MLBits: Cubs the “Weakest” Favorite? Rays Rotation Thinning, Steinbrenner Nixed a Rebuild, More

Mar 28, 2018

Everyone ready?

We’ve got a big Opening Weekend ahead of us, and it all starts tomorrow morning. I know I can’t wait. I’ve already got the Series Preview written up and scheduled to go later this evening (did that before lunch today in a futile effort to make the season start sooner), so keep an eye out for that. Because tomorrow, we’re off to the races.

In the meantime, some news from around the league …

ESPN recently surveyed 43 GMs, assistant GMs, personnel directors, and scouts to get a sense of the industry on eight topics that could drive the 2018 season’s narrative. Among the most interesting questions/answers, the Cubs come up as the second most likely divisional favorite to be upset and not win the division this season. Which, I don’t know, whatever. We already know that the statistical and objective projections from FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus say something different.

In any case, the Yankees were ranked first, which makes plenty of sense to me (the Red Sox are a good team and the Rays, for some reason, have been projected well (though that may soon change (more on that in a bit))), but the Dodgers came in just behind the Cubs and were followed by the Nationals. And that’s what confuses me the most. I know teams like the Indians and Astros are super strong, but the NL East has to be the weakest overall division, with a powerhouse (Nationals) on top. If they were to lose the division, I’d be more surprised than if the Angels or Rangers dethroned the Astors and ditto Twins/Royals with the Indians.

Other notable questions from that article include odds on whether Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, both, or neither will be traded by the deadline, who will Bryce Harper play for in 2019 (Cubs come in third, btw, but their Vegas odds are much better), whether Clayton Kershaw will stay in Los Angeles, and much more. Check it out.

Who’s up for a one-man rotation?

BREAKING: Eovaldi is out for #Rays. Has loose bodies in elbow, arthroscopic surgery seems likely. Could return this year. Had looked very sharp this spring in return from 2nd Tommy John.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 28, 2018

I kid, of course, but if you recall, the Rays were planning on rolling with a four-man – plus a bullpen day – rotation for the first six weeks of the season (at least), but now they’ve lost one of their scheduled starters. So … what’s the plan, fellas?

In other Rays’ news …

#Rays have also released RHP Daniel Hudson

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 28, 2018

Hudson, you’ll recall, was the “centerpiece” of the package that sent Corey Dickerson to the Pirates earlier this offseason. In addition to Hudson, the Pirates also sent Tristan Gray and $1M to the Rays. So … what’s up with this? Hudson did have a bit of a disappointing spring, but as a healthy, 31-year-old veteran reliever you’d think those numbers wouldn’t mean too much. And if you’re thinking it’s a money thing (because Rays), it’s not that either. The Rays will still be on the hook for the remaining $4.5M on his contract this year (less whatever he earns from another team, which will likely be the MLB minimum), so, yeah, confusing stuff.

According to MLB Pipeline, AJ Puk is the #32 prospect in all of baseball, the second best left-handed pitching prospect in the game, and the A’s top prospect overall. As a 22-year-old in Double-A for the first time last season, Puk recorded a 30.9% strikeout rate over 13 starts, and that number was actually *down* from the 38.6 K% he posted in High-A. All of which is to say, the news that he needs Tommy John surgery is a crushing one for the A’s., who’d already lost Jharel Cotton to TJS.

See this yet?

A Burst Sewage Pipe Bubbled … Something onto the Field Last Night, Forcing LAD and LAA to Call it Early https://t.co/2kE0YfRNhS pic.twitter.com/PcAEOPdzVI
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) March 28, 2018

That’s right, last night a small pool of liquid appeared on the dirt behind the warning track at Dodger Stadium and, according to the OCR, “the smell of raw sewage began to permeate the air. Thirty-two minutes later, that small pool had spilled over into the first row of seats with no sign of letting up, and the game was officially canceled.” Yum.

Needless to say, Andrew Toles was not amused:

“I smelled it,” Andrew Toles said. “It was nasty. I’m not gonna tell you what it really was. That’s messed up. That’s a tragic thing.”
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) March 28, 2018

Josh Norris has an excellent piece up at Baseball America, describing how Yankees GM Brian Cashman suggested a full tear down and rebuild to the Yankees ownership, but they denied him his request and told him to find another way to do it. After several EXCELLENT trades, not all of which had to do with the reigning NL MVP, and a beef up of the analytics department, the Yankees figure to be one of the better teams in baseball this season and were pretty darn good last year, too. It just goes to show you, if you have the effort, a good plan, and unlimited money, anything is possible! I kid, Cashman made plenty of awesome moves, including grabbing Gleyber Torres from the Cubs, but still, having the money to paper over mistakes won’t hurt in the coming years.

The Giants can’t catch a break:

Mark Melancon hasn't pitched since Friday and won't tonight. He's feeling something in arm still. Giants unsure if he'll be ready for opening day.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) March 27, 2018

After losing Madison Bumgarner for the start of the season (broken pinky), and Jeff Samardzija (pec) set to start the season on the DL (the first time in his career), the Giants’ big offseason bullpen addition from last year might not be ready for Opening Day either. In 2016, Melancon posted a 1.64 ERA (2.42 FIP) for the Pirates, and was rewarded with a four-year/$62M deal. Last season, however, he was able to pitch just 30.0 innings for the Giants with a 4.50 ERA. He had gone at least 70 innings in each of the four seasons before that and five of the past six, but the injuries are piling up.

I don’t love Trevor Bauer’s opinions on everything, but this is pretty funny:

Trevor Bauer wanted to be paid $6,420,969.69 this year. When he won a higher salary in arbitration, he hatched a plan: He would donate the difference to charity in $420.69 increments. The story on @BauerOutage's newest initiative, The 69 Days of Giving: https://t.co/krYv4lwkQx pic.twitter.com/ZlEuQS8As1
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 28, 2018

I … I don’t know. Charity is good, so thanks?

Cut4 has a ranking of their 75 favorite baseball uniforms (home, away, alternates, etc) and the Cubs home jerseys do make an appearance on the list at #16. The top spot goes to the Dodgers home whites and they’re followed closely by the Cardinals home jerseys (which, admittedly, are pretty cool). With that said, I think the Giants (home), Tigers (home), and A’s (alternates) are my three favorite – outside of the Cubs, that is. What about you?

A Yankees beer vendor has gotten a little creative with his foam designs, which are usually just baseball related and/or logos of the team:

This is pretty incredible. @BluePointBrewer at @yankeestadium is printing players’ faces on beer this season (also coffee and some food). @TheJudge44, @ElGarySanchez, @Giancarlo818 and @AChapman_105 are loaded into the system already with more to come. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/FlybIy6bTj
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) March 26, 2018

But MLB has decided that they can’t print the faces of their players on their beer, so that fun has been nixed before it started. Bah.

And I still don’t even have a foul ball to my name:

A Bat for Some Snacks? Blue Jays Trade with Fans Mid-Game https://t.co/TCh1kfz36k pic.twitter.com/LcpazGgGaD

— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) March 28, 2018

Newsy UPDATE: Ouch for the Royals and Perez:

Salvy Perez slipped last night carrying his luggage and has MCL tear. Out 4-6 weeks.

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) March 28, 2018

written by

Michael Cerami

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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MLBits: Cubs the “Weakest” Favorite? Rays Rotation Thinning, Steinbrenner Nixed a Rebuild, More

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