Submit Your Question For This Week’s Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The 2024 season is about two months old, which means we are roughly halfway between Opening Day and the trade deadline. If you have a question about the ongoing 2024 season, a future transaction, a look ahead to the offseason, or anything else baseball related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com or send them our way on X: @mlbtraderumors.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Submit Your Question For This Week’s Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
We’re now more than a quarter of the way through the 2024 season, with the trade deadline just over two months away. If you have a question about the ongoing 2024 season, a future transaction, a look ahead to the offseason, or anything else baseball related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com or send them our way on X: @mlbtraderumors.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
MLB Hires Nelson Cruz In Special Advisor Role
Major League Baseball announced that former big leaguer Nelson Cruz has been hired as a consultant to the league, with the full title of special advisor for baseball operations. “Cruz will serve as a liaison for MLB on a range of issues,” the press release states, “focusing primarily on topics in Latin America, including the Dominican Republic and growing MLB’s existing player relations function.”
Cruz, 43, recently retired as a player. He had spent almost two decades as one of the most threatening power bats in the sport. From 2005 to 2023, he hit 464 homers, suiting up for the Brewers, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners, Twins, Rays, Nationals and Padres. He also frequently represented the Dominican Republic in international play, participating in the World Baseball Classic in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2023. He was the general manager for the D.R. team in the most recent tournament.
By playing for so long and bouncing around to so many teams, Cruz has crossed paths with far more people in the sport than the average baseball player, which seems to have endeared him to many. “Nelson Cruz is a respected voice in the game whose outstanding service to young people and those in need in the Dominican Republic earned him the Roberto Clemente Award,” says commissioner Rob Manfred in the press release. “Nelson is passionate about growing the game and improving issues for players and our sport as a whole. He will be a resource to many people across our game, especially in the Dominican Republic.”
Cruz himself seems excited about the opportunity. “I’m extremely happy to join Major League Baseball,” Cruz said as part of the announcement. “Since I signed out of the Dominican Republic as a teenager, I’ve cared deeply about the issues affecting that country, and the game as a whole. I’m excited to work with the Commissioner’s Office and the opportunity to work with young players by sharing what I have learned since I signed in 1998.”
Shortly after announcing his retirement in November, it was reported that Cruz had been hired by the Dodgers for an advisory role. It’s unclear if this new role will prevent him from working for the Dodgers or if he will be holding both jobs simultaneously. Either way, it’s clear that Cruz is interested in staying involved in the game as he moves into the post-playing phase of his life.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The 2024 season is now over a month old, with the trade deadline just over two months away. If you have a question about the ongoing 2024 season, a future transaction or anything else baseball related, we’d love to hear from you! You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Rich Hill Still Planning On Midseason Signing
Free agent left-hander Rich Hill is sticking to his plan of signing with a club during the season. He tells Ian Browne of MLB.com that he actually turned down offers from three teams in the winter but is still preparing for an upcoming signing.
“I’ve been working out and throwing,” Hill said. “I’m continuing to progress and get ready for when that opportunity comes around to go and pitch. The idea is to be ready when that time comes.”
It was back in October that Hill told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune his plan was to wait until the midway point to sign for the 2024 season, which wasn’t an entirely new idea for him. In August of 2022, he told Rob Bradford of WEEI that he was considering the half-season plan for 2023. He didn’t follow through on that, signing with the Pirates for the 2023 campaign in December of 2022. He was later traded to the Padres and finished last season with them.
This time around, it seems Hill is committed to following through on the experiment. The most recent offseason was rough on some veteran players, with Brandon Belt one player who remained unsigned and expressed frustration at the lack of interest. Hill is also unsigned but seemingly by choice, based on his claim that he turned down offers.
He has been open about wanting to spend more time with his family, currently coaching little league games for his son, but there’s also a logic to it from a performance standpoint. He is now 44 years old, far older than the average player. In fact, with Hill unsigned, the oldest active player in MLB right now is the 41-year-old Justin Verlander. If Hill eventually does join a team this summer, he’ll be the oldest player in the league by almost three years, with his March birthday just behind Verlander’s February birthday on the calendar.
Though he has remained remarkably effective into his 40s, his results have naturally dipped a bit. As recently as 2021, he was able to make 31 starts and toss 158 2/3 innings with a 3.86 earned run average. But his ERA ticked up to 4.27 in 2022 and then 5.41 last year. He had a 4.76 mark in 119 innings with the Bucs in 2023 but then an 8.23 ERA with the Padres after the deadline trade.
By waiting until midseason, he could perhaps sacrifice some quantity in favor of quality, staying fresh for the second half of the season while also targeting a spot on a club in the mix for a playoff spot. Contending clubs are always looking to bolster their pitching staffs for the final months of the schedule, and the large number of high-profile injuries could broaden the number of teams seeking reinforcements this year.
Hill’s status as a midseason mercenary will be an interesting experiment to watch this summer. For clubs looking for pitching but reluctant to surrender prospects, they could give Hill a call and not have to give up any young talent. If it goes well, it could potentially even set a precedent for older pitchers; other veteran hurlers might see the appeal of sitting out the first half and saving their bullets for a strong finish and playoff push.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The 2024 season is now over a month old, with the trade deadline just over two months away. If you have a question about the ongoing 2024 season, a future transaction or anything else baseball related, we’d love to hear from you! You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Submit Your Questions For A Mailbag Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the offseason now firmly in the rearview mirror and the trade deadline still months away, the current baseball news is mostly about on-the-field results and injuries.
We’ll use this liminal space to try to answer as many listener questions as possible. If you have a question about the ongoing 2024 season or anything else related to baseball, we’d love to hear from you! You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Submit Your Questions For A Mailbag Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the offseason news now firmly in the rearview mirror and the trade deadline still months away, the current baseball news is mostly about on-the-field results and injuries.
We’ll use this liminal space to try to answer as many listener questions as possible. If you have a question about the ongoing 2024 season or anything else related to baseball, we’d love to hear from you! You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we’ll frequently answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
MLBTR will be publishing the first edition of our Free Agent Power Rankings for the 2024-25 offseason this week. If you have a question about that or the ongoing 2024 season or anything else related to baseball, we’d love to hear from you! You can send your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Julio Urías Charged With Five Misdemeanors In Relation To 2023 Arrest
Left-hander Julio Urías has been charged with five misdemeanors by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, per Jack Harris and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, stemming from his 2023 arrest.
The charges include one count of spousal battery, two counts of domestic battery involving dating relationship, one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault. There is an arraignment scheduled for May 2.
Urías was arrested in early September of last year and charged with “corporal injury on a spouse” after an alleged altercation occurred outside BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles following a Major League Soccer game between LAFC and Inter Miami. He was still a member of the Dodgers at that time but just a few weeks away from free agency. He was placed on administrative leave by MLB in the days following his reported arrest.
It was reported in December that the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office was looking into the matter. In January, their report found that Urías “pushed his wife against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders” but stated that “neither the Victim’s injuries nor the Defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.” They forwarded the matter to the City Attorney’s Office to determine whether misdemeanor charges were warranted, which has resulted in the five charges reported on today.
Major League Baseball can impose discipline even in the absence of criminal charges under the Joint Domestic Violence policy with the Players Association. Urías was previously suspended for 20 games for violating the policy in 2019 even though no charges were laid at that time. If he were to receive a second suspension under that policy, he would be the first player to do so, though the league will likely wait until the City Attorney’s case is complete before making their decision.
“Our investigation is ongoing,” an MLB spokesman said to the L.A. Times on Tuesday. “We have no further comment.”