Details Of Domestic Violence Allegations Surface Against Sam Dyson
Troubling allegations of domestic abuse have emerged surrounding free agent reliever Sam Dyson. In a piece from Katie Strang and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (subscription required), Dyson’s ex-girlfriend Alexis Blackburn reveals the details of her relationship with Dyson, whom Major League Baseball began investigating last November.
Blackburn’s path to seeking and finding help is particularly striking as she explains her experiences with law enforcement, MLB’s investigation, and her own uncertainties about how to best find resolution. Dyson’s status as an athlete made that process all the more difficult as the emotional toll of their tumultuous relationship was compounded by the weight of Dyson’s public profile.
Blackburn initially went public via two Instagram posts in November. At that point, MLB started looking into the case, though Dyson did not sit down with league investigators until last month. After an incident that resulted in police intervention in November, Blackburn and Dyson were both interviewed by police in Jupiter, Fla. Per Strang and Rosenthal, Dyson was quoted as saying that he and Blackburn were involved in a “verbally violent and toxic relationship.” Despite their statements and some physical evidence of abuse included in Blackburn’s account, the police investigators found no probable cause at that time. MLB has not yet reached a resolution in its investigation.
Dyson last appeared in the majors in 2019 when he split the season between the Giants and Twins. Over an eight-year career, Dyson played for the Blue Jays, Marlins, Rangers, Giants and Twins, totaling a 3.40 ERA/3.75 FIP in 376 appearances across 386 2/3 innings with 7.2 K/9 to 3.0 BB/9. Dyson is currently without a team, and it is not clear if he hopes to find a job in the league this winter. It’s difficult to imagine a team taking a chance on Dyson at this stage.
MLB Reinstates Domingo German
Major League Baseball has reinstated Yankees’ right-hander Domingo German from the restricted list, the team announced. German is on the Yankees 40-man roster, but no changes were needed to accommodate the move. He is not eligible for postseason play, so as has been stated previously, he will not appear in the majors this season.
German served an 81-game suspension this season after violating the league’s domestic violence policy. Prior to the suspension, German had made himself into a key cog of the Yankees’ 2019 rotation by posting a 4.03 ERA/4.72 FIP with 9.63 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9 across 143 innings. German could again play himself into competition for a rotation spot in 2021. He turns 29-years-old in August of next season.
The Yankees have Gerrit Cole stationed atop their next year’s rotation, but both James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka are scheduled to be free agents, while J.A. Happ has a $17MM mutual option. Deivi Garcia is set to take over one rotation spot, they’ll hope to get Luis Severino back to fill another, and Jordan Montgomery should warrant consideration as well. All that said, the Yankees know better than most about the importance of rotation depth.
Theo Epstein On The Value Of One-Year Deals
Theo Epstein has been prepping the Chicago fanbase for the eventual breakup of their 2016 team for a couple of seasons now. The blockbuster hasn’t come, and most of the faces of that championship team remain. After a disappointing exit from the wild card round – they managed just one run over a two-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins – Epstein’s comments again suggest changes are coming for the Cubbies.
Nine players remain on the roster from their World Series winner, and while that may not seem like a lot, it does constitute roughly 35% of a 26-man roster. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras, Albert Almora, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jason Heyward, and Kyle Schwarber represent the longest-tenured group of Chicago players. Technically, manager David Ross can count as a 10th member of their title team still hanging around the clubhouse. Ian Happ and Victor Caratini didn’t debut until 2017. Jose Quintana joined the team at the 2017 deadline. Yu Darvish signed as a free agent prior to the 2018 season.
The pillars of this Cubs’ run will dwindle further in the coming years. Architect Theo Epstein is likely to depart after next season. Lester is a free agent this winter. Almora seems to be out of chances and in need of a change of scenery. Odds favor Heyward or Hendricks to be the “last man standing” as they both have contracts that should keep them in Wrigley through 2023. Rizzo, Bryant, Baez, and Schwarber are each entering the final year of their contracts – assuming the Cubs pick up Rizzo’s $16.5MM option.
