Fellow MLB Network host Lauren Shehadi got roped into helping Casey prepare for the trajectory of the pitching. She probably regrets that decision after a little practice time ended with a line drive right off her head. MORE: Pete Rose to participate in All-Star festivities | Giancarlo Stanton hits HR out of Dodger Stadium You can watch the full segment below. Luckily, all parties involved seem to be just fine....
The White Sox may have dropped their season-high eighth straight game, but Chris Sale still triumphed. MORE: Alex Rodriguez hits No. 3,000 | Fan won’t give back HR ball | The 3,000 hit club Despite a disappointing loss to the Rangers, the left-hander allowed just two hits over eight scoreless innings and tallied 14 strikeouts. He has now struck out double-digit batters in six straight starts. Sale is the first pitcher to strike out 10 or more batters in six consecutive starts since Randy Johnson did it in 2002....
On a day when offense ruled, Phillies starter Cole Hamels stole the show. MORE: Possible trade destinations for Hamels | Potential landing spots for Cueto Hamels helped the Phillies in more ways than one Saturday against the Cubs. Amidst swirling trade rumors, Hamels threw a no-hitter at Wrigley Field in what may have been his last start for Philadelphia. Complete with 13 strikeouts, Hamels threw 129 pitches and gave up two walks, both to Dexter Fowler....
Will the Mets make the postseason? Who knows. We hope so, but right now they are playing with a purpose, and it’s something to be valued early in the season. We’re still getting plus-money on the Mets with their top pitchers because Las Vegas’ rating on the team hasn’t caught up yet. Yesterday it was Harvey getting plus-money against C.C. Sabathia, and tonight it’s Jon Niese (2-0, 1.50 ERA) getting +122 against Nathan Eovaldi (8:05 p....
With Opening Day almost here, a friendly reminder from your friends at The Sporting News: No one knows anything. Did anyone think Atlanta would win the World Series after Ronald Acuña Jr. blew out his ACL? What about the 107-win Giants, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs? Or what about the return of Tony LaRussa, steering the White Sox to a great season? Did anyone really think the Diamondbacks would lose over 100 games?...
Positive tests for COVID-19 are an unfortunate byproduct of MLB forcing a season in the middle of a global pandemic, and if the early returns are any indication, those tests aren’t going to slow as the season gets underway. There have been a number of players who have opted out to this point, giving teams an idea of what exactly they’re up against heading into the 2020 season. Early testing results have been encouraging, however....
The club announced Marco Estrada (13-8, 3.13 ERA in the regular season) will start Game 1 in Kansas City on Friday followed by David Price (9-1, 2.30 ERA with Toronto) in Game 2, Marcus Stroman (4-0, 1.67 ERA) in Game 3, and R.A. Dickey (11-11, 3.91 ERA) in Game 4. MORE: Six pivotal hitter-pitcher matchups in the series | ALCS schedule, players to watch Estrada is the Jays’ most rested starter, as is his Game 1 opponent, the Royals’ Edinson Volquez (13-9, 3....
Mets starter Jacob deGrom and Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw put opposing batters on a turnstile, combining for 24 strikeouts. It was the first time in MLB playoff history both pitchers had struck out at least 11 batters apiece. MORE: Top NLDS photos | Cards rookies back Lackey | MLB postseason schedule Kershaw logged 11 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. He was charged with three earned runs, including a fourth-inning solo home run to Daniel Murphy that gave the Mets a lead they wouldn’t relinquish....
The forecast (via weather.com) at the time the decision was made called for a 100 percent chance of rain at game time (shortly after 8 p.m. ET), and while only a quarter-inch of precipitation was predicted, New York Harbor is under a gale warning and nearby areas are under a flash flood watch and a coastal flood advisory. Radar forecasts show soaking rain moving into the New York area by 5 p....
It’s been more than a month since SN’s last MLB Power Rankings, and my, my, how things have changed. There’s some shuffling within the top five while two formerly top-10 squads have fallen to the middle of the pack. MORE: MLB postseason schedule, brackets The wide-open NL wild-card race doesn’t lend itself to great teams, but rather a lot of good teams vying for the two tickets to playoff paradise....
