As the end of hot stove season and the return of baseball creeps ever closer, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Hall of Fame results announced tonight:
At 5pm CST tonight, the results of the 2023 Hall of Fame ballot will be announced. Todd Helton, Scott Rolen, and Billy Wagner have all done very well among the public revealed ballots and stand the best chances of getting in this year, but there will be intrigue involving other players, as well. How close will Jeff Kent get in his final year of eligibility? Will Gary Sheffield make a big enough leap in his penultimate year of eligibility that he might be able to get inducted next year? How will Carlos Beltran fare as the first of the 2017 Astros to hit the ballot? Will Alex Rodriguez make gains over his 34.3% year one showing last year? We’ll find out tonight.
2. Unresolved DFAs come due:
Two players were designated for assignment seven days ago, and those DFAs are due to reach a conclusion today. The Cubs DFA’d righty Manuel Rodriguez last week in order to claim righty Julian Merryweather off waivers from Toronto, while the Mariners designated outfielder Alberto Rodriguez in order to claim righty J.B. Bukauskas off waivers from Arizona. Manuel Rodriguez showed impressive stuff despite poor results in a late-season call up with Chicago in September 2021, but missed most of the 2022 season with an elbow injury and had lost some velocity upon his return this past September. Overall, he has a career 4.88 ERA in 31 1/3 innings of work in the majors. Alberto Rodriguez, on the other hand, has not yet made his major league debut. He was added to the Mariners’ 40-man roster in November 2021 to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Neither player has the right to reject and outright assignment at this point in their career, so they can be retained by their club if they pass through waivers unclaimed.
3. MLBTR Player Chat
In addition to the usual Tuesday chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams at 1pm CST, MLBTR will be hosting a live chat with former big league right-hander Jacob Turner. Turner, the No. 9 overall pick in 2009, played in the majors for seven years, debuting in 2011 with the Tigers and making the final appearance of his career with them again in 2018. He also played for the Cubs, White Sox, and Nationals during his time in the big leagues, but most of his playing time came with the Marlins, who acquired him as the headliner in a 2012 trade sending Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to Detroit. As a Marlin, Turner threw 244 2/3 innings across 51 games (39 starts) and pitched to a 4.67 ERA (4.27 FIP). Tune in at 10am CST to participate in Turner’s chat. If you missed yesterday’s player chat with knuckleballer Mickey Jannis, you can read the transcript here.
Please DFA Artie Moreno
Pretty sure he’d slip through waivers
Scott Rolen is a HOFer IMO.
Scott Rolen played during the steroid crisis and his numbers should be scrutinized thereby reducing his chances of being inducted into the Hall
Not a hint he was involved with steroids.
Scott Rolen is a top 3 defender at third base all time.
No steroid makes you a better defender, it’s finesse and skill not power (although it can keep you healthier if not abused)
Unfounded steroid accusations are lazy.
Dusty, while I agree a broad brush should not be used to paint the picture, real suspicions deserve scrutiny. I’ve never heard anything about Rolen but to me I could never have voted for Papi, Bagwell or Piazza just to name three in. More wrongs don’t make it right. People today look at saberstats more than anything else when before there was WAR or the others, the game was played more as a team game with players sacrificing personal stats to help get a win.
the guy with the most enlarged head in boston got in. it is nothing but a popularity contest.
There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Rolen did PEDs. Nothing.
Players that played/used before the league passed a PED ban, shouldn’t be punished.
MLB enforced no rules, thus no rules were broken.
Owners/MGMT/players knew about PEDs…and did Nothing. For years.
Now…folks like A-Rod, who used (and used) after the ban, and MLB enforced PED violations against him, then yeah, no HOF.
Rolen had a good argument for being a 1st ballot HOF. Unfortunately, 90% of the writers, who know incredibly little about baseball, voted against in his first year. I assume some of the other writers educated them up a little, but having the writers vote for the HOF is a joke.
I’m willing to bet that some of the writers had no idea who he was in his first year.
