Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:
1. Arbitration hearings continue:
The biggest news in baseball yesterday was southpaw Tarik Skubal’s record-shattering victory over the Tigers in his arbitration hearing, where a panel of judges awarded him $32MM rather than the $19MM figure Detroit had submitted. It’s the third consecutive victory (joining Kyle Bradish and Yainer Diaz) for the players in arbitration hearings this year, while teams have yet to win a single case. Tampa Bay right-hander Edwin Uceta and Atlanta southpaw Dylan Lee have both already gone to hearings against their clubs, though decisions aren’t expected until next week on those cases. (Results on cases that could be direct comps for other arb hearings in the same year are often withheld until those other hearings have taken place.) Reid Detmers, Graham Ashcraft, Tyler Stephenson, and Kris Bubic are among the players who exchanged figures with their teams but have yet to go to a hearing. Will those players be able to keep the win streak going?
2. Suter nearing deal with Anaheim:
Reporting yesterday indicated that southpaw Brent Suter and the Angels were nearing an agreement on a major league deal. Any final details and a physical could be hammered out this weekend. Anaheim has already made several veteran additions to the bullpen this winter, as Suter will join Drew Pomeranz, Jordan Romano, and Kirby Yates as a potential setup option for Robert Stephenson in rookie manager Kurt Suzuki’s bullpen. The Halos’ 40-man roster is full, so they’ll need a corresponding move to formally add Suter unless they hold off on announcing the deal until camp opens and they can then shift a player (Anthony Rendon or Ben Joyce) to the 60-day IL.
3. Do the Twins have a notable move in store?
Although the Twins have had a quiet offseason in terms of player transactions, things have been anything but quiet off the field. They added three new minority owners, Tom Pohlad took over as the team’s new control person, and those changes seemingly led to president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey departing the club in a shocking move late last month. Amid those ownership and front office shuffles, the Twins have made some surprising gestures toward upgrading the roster. Minnesota was involved in the market for Freddy Peralta before he was traded to the Mets and reportedly jumped into the mix on Framber Valdez before he signed with the division-rival Tigers. There aren’t many impact players left on the market, but righty Zac Gallen remains unsigned and there are various trade options the club could pursue. Bullpen help is the Twins’ most glaring need, but even cursory interest in Peralta and Valdez signals a willingness to add to the rotation as well.
I think Tom Pohlad is coming out hot and trying to get fans excited.
He’s promised they’ll contend but wants to stop talking payroll. They’re in on free agents and trades but we don’t hear anything besides that. They’ve been completely unwilling to part with prospects for 10 years now and when they’ve struggled to develop you get a team that mostly sucks.
Until they actually spend money, I don’t trust a word Tom Pohlad says and fans should continue to stay away. Spend your money and time elsewhere
I am doing just that.
Tom learned well from dad. Be “in” on all the big signing and trades to make it seem like they are trying. It’s a classic Pohlad fall back plan. No doubt if they did actually reach out it was with a low ball effort that will in a year or 2 from now turn into “we’re just a small market team”.
Remember that new stadium that was built for them and all the money that was going to be pumped into the team from it?
I didn’t actually say during yesterday’s thread, but congrats to Skubal. He’s unequivocally the best pitcher in baseball right now and deserves to be paid as such. I don’t think this completely changes the arbitration process and how players are paid, but for the best of the bunch you need to pay up.
Unequivocally? Hmmm.
I think Skenes is better.
Skenes hasn’t done it as long yet, so he’s behind. Let’s talk about it further in a couple of years.
So PS is “behind” him right now, in other words?
To be fair, you did say better; not longer.
If the arbitrator could have chosen somewhere in between, I wonder what the result would have been.
I agree, but you could also ask yourself why the Tigers bid as low as they did.. Maybe an offer $23/$25 would have worked
He’d be looking for a new job?
Cam Smith is getting CF reps I believe?
Brent is bona fide.
I know the answer to the Twins question. “NO”