Amid all of the talk about the universal DH and the extra-innings runner, MLB and the MLBPA also agreed to larger bases for the upcoming season. The surface area will be going up to 18 inches square from 15 inches, giving players about 99 more inches of surface area to work with. While the change seems minor, the difference side by side is substantial. Why did MLB make the bases bigger?...
All but one of the divisional races are locked up. The Giants have quietly been the best team in baseball for most of the season, yet find themselves holding off an incredibly talented Dodgers squad in the NL West. FAGAN: Scherzer could be best midseason pitching acquisition of all time The race for the American League wild card will be a fight to the finish. The Red Sox and Yankees entered September clinging to the top two spots and are still there, but they face pressure from the Blue Jays and Mariners....
Houston, which had been pursuing a starter for almost all of July, missed out on most of its reported targets but landed Zack Greinke in a deal with the Diamondbacks just before the deadline. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said he was surprised the team acquired the 35-year-old right-hander. “I can’t believe we just added Zack Greinke to this rotation and this team, was probably my first thought,” Luhnow said, via Houston station Fox 26....
Manager Terry Francona’s team is 21-13 and leading the Central, but vultures have for at least a year circled the Indians knowing a rebuild or at least a retool is likely ahead. Clevinger is reportedly available after soiling his clubhouse reputation. He and teammate Zach Plesac broke COVID-19 protocols earlier this month in Chicago, and Clevinger then lied to his team about his role in the incident, leading him to be temporarily banished with Plesac to the team’s satellite camp....
REPORTED BY: CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman THE DETAILS: Phillips is owed $27 million over the final two years of his contract, a deal that he has publicly grumbled about in the past. THIS SEASON: The 33 year-old has seen a bit of resurgence at the plate, batting 295/.333/.364 with 26 RBIs and eight stolen bases. He hit .263/.308/.386 combined the past two seasons. OUR TAKE: With shortstop Zack Cozart out for the year and the team 12 1/2 games back of the Cardinals in the NL Central, the Reds appear to be already leaning toward selling at the trade deadline....
That fact has to be the starting point for any discussion about the potential of Chris Archer being traded by the Tampa Bay Rays. It doesn’t matter whether the discussion is you and your friends talking about the hypothetical possibility or whether it’s an actual big-league GM calling actual Rays GM Erik Neander. Four years of control. MORE: Opening Day schedule for all 30 teams Another thing that doesn’t matter: that the Rays traded franchise icon Evan Longoria to San Francisco this offseason, or that they dealt starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi to Minnesota or that they dispatched 57 home runs worth of production when they traded Steven Souza Jr....
Houston continues “to engage in discussions with teams and monitor the market for a No. 3 starter,” according to The Athletic, and it has shown some level of interest in Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray, MLB.com reported Monday. “We’re having the conversations we need to have,” Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow told The Athletic earlier this week. “We’ve targeted players that we like, and we’re hopeful that we get one or more of them....
They’ve been awesome in the postseason. They’ve exceeded every expectation, with their run all the way to Game 7 of the World Series in 2014 and their World Series championship in 2015. But, wow. Their 2016 playoff prospects just don’t look very good. MORE: Sporting News ranks every MLB manager, 1-30 They enter play on Tuesday with a record that’s two games under .500. They’re 8.5 games behind the Indians in the American League Central, in fourth place behind the Tigers and White Sox (being behind a White Sox team that’s been mostly a disaster might be the most damning truth about K....
MORE: White Sox want five top prospects for Chris Sale, report says
Most of the discussion has centered around pitching. Will the Royals trade Wade Davis? Are the White Sox going to trade Scissorhands Sale? Will anyone meet the Yankees’ asking price on Andrew Miller? But lots of World Series contenders are interested in adding offense, too, so we thought we’d take a look at the best bats available on the trade market. Some of the possible destinations are connected to actual rumors, and some are just speculation based on need (mystery teams are fun)....