Joe agreed. Newspapers are dying and MLB needs to move into the 21th century.
Quality beat writers – few exist.
Arod and Beltran need to be in. Otherwise, it’s the Hall of Shame.
Their controversies working against them. I think they eventually will but it will be down the road.
The ones that surprise me there is not more support for are Jeff Kent and Andruw Jones.
Bonds?
I see Beltran getting in after being in a penalty box for a voting few cycles. It’ll be telling how the private ballot voters view him. If he has decent support from them, he could get in as soon as next year, but since he wasn’t a slam dunk even without the 2017 taint, it might take several more tries.
No chance A-Rod or Manny get in. Bonds and Clemens didn’t, and they didn’t fail a test nor were they suspended and their suspected usage occurred before MLB took a position with penalties. Manny and A-Rod are in a more severe penalty zone than Bonds and Clemens.
It’s clear the BBWAA has different thresholds and doesn’t treat all cheaters the same.
Agree fully on Jones and Kent. Beltran? Not in my HOF. He was the Astros ring leader who is on record for telling the team they were behind the times. Such infers he cheated BEFORE he got to Houston. A lot of integrity there…
I would understand why many wouldn’t vote for Beltran as well as PED users. I’m simply noting what I think will happen.
Even as someone who dislikes the Astros, this guy is a HOF in my book. Screw that scandal. He is a superstar, and unlike Marwin Gonzalez, 2017 didn’t define his career.
The ones that surprise me there is not more support for are Jeff Kent and Andruw Jones.
====================
That’s one more thing that the writers are so dense about. Jones is looking good to get in in another 2 years.
But Kent, who has at least a minor case, got no support. Now, in his 10th year, 32 voters changed their minds. That’s ~ 16%. I can understand someone being on the cusp, since he is marginal. But did 32 writers suddenly wake up this year, look at the numbers (which haven’t changed) and decide he is a HOF?
Beltran will probably get in after a couple of years but I doubt ARod ever does.
How long until andujar and sheffield dfas get resolved?
Like to see those top 3 mentioned, Helton, Rolen and Wagner get in
I actually don’t think Rolen should be in the HOF. Nobody ever talked as if he was a HOFer. Ik his WAR is high but I’m not a big believer in WAR as most people. Obviously his accomplishments were probably overshadowed by the multiple steriod users at the time but he was never a stand out player for more than a season or two
He was a terrific player in several seasons, performing well at the plate, with the glove, and on the basepaths. He obviously is not an inner-circle Hall of Famer, but I would vote for him.
Agreed. 10th all time in bWAR for third basemen, and 8 of the other 9 are already in with Beltre (#3) a lock once he’s eligible.
If Craig Biggio and Frank Thomas are HOFers then Rolen is too. Rolen was a better hitter than Biggio and a better fielder than the Big Hurt
Same could be said of Dwight evans to Harold baines???
All three will eventually be inducted. Hopefully at least one gets in. After dealing with Covid restrictions and reduced attendance for three straight years, it would be nice if the town of Cooperstown and the Hall had a full slate of new HOFers this summer.
Not if they’re not deserving. I’m not saying they are but none are obvious choices as noted by their current % numbers. To me, the ones from this class are Kent and Jones.
I’d love to see it, but I don’t think any of them will make it. All 3 will be close, but Helton and Rolen are only at about 79% in the first half of ballots. Players almost always getfewer votes in private ballots. My guess is that Rolen will end up about 10-15 votes short and Helton maybe 25 short and Wagner around 50 short.
I think Rolen and Helton should be in. I am against Wagner simply because he didn’t pitch enough innings in his career.. I know he was a great closer, but he didn’t even pitch 1000 innings in his career. How many pitchers in the past could have been as effective if they pitch that few innings?
The only but big knock on Wagner is he performed horribly in the playoffs.
I agree except for Rolen.
Jacob who?
Turner I believe.
Jeff Kent was one of the best offensive 2Bs off all time. He should be in the Hall
The Giants had two third basemen and no second baseman on the field during the Kent years
Manuel Rodríguez would be a nice little pick for a team like the A’s. ERA in the mid 3’s last year, surprising he’s being dumped but maybe there’s an injury somewhere
Can we get new HOF voters?
