NEWSLETTER
Baseball news for your Friday!
Arenado, Cabrera Suspended for Cards-Mets Scrum
Emotions came to a head when Nolan Arenado was buzzed up and in late in Tuesday’s Mets-Cardinals contest. Arenado instigated a confrontation that resulted in a benches-clearing scum between the two teams. MLB has handed down a two-game suspension to Arenado and a one-game suspension for Génesis Cabrera for their part in the hostilities. Yoan Lopez, Taijuan Walker, and Jack Flaherty all received fines for their roles.
MLB gave a 2-game suspension to Nolan Arenado and a 1-game suspension to Genesis Cabrera for their involvement in the Cardinals-Mets hostilities. Yoan Lopez and Taijuan Walker of the Mets received fines, as did Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) April 28, 2022
Minor Leaguers Still Waiting on Spring Training Paychecks
A federal court recently ruled that minor leaguers are year-round employees, yet somehow they’re still not being paid. According to a petition signed by more than 1,000 minor league players submitted to the commissioner’s office on Thursday, players still have not been paid for Spring Training despite a federal judge ruling that the time spent in Arizona and Florida is work and should be compensated as such.
“Minor league baseball players have not received a full paycheck in more than six months,” said Tampa Bay Rays Triple-A catcher Joe Hudson, a member of the Advocates for Minor Leaguers player steering committee. “Since reporting to spring training two to three months ago, we have been working full time, wherever our MLB team has required us to be. We deserve pay for that work.”
The petition was started by Advocates for Minor Leaguers, a not-for-profit that focuses on raising awareness and fighting for the advancement of the rights of minor league baseball players. ESPN’s Joon Lee wrote about the petition and spoke with players who believe that this is a step towards unionization:
Over 1,000 minor leaguers signed a petition requesting that MLB teams pay players for spring training following a federal court ruling that minor leaguers are year-round employees
Minor leaguers say the petition is a step towards unionization https://t.co/PiKsvafbxq
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) April 28, 2022
Taylor Ward’s Breakout is Happening
Is there a hotter hitter in baseball right now than Taylor Ward? Ward enters play today with a 269 wRC+ and is smoking the cover off of the baseball this season. The Angels cut Justin Upton this spring to make room for Ward, and boy, have they been rewarded for their decision thus far. Ward is slashing .381/.509 /.762 with four home runs and 11 RBI. The power and contact rate have been there for Ward, but he’s also walking at a 20 percent clip.
Ward is doing at all at the dish for the angels in the early going, and his hot start coupled with an equally sizzling start by his outfield neighbor Mike Trout has the Angels looking like a team that can do some damage in the AL West this season. Trout is right behind Ward with a 263 wRC+ and has mashed five home runs already this season.
Grand salami for Taylor Ward!!! Angels take the lead!pic.twitter.com/kmeRXXt6h1
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 28, 2022
Sure, small sample size, something, something, something …
Ward’s numbers will come back down to earth at some point, but the peripherals suggest a regression might be a leveling off of numbers rather than a spike. Trust the eye test too. Take a look at this gorgeous swing:
Taylor Ward’s swing is beautiful pic.twitter.com/tTsbXU4fDv
— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) April 28, 2022
The Angels have won five in a row, and after sweeping the Cleveland Guardians in a four-game series, the Angels are sitting in first place in the AL West at 13-7. Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, and Shohei Ohtani went 8-12 with a grand slam, four extra-base hits, and seven RBI against the Guardians on Thursday, and the trio is making the Angels lineup a nightmare for opposing pitchers. If you want to catch the hottest trio in baseball right now, the Angels are in town to play the White Sox in a weekend tilt at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Contenders or Pretenders?
Seiya Suzuki has been pretty good to start the season, but is he for real or just a feel-good story for now? The new Cubs outfielder is among the players in a column by ESPN’s David Schoenfeld in which he tries to flesh out who’s for real and who’s not when it comes to early MVP contenders, All-Stars, and breakout players.
We're not reaching when we say Seiya Suzuki is really good at baseball. pic.twitter.com/wMTdh3AHhs
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 23, 2022
Odds and Ends …
•  Big news on the Trevor Bauer front this afternoon as MLB has suspended Bauer for two full seasons. The suspension amounts to 324 games, starting today, and no credit is to be received for the 99 days that Bauer spent on administrative leave, so in the end, Bauer will miss 423 games and be eligible to return during the 2024 season.  Bauer has already made it known that he will be appealing the decision. Brett has more on the news:
BREAKING: Trevor Bauer Has Been Suspended By MLB for Two Years – https://t.co/bFtTOLfowY pic.twitter.com/mCSeEJMGbL
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) April 29, 2022
•  I friggin’ love moments like these:
Wholesome moment:
Brothers @Wcontreras42 and Willson Contreras exchanged lineup cards before tonight's game. 🥰 pic.twitter.com/YQ2qSGgsLy
— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2022
•  The case for robot umps grows every day, and umpires have no one to blame but themselves:
MLB fix your shit pic.twitter.com/Z4Sb5vl4Vm
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) April 28, 2022
•  Ken Rosenthal dives into the idea of a pre-tacked ball coming to the game eventually:
With the ball again a topic of conversation, a pre-tacked version can’t come soon enough. Column: https://t.co/zYjSOoJF8B
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 28, 2022
•  Yadier Monina just did WHAT?:
Yadier Molina just stole second base and Cardinals fans LOVED it pic.twitter.com/lQLDbIC3Vy
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 29, 2022
•  Ronald Acuna Jr. is back, and the Braves faithful are loving it:
The @Braves faithful welcomes back @ronaldacunajr24. pic.twitter.com/WGGr1rYr4u
— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2022
