Chris Correa did the crime in the Cardinals hacking scandal, and while he is doing the time in prison, the Cardinals were left to deal with a punishment of their own. Albeit one that looks soft in the grand scheme of things.
Rob Rains of the St. Louis Sports Page outlines a pretty sensible plan for the Cardinals to overcome the loss of two draft picks and $2 million – or approximately $300,000 less than what Kevin Siegrist will make in 2017. Among the ways to do it: try to land any last available Cuban prospects before the current IFA period closes, use every last bit of the new $125,000 post-10th-round signing bonus limit, and focus heavily on developing internally.
As for the rest of your MLBits …
The Cleveland Indians continue to load up on talent for another deep run come October. The team’s latest addition is left-handed reliever Boone Logan. Lefties owned a .142/.222/.255 slash line against Logan in 2016 and have hit .198/.299/.312 slugging percentage since the start of 2014. Take those numbers out of Coors Field and it’s a .178/.271/.322 slash. That’s rather impressive. Adding Logan to the Cleveland bullpen gives manager Terry Francona another experienced, high-leverage arm to use in the bullpen, but could also allow him to use Andrew Miller more freely. Prior to the Logan signing, Miller was the only lefty in the Indians’ bullpen.
It was very disappointing to learn that Japanese stud Shohei Otani wasn’t going to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, but there is a chance he still might hit. Otani hit .322 with 22 homers for the Nippon-Ham Fighters, but an ankle injury will keep him from showing his off his world class pitching arm on the world stage. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Otani will play in the Major Leagues any time soon after the new CBA passed. And even if he was posted by his team in Japan and made it to the states, odds are the Cubs wouldn’t be able to sign him because of the new CBA rules. wouldn’t be able to be signed by the Cubs.
And when he does come, maybe Otani will stake his claim as the best hitting pitcher of the DH era. Jeff Sullivan gave the award to Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, edging Jake Arrieta – who won the Silver Slugger, by the way. Wainwright posted some ridiculous numbers with runners on base, which gave him an edge on Arrieta.
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Another member of the Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship-winning team has departed. Chris Coghlan agreed to a minor-league deal with the Phillies on Thursday. Coghlan had a career revival of sorts with the Cubs, slashing .264/.351/.441 in 321 games over three seasons. His 118 OPS+ in 1,063 plate appearances with the Cubs is 19 points higher than his career average. In Philadelphia, Coghlan could compete for an outfield or bench job with a rebuilding team.
Even though Padres GM A.J. Preller was suspended for failing to disclose medical information prior to the team dealing Drew Pomeranz to the Red Sox for prospect pitcher Anderson Espinoza, Preller did not face any reprimand for acting similarly in a deal between the Padres and Marlins that same summer (although part of that deal was undone, which came out of a complicated series of decisions by the Marlins). If you’ll recall, the Marlins originally sent pitching prospect Luis Castillo, first base prospect Josh Naylor, righty starter Jarrod Cosart and reliever Carter Capps to the Padres for right-handed pitchers Colin Rea, Andrew Cashner and Tayron Guerrero. Ken Rosenthal sorts out how that trade still impacts the Marlins, Padres, and Phillies (surprise!) to this day.
The New York Mets broke free from the rest of the National League Wild Card pack to earn home field advantage in the one-game playoff, only to lose to Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants. Over at FanGraphs, Carson Cistulli has the 2017 ZiPS projections for a team in the middle of its competitive window, but still has youth and upside on its pitching staff – if it stays healthy. On the other hand, only four everyday players project to record a 2-WAR season or better. It appears as if the starting pitching will have to carry New York if it is to be competitive again in 2017.
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The offseason is a time for some players to set-up their long-term futures with multi-year contracts. For others – such as Cubs left-handed pitcher David Rollins – it is a whirlwind of activity, bouncing from one team to another without actually moving. Jon Tayler of Sports Illustrated catches up with Rollins, Richie Shaffer and other well-traveled players who changed teams several times without leaving the comforts of home.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner says that Yankee fans love Aroldis Chapman, whom the team re-signed this offseason to a five-year, $86 million contract, and added this awkward quote to USA Today about Chapman’s suspension for domestic violence: “He was great. Look, he admitted he messed up. He paid the penalty. Sooner or later, we forget, right? That’s the way we’re supposed to be in life. He did everything right, and said everything right, when he was with us.” Chapman was received as a good citizen and teammate in his time with the Cubs as well, though “forgetting” about the domestic violence incident and suspension is probably not the angle you want to take.
Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.
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NEWSLETTER
Chris Correa did the crime in the Cardinals hacking scandal, and while he is doing the time in prison, the Cardinals were left to deal with a punishment of their own. Albeit one that looks soft in the grand scheme of things.
