The Nationals reinstated Michael Morse from the disabled list today in a move that should help the team score a few more runs. Morse hit 31 homers and posted a .910 OPS last year, so he should help a Nationals offense that ranks 13th out of the 16 NL teams in scoring. Here are today's links…
- Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reconstructs the trade that sent Carlos Beltran to San Francisco for Zack Wheeler in a must-read piece that includes the recollections of the baseball people who helped shape the deal.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the Giants are more likely to add bullpen or bench help than make a blockbuster move this summer (via Sulia).
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto reflected on the season's first two months with Barry Bloom of MLB.com.
- Edgar Mercedes was arrested in the Dominican Republic on charges of smuggling Cuban players into the D.R., Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. However, a Dominican judge released Mercedes from jail without charges, Listin Diario reports (via Badler). Mercedes is a prominent trainer who represented players such as Yoenis Cespedes.
- The Pirates announced that they've activated Juan Cruz from the restricted list. They placed the right-hander on the restricted list earlier in the week.
Wheeler 🙁