These writers didn’t call out the obvious cheating at the time and now they want to play the moral high card?
Some of us grew up during the steroid era and it sucks 90 year olds decide who gets in the hall and who doesn’t.
Steroids or not the players still made the plays/stats. No voter keeps greeny users out of the hall for taking amphetamines.
I read somewhere they’re removing old writers from HOF voting, if that’s true I hope the issue solves itself and I’ll applaud MLB.
The veterans committee also denied Bonds, Clemons and Schilling. Replace them too?
Possibly…. Get the old school voter who is not afraid of PUBLIC opinion….
Imo, guys who consistently turn in blank ballots should have their vote taken away. There should be a three vote minimum. You get the honor of voting on one of the most prestigious honors in professional sports and you’re going to pass it up because of some highly subjective belief? C’mon, that’s a bit overboard.
You get the honor of voting on one of the most prestigious honors in professional sports and you HAVE to vote for players you don’t think deserve that honor.
Sounds good!
When the same guys do it year end and year out, there’s a problem. Very seldom there is no one worthy on a ballot.
@pdx When was the last ballot that nobody was worthy of a vote? In 2021 when nobody got elected in, you’re telling me that some of those blank ballots couldn’t have included a vote for Rolen, Helton, Wagner, Andruw Jones,or Kent? Not only is it a shame a ballot is going to waste and not supporting guys who should be getting more votes, but it’s just not good for the game of baseball. We all want this sport to grow, right? Why not honor some of the legends of the game, and not some subjective highly held belief?
They are worthy in YOUR opinion. In the opinion of others, they aren’t worthy. Or are you saying your opinion is automatically what every person who has ever watched baseball has to have?
Joey, greenies were distributed by team doctors in plain sight. To me players are still using only now it’s energy shots. The problem is not the older voters but the newer ones who overanalyze like their Boras entering an arbitration hearing. Eyes matter. There’s nothing wrong with having a great career but the HOF should be reserved for those special few. No one argues about Ruth, Williams, Aaron, etc because they were truly great and deserving of the award.
Used to be greenies, now it’s Adderall.
Kent thing seems to be – brotherhood of writers United cuz he was less than hospitable to them. Unfortunately human nature.
Manny Ramírez, Todd Helton & Álex Rodríguez for the Hall of Fame!
Not before Curtis Schilling!!!
If you don’t know the difference between amphetamines and steroids then there is no hope for you.
I think the baseball writers were basically stymied by MLB in reporting what was being whispered. The owners and players were all complicit in all of this. They were trying to save the game that was hurt by the strikes with the offensive explosion and home run chase.
Personally I hope no PED users ever get in.
This whole concern about letting PED users into the Hall Of Fame, as it it would taint the Hall, is so overblown. There are guys in there, not because they’re top players but because the veteran’s committee. Frankie Frisch is the best example of this. He headed the committee to sneak in a number of his Giants & Cardinals teammates into Cooperstown. They’re good players but not exactly legends of the game. We also have guys in the Hall, who admitted to cheating. If we want to have a pure Hall of Fame, we would have to get rid of the whole thing and start from scratch.
“They were trying to save the game that was hurt by the strikes with the offensive explosion and home run chase.”
Yeah, and mission accomplished.
I’m not going to make an argument about whether or not they merit inclusion in the Hall of Fame.
I’m only going to ask our esteemed Hall voters where their sense of gratitude is. Would there even still be Major League Baseball as we know it were it not for these alleged cheaters? There is no end of human endeavor towards which they could project their sanctimonious caterwauling, but would baseball still be one of their unfortunate targets?
I suspect in the end this is a disconnect between the generation who were raised with a so called leader who demonstrated that cheating is ok versus an older generation that had some standards.
@This one belongs to the Reds
As I demonstrated, the older generation allowed in players that weren’t really Hall of Fame worthy along with individuals who admitted to cheating.