Epstein spoke about the latter group, providing typically candid analysis of not only the Cubs foursome, but more broadly about the value of one-year contracts. Per the Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma, Epstein said:
I think there are going to be certain fundamentals that are true of this winter and of this market that have been true for decades. One of those is especially relevant in our situation, a one-year deal for a really talented player is a valuable thing. That’s to our benefit both to what we can do in constructing the 2021 team and having an additional year of control on certain players and also potentially to our benefit in the trade market as we look to make some changes. I think that’s a fundamental.”
Essentially, it sounds as if Epstein’s offering a ‘fear not’ for those who think the Cubs have waited too long to return anything of value for the final year of Bryant, Rizzo, Baez, and/or Schwarber. To Epstein’s point, players on one-year deals are often devalued in the public square, but there’s a lot that can be extracted from a full year. Further, the flexibility a one-year deal affords shouldn’t be discounted – perhaps especially in our current climate. The fear of losing talent to free agency is understandable, but the more difficult gaff to overcome is the presence of “the albatross,” a highly-paid player on a long-term deal who no longer contributes on the diamond. Baez’s confounding 2020 is a testament to the swings that even talented players can experience year-over-year.
The trouble for Epstein is that Chicago’s current roster is flush with semi-expensive players on short-term deals who are coming off disappointing seasons. But to Epstein’s point – those players are still valuable. Whether the Cubs keep them or trade them, there’s always an opportunity cost. Said Epstein, per Sahadev:
There’s always a trade-off of being transactional and taking some of those players away from the current group and solidifying the future. There are trade-offs and balances that you have to be mindful of. The math simply changes as you get to a point where a lot of your best players only have one year left. It becomes less appealing to continue to invest opportunity cost in simply the present.”
Epstein has hit on a similar refrain in each of the last couple of years, and some changes have been made. They hired David Ross as the manager, they refrained from big-money free agent deals since signing Darvish (with the exception of Craig Kimbrel, who has only one more guaranteed season left on his deal), and they poured considerable energy into exploring trade options and/or extensions for their stars – but they haven’t made any of those deals.
Therein lies the rub for Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer. After years of exploring their options and walking the difficult path to try and sustain contention, they’re running out of time to pull off one of those – in Epstein’s words – “impactful, significant moves.” Whether or not they’re able to consummate that brand of deal this winter may depend on whether the 29 other GMs agree with Epstein about the value of talented players one-year deals.
Of course, Mookie Betts represents the most recent superstar player to be dealt on a one-year deal, and Indians’ shortstop Francisco Lindor is among those players who could be available this winter. Both players are probably more valuable in a vacuum than any of the Cubs’ foursome. Still, the Betts deal is instructive in so far as it necessitated the Red Sox’ willingness to take a step back, even though they received a major league regular as part of their return. The Cubs also have the option of packaging a couple players in the same deal, something he’s done in the past to extract additional prospect value..
Mike Clevinger Makes Padres’ NLDS Roster
The Padres have set their 28-man roster for this week’s NLDS matchup against their divisional gatekeepers, the Dodgers. Here are the details:
Right-Handed Pitchers
- Austin Adams
- Mike Clevinger
- Zach Davies
- Pierce Johnson
- Chris Paddack
- Emilio Pagán
- Luis Patiño
- Garrett Richards
- Trevor Rosenthal
- Craig Stammen
Left-Handed Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
The biggest questions leading up to this series for the Padres surrounded the health of Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet. We have our answers: Clevinger is on the roster, and he’ll start game one, while Lamet will not appear in the NLDS.
The other changes are Allen and prospect Weathers making the roster over Dan Altavilla, Greg Garcia, and Jorge Mateo. Allen is a San Diego native who provides speed and defensive depth in the outfield. Weathers, meanwhile, has yet to make his major league debut – or even pitch above Single-A. The 20-year-old southpaw was San Diego’s #10th ranked prospect on Baseball America’s midseason report. Campusano (#5), Morejon (#7), and Patiño (#2) also appear on both the Padres’ top prospects list and their NLDS roster.
