never liked him, I think for reasons external to baseball, alas.
Do you have any specific knowledge about this that you’d like to share with the class, Alan? Canario hasn’t looked good, but he also hasn’t really had much of a chance.
He strikes out a ton and isn’t that good defensively.
Stop it, Alan. Brujan will make the team instead. Last time I checked, he is as black as Canario.
As someone who started reading mlbtr a little later today, a couple of stories up says it’s Canario.
First ST game and we’re already getting a possible preview of the NLCS. I mean except most of the players playing in the game won’t be on the roster, they wear numbers in the 70’s and 80’s, and both teams could fall short or exit before then but still. Yay baseball.
Now that’s funny!
Rick: You must be psychic. I believe all of the White Sox are wearing numbers in the 70s and 80s.
Happy Spring Training Opening Day!
Like Turner, not so much the Cubs. Go get’em Turner!
Guessing Brujan gets the boot for Turner. Cubs may want to get a good look at Gage Workman. And I think they’ll hold Canario unless they can find a trade.
So the Dodgers and Cubs are getting an earlier start thanks to their early start. Good to know.
Baseball is finally back. Enjoy the day, all.
Cue the music from Major League.
Tough choice on who’s going to win the Cubs-Dodgers game. Both teams are high quality clubs with a lot of competitive players on the team. Dodgers have a fair number of key players injured right now so I’ll go with the Cubs winning this game.
It’s a tough choice because the game will be played mostly by minor leaguers and non-roster invitees. So this makes it basically a guess.
Dodgers lineup
SS: Mookie Betts
3B: Max Muncy
RF: Teoscar Hernández
CF: James Outman
LF: Eddie Rosario
1B: David Bote
C: Hunter Feduccia
2B: Hyeseong Kim
DH: Dalton Rushing
Cubs lineup
CF: Vidal Bruján
1B: Michael Busch
DH: Moises Ballesteros
RF: Kevin Alcántara
SS: Nick López
C: Reese McGuire
LF: Christian Franklin
3B: Gage Workman
2B: James Triantos
Yep, I saw this earlier. For the Dodgers, four regulars in the starting lineup, all of them sure to be subbed by the third inning.
Rosario quickly making a case for a roster spot….
At whose expense?
If Rosario has a stellar spring, it will be quite interesting to see what develops….
Just a phrasing issue for item 2, I say “coming down the pike” (where pike means road) for something that is approaching. Many things that come down pipes are unpleasant so it seems odd to use that as a general term. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming…
Irregardless, for all intensive purposes, I could care less. 😉
Hone in on the correct words will youse?
this is all too revelant
I think both iterations get the idea across. But the pike being an older use of the idiom is of more historic interest.
Scary comebacker on Miller just now. Hopefully he’s alright
Yeah he took that 106 mph liner straight to his forehead. Big red welt immediately. At least he was able to get up and walk off on his own accord….
Yeah that was encouraging, for sure. The mark was quite visible on tv.
Busch who hit the liner off Miller’s head froze at the plate for a bit. Like everyone else in the ballpark he was stunned. Hope Miller is ok.