You didn’t really demonstrate anything. You said “We also have guys in the Hall, who admitted to cheating.” That’s it. No examples. No PROOF.
Supply some.
@pdxbrewcrew
Hank Greenberg and the World Series Champion Detroit Tigers having scouts sit in the center field bleachers to steal signs and inform the Tiger hitters what’s coming,
Gaylord Perry making a career out of the aforementioned splitter
Bud Selig was elected to the Hall of Fame thanks to his part in saving baseball in the 1990s following a contentious player strike that canceled the 1994 World Series. He oversaw the steroid era that featured guys like Bonds, Clemens, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa keeping baseball afloat.
So, because there are those that are “cheaters” and others that were marginal Hall of Famers, there should be more cheaters and more marginal Hall of Famers enshrined. The old “two wrongs DO make a right.” argument.
@pdxbrewcrew
I’m not trying to justify right or wrong. I’m pointing out that the history of the Hall is full of inconsistencies and players that really don’t belong there. Now, we’re trying to place moral value on whether or not certain guys who were part of an era of baseball where many of them were using PEDs, and not just the hitters, and we’re going to say, well, nope, we can’t allow these people into the Hall. They elected the commissioner at the time of the PED era, who did nothing at all about the issue. The history of the Hall is anything but pure so trying to put pureness in the evaluation process makes no sense. If you don’t want cheaters and unqualified members in the HOF, then we should close down the HOF and restart fresh.
You are very much trying to justify right and wrong. You are saying “because there are others that are considered cheaters, we might as well just let anyone that is also a cheater in.” Again, the “two wrongs make a right” argument.
@This one belongs to the Red If you dont know the difference in being alert and able to play in a game then there is no hope for you either. Greenies had a huge impact on players who played in day games after night games, in double headers, and on long road trips from coast to coast. You are not going to get any at bats or be able to pitch if you are not in the line up and even if you are then how well will you be able to play? That is a huge advantage that players who are currently in the hall have over players now. I dont know if greenies had more of an effect on players than steroids but it certainly had an impact and more than people want to admit.
You can knock down Red Bulls, 5 hour energy, etc. now too. Same effect.
If greenies gave an advantage, it would be to pitchers rather than hitters. You can show up for a game high on speed, and drink it off at 3AM. If you start doing that as a hitter, you might not last a full year.
It’s probably okay for one game after a long road trip, but I cannot fathom any prolonged usage.
Sorta like how players these days take Adderall and other ADHD drugs, which are basically speed.
Sheffield should get more love. The guy had a career 140 OPS+ over a 22 year career. Over 500 HR. He was a great hitter.
Rolen should get in because of his defense alone. One of the best defensive 3B of all time.
Helton, Kemp, and Wagner all have strong cases.
Sheffield admitted from his own chicken lips that he intentionally made errors. He deserves nothing but our scorn.
@pdxbrewcrew Sheffield played for the Brewers when he was 19-22 years old. He channeled his anger in a bad way choosing to make errors in retaliation for whatever. He had a bad attitude. Attitude reflects Leadership. The Brewers chose trading him over Leadership. It’s the Brewers loss. He became a better player when he got out of Milwaukee.
“He was just a kid. It’s not his fault, it’s managements. Management was bad. That’s why every player on the Brewers at that time were making intentional errors.”
Bad attitude comes from being a scumbag pile of garbage.
Sheffield admitted to using the PED cream. Even if you believe he didn’t realize it contained rounds, it helped him get and stay healthy never mind possibly increase his production.
853 games, 903 innings, Wagner helped usher in single inning closers.
Steroids did NOT make Clemens, Bonds, Sheffield, Ramirez, Sosa, Rodriguez hall of fame caliber players.
Steroids DID pad the stats of Clemens, Bonds, Ramirez, Sheffield, Sosa, Rodriguez
All of them allegedly or proven broke MLB’s 1991 steroid use rules. They “cheated” as did cork users, spitball throwers etc.
