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New Commenting System At MLBTR

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You may have noticed that MLBTR now has a new commenting system.  If you had commented at all in 2015 under the old system, you should have received an email with a link to register.  If you did not receive an email, feel free to go into the comments section of a post and click the register button.  It might take a little while for your first-ever comment to be published, but after that it should be instant.

We’re using Gravatar for avatars now.  You can go here to sign in or sign up and upload an image for yourself.

I apologize for any short-term bugs or missing features in this new commenting system.  In the long-term, an in-house commenting system is the right move for MLBTR, Hoops Rumors, Pro Football Rumors.  With a third-party system, we had no control over any aspect.  Now, we can integrate and customize as we wish.  Development is underway to add comments to our Trade Rumors app, by the way.

We love the discussions you create in the comments section of each post.  Please let me know about any bugs with the new system and/or features you’d like to see added.  You can leave a comment on this post, send an email through our contact form, or tell me on Twitter @timdierkes.  Thanks for your patience and happy commenting!

Podcast: Barry Enright, Joe Sheehan

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Right-hander Barry Enright joins the show to talk about his journey through the game, which took him to the big leagues (with the Diamondbacks and Angels) and has most recently brought him to the Mexican League’s Tijuana Toros. Then, Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated and the Joe Sheehan Newsletter jumps on the line to discuss the Red Sox and the selling side of the summer trade market.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

$250K MLB Fantasy Contest At DraftKings

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It’s time once again for a big-money fantasy baseball contest from DraftKings! Click on the link and take a shot at a total $250K prize pool. The top prize is a cool $100K, and the best 18,230 entries will win cash! The entry fee is just three bucks, but you get a free roll with your first deposit. Click here to enter!

Make a run at the real cash prizes and challenge your baseball IQ by constructing a lineup from this evening’s matchups. You’ll have $50K of salary to allocate to eight position slots and two starters.

The “Swing For The Fences” contest is live tonight at 7:05pm EST, so head to DraftKings right now and get started. It’s quick, easy, and fun. Here are my selections for tonight’s action:

06.05.2015 DK

Sign up for this $250K contest right now!

$300K MLB Fantasy Contest At DraftKings

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Get in on the action with a huge fantasy baseball contest from DraftKings! Follow that link to take your chance at landing among the 25,930 top finishers who will share a $300K prize pool. If you really knock it out of the park, you could score the $100K top prize. It’s only $3 to enter, or you can take part for free if you make your first deposit. Click here to enter!

Putting together a daily lineup is always a great time. Take a shot at the cash by making the best possible use of $50K in salary cap space for eight position players and two pitchers. (Note that the daytime game is not part of the contest.)

The contest goes live Wednesday evening — that’s May 20th at 7:05pm EST — so get your selections made right now! Here’s the lineup I’m rolling with:

05.18.2015 DK

Sign up for this $300K contest right now!

Atlantic League, MLB Reach Player Transfer Pact

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The independent Atlantic League and MLB reached an agreement this offseason that established rules governing the transfer of player contracts to MLB organizations, Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper reports. Cooper notes that, in practice, the agreement hasn’t had much of an effect on player transfers between the Atlantic League and affiliated ball — a number of players have gone from the former to the latter this season, like Trayvon Robinson (Diamondbacks) and P.J. Walters (Dodgers).

The agreement is significant for the Atlantic League, though, because it’s the first time it’s been officially acknowledged by Major League Baseball. “It signifies that we occupy a place within the professional baseball hierarchy. That’s meaningful to the league,” says Atlantic League’s Rick White.

“Since 1998 the Atlantic League has been a great resource for experienced players looking to extend their playing careers,” said MLB in a statement. “With our new agreement MLB is looking forward to continuing our relationship with the Atlantic League.”

Cooper notes that the Atlantic League has long sought to strengthen its ties to MLB. For example, it hired former Rangers, Indians and Tigers GM Joe Klein to be its executive director and former MLB Properties president White to be its president. MLB, meanwhile, follows the Atlantic League to see which types of rules changes it might be able to emulate — Cooper writes that MLB’s pace-of-game changes this season were based in large part on rules that had already been implemented in the Atlantic League.

The Atlantic League has, of course, featured any number of MLB luminaries, like Rickey Henderson, Roger Clemens, Tim Raines, Jose Canseco, Carlos Baerga and Edgardo Alfonzo. Jered Weaver and Stephen Drew briefly aligned themselves with the league after being drafted by MLB teams but before signing.

More commonly, the league serves as a springboard for marginal players to make it to the big leagues or make it back to the big leagues. Jerome Williams of the Phillies, who played with the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2011, is a prominent example. Some of the top players in the league this season include former MLB players like Lew Ford, Sean Burroughs, Mickey Storey and Sean Gallagher.

Sign Up For The MLBTR Newsletter

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The new MLBTR Newsletter delivers an exclusive weekly article to your inbox every week! I’ll be weighing in on deals, rumors, and all the hot stove-related topics MLBTR has been known for since I launched the site a decade ago. These articles will be exclusive to MLBTR Newsletter subscribers and will not appear on the website. I may also provide occasional updates on what’s next for MLBTR.