Braves Go With 15-Man Pitching Staff In NLDS
The Braves have set their 28-man roster for this week’s NLDS matchup against the upstart Marlins. Here’s the breakdown:
Right-Handed Pitchers
- Ian Anderson (Game 2 starter)
- Shane Greene
- Chris Martin
- Mark Melancon
- Darren O’Day
- Josh Tomlin
- Jacob Webb
- Bryse Wilson
- Kyle Wright (Game 3 starter)
- Huascar Ynoa
Left-Handed Pitchers
- Grant Dayton
- Max Fried (Game 1 starter)
- Tyler Matzek
- A.J. Minter
- Will Smith
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
There are only two changes from the wild card round for the Braves. In an effort to have more arms at the ready for a series that could include games on 5 consecutive days, Atlanta added Bryse Wilson and Huascar Ynoa to the NLDS roster. Both are capable of starting a potential game 4, though either would likely have a short leash. More importantly, perhaps, is that both are capable of providing multiple innings of relief out of the bullpen at some point during the series. They are now carrying a robust 15-man pitching staff for the series, which includes four southpaws in the bullpen.
Johan Camargo and William Contreras are the casualties, shortening the bench for Atlanta to just a backup catcher, Culberson and Sandoval as the reserve infielders, and Pache as their lone backup outfielder. The four-man bench is made possible by Culberson, who can play all over the diamond in a pinch.
Marlins Announce NLDS Roster
The Marlins have set their 28-man roster for this week’s NLDS matchup against the divison-winning Braves. Here’s how it all breaks down:
Right-Handed Pitchers
- Sandy Alcantara (Game 1 starter)
- Brad Boxberger
- Yimi Garcia
- James Hoyt
- Brandon Kintzler
- Pablo López (Game 2 starter)
- Nick Neidert
- Sixto Sánchez (Game 3 starter)
- Ryne Stanek
- Nick Vincent
Left-Handed Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
The biggest change here for Miami is the obvious omission of Starling Marte, who is on the taxi squad after breaking his pinkie finger against the Cubs. Lewin Diaz and Stephen Tarpley also moved from the active roster to the taxi squad. Neither appeared in the wild card round against the Cubs.
In their place, the Marlins selected the contract of veteran utility man Sean Rodríguez and added pitchers Castano and Vincent. Rodríguez is a veteran of 13 major league seasons, though the 35-year-old appeared in just 4 games for the Marlins this year, going 2-for-13 at the plate. A veteran of four prior postseasons, he immediately becomes one of, if not the most experienced player on the roster. He’s also been prepped as their potential emergency catcher. Rodríguez has never caught in the majors before, but the Marlins are prepared to use Alfaro as a pinch-hitter early in games, leaving Rodríguez as the sole backup for Wallach.
Vincent appeared in 21 games for the Marlins this year with a 4.43 ERA/5.52 FIP across 22 1/3 innings. The 34-year-old righty adds an important level of depth to the bullpen for a series that has the potential to last 5 consecutive days. The Marlins now have 14 arms in total, with 10 to 11 in the bullpen. Castano could be an option to start a potential game 4. The 25-year-old southpaw made 6 starts to just 1 bullpen appearance during the regular season. He posted a 3.03 ERA/4.81 FIP across 29 2/3 innings. Most likely, he’ll be one of many arms the Marlins would rely on to get through a potentially hectic game four on Friday.
Starling Marte Out For NLDS
The Miami Marlins will begin today’s NLDS without starting centerfielder Starling Marte, per MLB Network contributor Craig Mish (via Twitter). Marte will not be on the roster for the series. He took a pitch off the hand in the first game of the Wild Card series against the Cubs, fracturing the fifth metacarpal on his left hand. He was said to have been available to pinch-hit in the second game, though he did not appear. It was the third time this season that Marte had been hit on the hand, including the final game of the season.
Losing Marte is a blow for the upstart Marlins, though if there’s a team prepared to weather the storms of adversity, these Marlins certainly top the list. They’ve already withstood a COVID-19 outbreak, the loss of veteran Jose Ureña on the final day of the season, the opt-out and subsequent opt-in plus injury of second baseman Isan Diaz, and the retirement of starting catcher Francisco Cervelli. They also outlasted supposedly better teams in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. (not to mention Chicago) to break a 17-year playoff drought. For most people outside of Miami, Marte’s injury won’t move the needle simply because they aren’t expected to beat the Atlanta Braves anyhow. For those in the Marlins’ clubhouse, add this setback to the fuel for their nobody-believes-in-us fire.
