Week one of fantasy baseball is still running so we won’t have results for another week. But the news cycle is still going!
• Extensions. So many contract extensions came to a head as spring training closed and the season began.
– OF Mike Trout (Angels)
– SP Justin Verlander and 3B Alex Bregman(Astros)
– 1B Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals)
– SP Kyle Hendricks (Cubs)
– SP Jacob DeGrom (Mets)
– SP Blake Snell and IF/OF Brandon Lowe(Rays)
– SP Chris Sale and SS Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox)
– OF Eloy Jimenez (White Sox)
There’s a mix here of veterans who were on the verge of free agency and in a couple cases young guys (Jimenez and Lowe) looking out for their immediate interests. Jimenez had in fact already been optioned to the minors before agreeing to the new contract (and undoubtedly would’ve been down there til mid-April) so by agreeing to the contract he secured himself a spot on Chicago’s Opening Day roster. With consistent rumors of labor unrest and a second straight off-season of slow moving free agency, players seem to be feeling inclined to grab offered money immediately rather than risk having to settle for less than their worth.
• One team that did ignore a service time question in the name of being improved from the outset was the San Diego Padres who decided that their team would be better with youngster Fernando Tatis Jr. on its opening day roster. Tatis just turned 20 years old and has been considered one of the top 5 prospects in the game for a couple seasons now. Tatis has done nothing but hit in the minors despite often being younger than his competition and through his first 11 major league AB’s he’s 3/10 with a walk which is a solid start!
• On the subject of labor unrest though… MLB got themselves painted into an ugly corner by the Athletic’s Marc Carig (unfortunately its behind a paywall so the full article is restricted to subscribers) with the reports of teams passing around a “championship belt” during a yearly symposium on arbitration teams hold each year. The belt is awarded to the team that “best accomplishes goals set by the industry” or in other words, does the best job of keeping salaries down. Arbitration is often a painful process for players and teams. MLBPA head Tony Clark was not happy with the existence of this ceremony. Several players have also voiced their displeasure with the ceremony which would seem to fuel the idea of future labor strife.
• Injuries have also struck early and often this year. Steven Souza Jr of the Diamondbacks has already been ruled out for the season. Meanwhile stars like Justin Upton, Dellin Betances, Kyle Seager and Scooter Gennett are also set to miss extended time to start the year.
That’s week one of the season down, what else have you seen this opening weekend?