While it seemed at one point he profiled as a trade candidate, Yasmani Grandal will enter the season expected to receive the bulk of the playing time behind the dish for the Dodgers, skipper Dave Roberts tells reporters including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Grandal, 29, had been bypassed late last year by Austin Barnes, who turned in a breakout campaign in his first season of significant MLB action. Grandal still put up a quality overall season with the bat and has raked this spring, while Barnes has struggled at the plate in Cactus League action. Regardless, the organization seems to have an excellent tandem to work with.
Here’s more from the National League:
- Tim Britton of The Athletic (subscription link) examines the Mets’ pitching plans, focusing on the multi-inning capabilities of anticipated relievers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman. Skipper Mickey Callaway explains that “to put a [starter] in the bullpen and all of a sudden start using him like a traditional reliever would be a mistake,” so there are elements of both need and opportunity in the approach that the organization seems to be lining up. The practicalities will also impact the precise way the staff is deployed, as Britton explores in detail, with Callaway emphasizing that it’ll ultimately be a process that unfolds as the season goes on with “constant communication” between coaches and pitchers.
- We’re still awaiting further word on the health of Phillies hurler Mark Leiter. As Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com was among those to tweet yesterday, the 27-year-old has experienced forearm tightness, which can be a symptom of a worrying elbow issue. Leiter, who turned in 90 2/3 innings of 4.96 ERA ball in his debut season of 2017, is all the more important to the Philadelphia staff with Jerad Eickhoff sidelined to open the year.
- The Marlins are taking a look at a notable arm of their own, as Craig Mish of Sirius XM tweets that righty Dan Straily has been diagnosed with a “slight elbow strain.” In a subsequent announcement, the team called it “mild right forearm inflammation” and said Straily won’t throw for five or six days. (H/t MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, via Twitter.) That said, Straily — who the Marlins held onto despite moving other veteran assets over the winter — may not be ready to open the season, which would leave a big hole in an already-patchworked Miami rotation. The Fish also announced today that young righty Sandy Alcantara has been optioned, so he’s evidently not in the plans for the early-season rotation. Roster Resource now predicts that Jacob Turner will claim a roster spot out of camp.
Miami should seriously consider Scott Feldman for their rotation. Feldman is a veteran of 2 rebuild projects in HOU and CIN and is a proven innings eater who is likely available on a modest 1-year deal.
Agreed, Miami definitely needs someone, cause Nicilino/ Turner/ Despagine are gonna fail quickly
The goal is to suck immensely the next 2-3 years, historically so. Chances are the Marlins will only win around 60 games with their current roster, probably 50 games next year after they trade the likes of Realmuto, Castro, Bour, Straily, Barraclough. Their plan is to be the worst team in baseball. I don’t know why it’s so hard to understand. The Marlins are tanking…
But they don’t want their young guys to come up prematurely, get nuked, and be discouraged for the rest of their career.
Exactly. Really the only legit starting prospect that’s reasonably ready for the bigs is Alcantara, so they have to fill those innings with someone and might as well take a flier on someone like Feldman. Even more so with Alcantara being held down to push back his service clock. If you’re gonna eventually trade Straily, you have to have someone to pitch so you don’t rush prospects.
Agreed. They’ll probably need to add a guy like Feldman. Realistically Feldman’s not going to help you win many games anyway. Their offense is going to put up runs like they had in the past. With Feldman you’ll lose 5-4 instead of 8-4. He can soak up some innings and pitch at least half way like a major leaguer.
I don’t think the ownership group in Miami cares much about the rotation, or even attempting to be competitive. They’re watching that competitive balance money and that MLBAM money roll right in and are content to be a 50-win team for the foreseeable future. It might be fun, for a bit, to see just how bad this team will be, but I feel sorry for the fans of the Marlins, if there actually are any.
Ok. That joke gets old. And, I’m taking the troll bait here. Miami has fans, and none of this feels good already with ownership. Really don’t need the pile on for a not funny joke.
Sorry, I wasn’t trying to troll. I truly feel bad for the fans and the Miami taxpayers who got duped into building a new stadium for a billionaire with the idea he might field a competitive team. I am a fan of a team who has tanked the last two years, but they seem to have a path forward, while the Marlins don’t seem to have that path. Their prospects are middling, the major-league team is pretty bad and they seem unable to pull the trigger on trading the few legitimate assets they have for real prospects. I would say their outlook is, by far, the worst of the 30 MLB teams and that stinks for people who are fans of the team.
The problem with tanking is that too many teams are doing it. When it was just the Astros and Cubs, it was easy to get a top picks. Now, being the worst team in baseball is actually a challenge.
Teams should consider zagging to this zig and sign cheap vets on one year deals that have potential flip value. Even if those vets don’t pan out, it will help boost attendance and provide mentoring for young players.
The Twins sorta went this route. With the state of their division they may not want to flip them, they’ll be in the race.
With respect to Leiter he’s another split finger fastball thrower. Hopefully he’s OK but this seems to be something a lot of the split guys go through. The Phils can weather his loss as he was projected as the long man out of the pen. There were plenty of options for that role. Starting pitching is still the bigger unknown, even with Arrieta.
Miamishould go after Roger Clemons so he can be eligible for Hall of Fame nominations longer. It would be epic for Jeter to own the rocket!
Kicking myself in the arse for drafting Barnes when Grandal went two rounds later.
Barnes will get plenty of abs at 2B, May even be able to steal the position if Forsythe (who will be at 3B till Turner gets back) gets off to a slow start this year. Dodgers have Farmer who’s plenty fine as a backup catcher, if Barnes hits he’ll be getting regular ab’s regardless of what position it’s at.