Per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, manager Don Mattingly said this about leaving Marte off the roster: “Obviously a guy you don’t want to leave off your roster. But we weren’t comfortable with what he was going to be able to do.” The need to add an extra pitcher, as well as the presence of numerous options to mix-and-match in centerfield also played a part in moving Marte to the taxi squad. Given how difficult a decision this proved to be, one would think Marte could heal enough to return to the roster for the NLCS, should the Marlins outlast the Braves.
Magneuris Sierra will start in Marte’s place in Tuesday’s game, McPherson notes, as he did in the second game of the wild card round in Chicago. In that game, Sierra came up big with an RBI single to give the Marlins a much-needed 2-run cushion. Interestingly, Sierra gets the start in game one even against southpaw Max Fried. That’s in part because of the makeup of the roster, of course, as Lewis Brinson will start in right field instead of lefty Matt Joyce. The 24-year-old Sierra has tremendous speed and defensive potential, which should be an asset for Sandy Alcantara, Miami’s game one starter, who allowed 52.6% Fly Ball Percentage this season.
Quick Hits: Rays, McClanahan, Astros, Valdez, Pirates,
The Rays had a tough ninth inning in tonight’s game one against the Yankees. But after Giancarlo Stanton put the game away with a grand slam, the Rays got to make a little history themselves. Shane McClanahan became the first pitcher in MLB history to make his major league debut in the postseason, writes MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (via Twitter). Hitters have accomplished the feat, including this season when Alex Kirilloff made his debut for the Twins. McClanahan was the Rays #5 ranked prospect in Baseball America’s midseason report, and he’d pitched only as high as four games in Double-A prior to his ALDS appearance on Monday night. Rays manager Kevin Cash tasked the former 31st overall pick of the 2018 draft with getting the final out of the ninth inning. The southpaw allowed a high-chop infield single, then surrendered a walk to load the bases for DJ LeMahieu. McClanahan got the AL batting champ to hit one of the end of the bat, which he fielded cleanly to retire the side. While the playoffs rumble on, the rest of the baseball world continues in the background…
- Framber Valdez will start game two of the ALDS for the Houston Astros on Tuesday with a chance to go up 2-0 in the series. But there was a version of events in which Valdez never would have been employed by the Astros at all. Valdez told reporters Monday that he was actually signed by the Brewers back in 2015, but he was released after a failed physical (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). The lefty didn’t elaborate as to what brought about the failed the physical, and given the range of possibilities, it’s not worth speculating. The Astros signed the hard-throwing southpaw on March 18, 2015 as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic, and he made his big-league debut in 2018. This season was his real breakout, however, as he locked down a spot in the Astros’ rotation with a 3.57 ERA/2.85 FIP in 70 2/3 innings before turning in a dominant, five-inning relief showing in Game 1 of the Wild Card round.
- Pittsburgh Pirates GM Ben Cherington continues to re-make the organization that hired him as General Manager back on November 18, 2019. Lots has changed in the year plus that Cherington has been in charge, but a long rebuild still lies ahead. Given the revenue dips caused by the pandemic, it’s not particularly surprising that today’s news regards a “mix of firings and not renewing contracts,” per Jason Mackey of PG Sports Now (via Twitter). Among those not returning to Pittsburgh are strength coach Jim Malone, head athletic trainer Bryan Housand, and senior advisor Nick Leyva, among others it seems. Given the trends we’re seeing in the industry, it would not be surprising to see these positions either filled internally or not filled at all.
Class Action Status Approved In Minimum Wage Case Against MLB
Minor league ballplayers received a big win today when they were granted class action status in their suit against Major League Baseball, per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. The Supreme Court ruling on Monday denied MLB’s appeal to a previous ruling that granted class action status to a group of 29 players currently suing Major League Baseball for violation of minimum wage laws. Were MLB’s appeal granted, players would have had to individually bring their cases against MLB. For these players, most of whom were never able to reap the benefits of a full-scale major league salary, individual lawsuits simply wouldn’t be financially viable – certainly not against a financial giant like Major League Baseball.