I’ll be honored if you give us your email address. We will never sell your email address or market anything to the mailing list. My second post, coming today, is about which teams should pursue Carlos Gomez.  Sign up now! Those of you viewing this post in our app can use this link.

Get the weekly article from Tim!


DraftKings MLB All-Star Game Contest

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It’s time for another exciting DraftKings event — this time, with a twist. The winner will receive a trip for two to Cincinnati for the MLB All-Star Fantasy Camp on July 12 through 16. If you win, you’ll get a $1,000 airfare credit, hotel accommodations in Cinci, two tickets to the festivities — including the Home Run Derby and the 86th MLB All-Star Game — and an official MLB Fantasy Camp uniform. All said, it’s a $10K value for the winner!

Head to DraftKings right now to enter for just $3 — or, for free with your first deposit! (Must be 21 or up to enter.) In addition to the first prize, the top 288 entrants will win cash.

The contest goes live tomorrow night — Saturday, May 9th, at 7:05pm EST. Just head to the entry page, choose your 8 position players and 2 pitchers while staying within the $50K salary cap, and follow the action to see if you are a winner!

Here’s the lineup I’m planning on rolling with for tomorrow night:

05.08.2015 DK

Don’t hesitate!  Sign up for the DraftKings MLB All-Star Game contest right now!

This is a sponsored post from DraftKings.

 

Injury Notes: Cobb, Magill, Bailey, Ottavino

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Here’s the latest on some injury situations around the game, including several pitchers who will face 12-16 months of recovery time from Tommy John surgery…

  • Alex Cobb discussed his injury situation with reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) and the Rays righty admitted that he is “still going back and forth on what to do.”  Cobb received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow and will wait a few weeks before testing, though if the procedure doesn’t take, Cobb will have to undergo TJ surgery.  If he waits and has to get the surgery anyway, however, Cobb risks missing all of 2016, whereas if he gets the surgery now, he believes he’ll be able to return late next season.
  • Right-hander Matt Magill will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, according to the Reds’ official Twitter feed.  Magill’s Major League career consists of six starts for the Dodgers in 2013 that saw him post a 6.51 ERA, 26 strikeouts and 28 walks over 27 2/3 innings.  A 31st-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2008 draft, Magill owns a 3.99 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 700 2/3 minor league innings.  He was traded from Los Angeles to Cincinnati in December in exchange for outfielder Chris Heisey.
  • From that same Reds tweet, Homer Bailey will also undergo his own Tommy John surgery tomorrow.
  • Rockies closer Adam Ottavino underwent Tommy John surgery this morning, according to Nick Groke of the Denver Post.  Ottavino was going to get a second opinion to be sure, yet was fully expecting to get the operation to repair his partially torn UCL.

East Notes: Howard, A-Rod, Phillies

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Ryan Hanigan’s injury pushed the Red Sox to throw Blake Swihart directly into the fire upon his big league promotion, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes. Learning on the fly is hardly ideal for a catcher, but Boston doesn’t have much choice and Swihart says he’s up for the task. “I feel ready,” he said. “I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t feel ready. I love a challenge. I’m ready.”  A look at the AL and NL East..

  • Ryan Howard earned his 10-and-5 rights on Saturday, but Phillies GM Ruben Amaro claims he isn’t concerned about how that could affect a potential trade.  “I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Amaro said, according to Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s a big deal for him, for two reasons: I think he should be recognized for [having] the most games played at first base in our franchise. That’s a pretty awesome feat, No. 1. And No. 2, obviously he’s been a long-standing member of this club and has had a great deal to do with the success.”  As Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News explained over the weekend, Howard essentially had full no-trade protection prior to Saturday thanks to a modification to Jimmy Rollins‘ contract before his trade.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald wonders how history would have been changed if Alex Rodriguez joined the Red Sox back in 2003.  The player’s union shot down a deal that would have sent Rodriguez to the Rangers for Manny Ramirez and Jon Lester (then a prospect in Single-A) because A-Rod would have taken a $28MM pay cut to make the deal possible.  If that marriage did take place, it might not have lasted long.  Apparently, the Red Sox would have allowed Rodriguez to opt out of his contract after the 2007 season, multiple sources familiar with the team’s thinking at the time tell Lauber. And unlike the Yankees, who re-signed him to a 10-year, $275MM contract after allowing him to exercise the opt-out, they “definitely would have let him walk,” an NL exec said.
  • As a Hall of Famer managing in the bigs after his induction, Phillies skipper Ryne Sandberg is part of a rare breed.  Despite his resume, Sandberg didn’t feel like he was too good to work his way up through managing in the minors first, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.  “I would say that just because you’re a Hall of Famer doesn’t mean managing is for you,” said Sandberg, whose team is in last place in the NL East. “I think the perception is that Hall of Famers don’t want to prove (themselves) and go the route that you have to go. I thought it was necessary and worthwhile for me.”

MLBTR Podcast: Could The Starting Pitching Market Ignite Early?

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Will we see any prominent starting pitchers moved in May this year?  Who are the big names and dark horse buyers and sellers?  Host Jeff Todd and MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes have the answers to these questions and more on this week’s podcast.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

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MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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