The cheating did not make them hall of fame caliber players
The cheating padded their stats
They all belong in the hall of fame.
Hypocrisy is evident here.
The same ones that say padded stats doesn’t make you hall of fame players are the same people that say guys with 400 home runs that didn’t use are not hall of famers.
As far as Bonds, Clemens, Sosa and the rest, the point is no one knows if they were hall of famers without using or not because they did. I personally always thought Bonds and Clemens in particular were foolish because I suspect they would have been great without it but we will never know.
That’s always my point. if one says Sosa padded his stats, then let me know what his real stats should be. He wasn’t a ranked prospect, had 35 HRs in 1737 minor league ABs (12/year) and his first four seasons, albeit at a young age, he had a 85 OPS+. Basically, he was a nobody.
Joe… how do you feel about our farm hand that was traded for Larry Anderson?? Little to zero power in minors than a body that can lift the top off astrodome??? Make no doubt he was not the first I feel to get in…
Sosa may be debatable without the PEDs.
If steroids made you a great hitter, the guys I played with would be in the show. They don’t. Elect Bonds and ARod and the rest.
If steroids don’t help, then why use them?
Help do what? Recover? 100% that’s why.
Any writer who turns in a blank ballot should lose their ability to vote for five years, after that if they do it again, permanent ban.
Looking at the current numbers it tells me a lot of the writers didn’t watch baseball in the 90s. Jeff Kent played for two teams I dislike very much (Dodgers and Giants), but even I can see the dude is a hall of famer, the fact he only has 50% shows how clueless a good chunk of writers are.
Bonds and Clemens were never suspended or caught with PEDs and didn’t make it in. ARod was suspended and is getting votes. Whatever people think of PEDs they seem to like the people that got busted over those that didn’t (Ortiz).
I agree on the blank ballots. No excuse for being an idiot
Maybe it just simply that there aren’t any players that that particular writer thinks deserves to be in the Hall. To think otherwise is something an idiot would do.
You’re all about positive reinforcement aren’t ya
I think Andruw Jones and Sheffield should both get more love. Jones was the best CF of his generation and Sheff was one of the most feared hitters in the game for over a decade. His bat waggle alone belongs in the hall.
The HoF has been a total joke for so long it’s pretty wild to imagine how we keep having arguments about it.
“Beltran being the first of the 2017 Astros to be up for the HOF Ballot”
Well if that isn’t putting it lightly LOL!!! Beltran should be banned from baseball for taking his sign stealing ways with him from team to team. Any team this guy touched is tainted, the whole sport of baseball is tainted because of this clown.
The complete lack of logic and consistency regarding steroids is ridiculous.
A Rod was a vastly superior player to David Ortiz. They both did steroids. They both used the same steroid dealing doctor. Ortiz is the one in.
Gary Sheffield probably did steroids. Again a better overall player than Ortiz but without a positive test. Ortiz is the one in.
What this really shows is the power of being nice to the media so they portray you as a good guy.
Andruw Jones should get in. Maybe Sheff. Nobody else this year.
If Kent doesn’t get in,it’s a Flawed System! Tear it down get fresh non-bias individuals in there to Vote!
Until Curt gets in the HOF can kiss my portly Arzz… also my man Luis Tiant… Brutal on who is in and who’s not last 10 years…. Kent another….
I would vote for Helton for the HOF.
He had a .414 OBP, .316 Average, he walked more then 200 times more then striking out, and he played solid in the field.
Never thought Rolen was even a maybe hall of famer. Jones , Wagner and Helton were worth a real debate. I can see both pro and con for each. . I would leave spaces empty rather put Rolen on ballot just too vote for ten.
Jacob Turner…that’s a name I haven’t seen in a minute. I still remember being at a game in Wrigley with Robin Ventura as the manager of the Sox. Carson Fulmer had been the only one warming up in the bullpen, Ventura makes a pitching change…and it’s Jacob Turner, cold as ice. Unsurprisingly, he gets shelled and gives up a monumentally large inning. That was the feather in the cap for how bad a manager Ventura was.