Instead, the floodgates are open and we can expect a great number of players to join those currently named in the suit. Cooper suggests the number of parties could grow to include potentially every minor league player that participated in the system since February 7, 2009. Said Cooper, “It potentially includes almost every affiliated minor league baseball player of the past decade. With more than 6,000 players participating in minor league baseball in a normal year, the number of eligible players could be measured in tens of thousands.”
The case now expects to move forward sometime in 2021, writes The Athletic’s Evan Drellich. Drellich provides a quote from lead attorney – a former minor-leaguer himself – Garrett Broshuis, who explains the violation of minimum wage laws as viewed by the players: “…it’s important to keep in mind that these players are workers and just like all other workers across the country, they deserve to have the benefits of our minimum wage laws. And it’s important for players to be able to band together and pursue that collectively. And so this case is a recognition that the players have the right to do that, and hopefully sometime soon players will be treated with the respect that they deserve and will at some point finally be paid wages that will allow them to live at levels above the poverty level.”
The state of Minor League Baseball remains entirely in flux since the expiration of the agreement between MLB and MiLB last week. Major League Baseball is expected to bring minor league teams under the MLB umbrella, eliminating 40-some teams in the process. Monday’s ruling represents a significant point of negotiation as MLB works with those owners of minor league clubs to come to some kind of accord prior to next season. Owners are saddled with significant time sensitivity, since their stadiums are their greatest revenue assets, and without a minor-league schedule, their hands are tied in terms of seeking out alternative or supplemental revenue opportunities. Especially after a season lost due to the pandemic, those minor league owners are in a difficult negotiating position.
Both Cooper and Drellich provided this statement from Major League Baseball: “While Major League Baseball does not comment on ongoing litigation, MLB remains focused on modernizing its player development system to enhance the Minor League experience for players, including providing them with renovated facilities, reduced travel and improved daily working conditions. MLB has long planned to increase Minor League player salaries as part of our next agreement with Minor League clubs, and announced earlier this year that Minor League players would be receiving salary increases ranging from 38 percent to 72 percent for the 2021 season.”
Diamondbacks Will Retain Coaching Staff For 2021
The Arizona Diamondbacks are bringing back their coaching staff intact for the 2021 season, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
After remaining surprisingly competitive throughout the 2019 season, the Diamondbacks entered 2020 as a dark horse contender in the National League. The season went about as poorly as possible for Arizona, who finished 25-35, last place in the NL West. They ended with the second-worst record in the National League, better only than the 19-41 Pirates. Still, manager Torey Lovullo and those in the organization are not letting themselves be swayed by the bizarre circumstances of a 60-game season. It would not be uncommon, of course, for a team in their situation to make some changes on the coaching staff, even if ownership were intent on retaining the manager. Credit the Diamondbacks for their show of faith in this group. Arizona’s coaching staff will now get at least another season to prove the anomalous nature of their 60-game stretch in 2020.
The starting pitching presented particularly poorly over the first half as Robbie Ray, Madison Bumgarner, and Luke Weaver each got off to poor starts. Their struggles were untenable over a full campaign, and positive regression was sure to come had it been a normal season. Of course, how much of a return-to-form to expect is difficult to gauge. Bumgarner, for example, entered the 2020 campaign without ever yielding an ERA or FIP over 3.99. The 31-year-old free agent prize nevertheless posted a 8.53 ERA over his first 7 starts while opposing hitters slashed .319/.392/.689.
A pair of spotless 5-inning outings to finish the year somewhat salvaged his campaign, though Bumgarner still finished with a highly uncharacteristic 6.48 ERA/7.18 FIP. Though his final two outings didn’t accomplish much in terms of lessening the eyesore of his 2020 season, they did lend some credence to the idea that significant positive regression was in the offing has the season continued to its usual length.
Regarding the true talent level for this group, Piecoro provides a quote from General Manager Mike Hazen, who said, “My mindset going (into the offseason) is I feel like we have a good baseball team. I feel like we have a good baseball team that did not — and as a group, for whatever reason — we didn’t come out on the end of making the playoffs. That still doesn’t take away from what I feel like is the talent base of the roster and we need to make sure we maintain some focus on that and not overreact in the other direction.”