Both teams have been playing outstanding baseball of late with the Cubs winning six of their last seven and the Giants taking 16 of their last 21. Madison Bumgarner pitched last night, taking him out of the series price equation, where the Cubs are listed as -140 favorites at William Hill sports books to take at least three of out four. MORE: Baseball’s best at hitting each pitch | Playoff panic...
The powers that be at MLB gave Sporting News a sneak peek at the list, which is cool, so here’s the first “best of the best” list you’re likely to see. It was nearly impossible to whittle down the list to just 25 nicknames — 75 or 100 would have meant fewer difficult cuts — but that’s the sacrifice we’re making for you. There are a few new non-nickname twists this year, the biggest being that players are being encouraged to bring their phones onto the field prior to the national anthem to post social-media content....
Such is the world when Jose Altuve has come to the plate and gotten on base this postseason. The man who may be the American League MVP has reached base in 17 of 27 plate appearances against the Red Sox and Yankees, and reached home plate seven times. His bat and speed have reached another level in the playoffs, elevating him from greatness to something akin to divinity. Against the Yankees he is 5 for 8, but his legs have essentially won both games for the Astros....
Fresh off a sluggish loss on Thursday, Kansas City fell behind early once again in Game 2 of the American League Division Series. Last year’s World Series runner-up finally responded in a big way to avoid a potential sweep. MORE: Top ALDS photos | Rangers go up 2-0 on Jays amid controversy | Postseason schedule Starting pitchers Scott Kazmir and Johnny Cueto struggled, which forced both managers to turn to their bullpens early....
That’s an essential truth for any baseball fan. Any sports fan, really. The umpires are easy scapegoats, the reasons your team won or lost on any given night. They screw the good guys out of wins, always. MORE: NLDS photos | ALDS images | Jays bash strike zone, replay Except that now, baseball has expanded replay, so for the most part there are few complaints about bang-bang plays at first, or fair/foul calls down the lines....
The rumor: Free-agent reliever Andrew Miller is seeking at least a four-year deal and “isn’t listening to any other offers unless the average annual value is ‘astounding,’ " Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com reports . HOT STOVE: Top 10 free-agent infielders | Outfielders | Pitchers | Catchers The rationale: Miller, 29, is perhaps the best relief pitcher on the market after a great year for the Red Sox and Orioles (73 games, 2....
Santana, who stopped by the Orioles' spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla., today, hasn't pitched since an aborted 2012 season with the New York Mets. He is recovering from the second of two shoulder surgeries and isn't expected to be ready until midseason. It has been a long, slow recovery for Santana, who turns 35 this month. Santana bombed out with the Mets, who trade four young players to get him and then locked him into a six-year, $137....
The announcement, reported by multiple media outlets, came only days after the Cuban federation released a list of 34 players it said was eligible to sign with MLB teams. Some of those players had been expected to be signed as soon as this season and playing in the U.S. MORE: Watch ‘ChangeUp,’ a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN The agreement between MLB and the Cuban Baseball Federation, first negotiated by the Obama administration, was aimed at preventing players in Cuba from embarking on risky escapes in their effort to make it to the U....
It’s a convoluted setup. If you want the full setup, this is your happy place. Here, we’re going to update the playoff seeds on a daily basis, so here’s the very basic seeding structure. The first three seeds (1-3) in each league will go to division winners, ordered by record. The second trio of seeds (4-6) goes to the second-place finishers in each division, ordered by record. The final two seeds (7-8) go to the two wild-card teams....
So we thought we’d take a look at the teams on the other end of the spectrum, the ones that will definitely be sellers. Specifically, which players do they have with value on the trade market? We’ll highlight one key player for each team, then take a quick look at who else is available. We’ll start with the two teams with the worst records in the NL, the Braves and Reds....
RUMOR: The Athletics are set to trade third baseman Brett Lawrie. REPORTED BY: San Francisco Chronicle THE DETAILS: Oakland recently acquired Jed Lowrie from the Astros — which is the second time Lowrie’s been traded to Oakland in his career — thus making Lawrie a surplus player with value. The A’s need help across the board after an AL-worst 68-94 record last season, and they feel like trading Lawrie could bring a good package of players in return....
The five time All-Star recently presented a request for $260 million to the team, which so far is willing to go only to $160 million. But "it is expected they'll go to at least $170 million, which would at least bring the difference between the parties to something below $100 million," according to Heyman. HOT STOVE: SN ranks the top 25 free agents Cano, 31, is the cream of this year's free-agent crop, and he and agent Jay Z are seeking a nine-year deal with a tenth-year vesting option to bring it to $160 million....
The rumor: Phillies ace Cole Hamels would “love to be traded this winter,” according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. HOT STOVE: Top 10 free-agent infielders | Outfielders | Pitchers | Catchers The rationale: The Phillies are, well, not good. The team has gone 73-89 each of the past two seasons, and it doesn’t appear things are going to turn around any time soon. The long-awaited rebuilding phase is here....
There have been times when minor league signings have been the only reason to get excited, as teams have laid off free agents and trade targets for a variety of reasons. However, a couple of clubs that failed to make the postseason in 2017 have been busy, taking advantage of a calm market. MORE: Ranking the top 101 MLB free agents for 2018 Based on the offseasons they’ve put together, the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants and St....
Miami is still far from doing anything that constitutes a rebuild, but instead of liquefying assets like the deals with the Cardinals and Yankees, they executed a proper trade Thursday. In fact, they nailed this one. The Marlins swapped Christian Yelich for four prospects from a deep Brewers system, each of whom has the potential for major league impact in the near future. MORE: Nationals still interested in Marlins’ J....
THE RUMOR: The Phillies are shopping veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd. REPORTED BY: Joel Sherman of the New York Post. THE DETAILS: Philadelphia signed Jeff Francoeur in November, creating a bit of a logjam in right field. Trading away the 37-year-old Byrd would allow for Francoeur to see more consistent time in the lineup as he tries to revive his career. LAST SEASON: Byrd, despite his age, had one of the best seasons of his career last season hitting a career-high 25 home runs and driving in 85 runs while batting ....
The team with the worst record in baseball right now is the Rays, who were expected to be a contender but instead have dropped to 13 games out of first place in the American League East, and 10.5 games behind the second wild card spot (stats and standings are through Tuesday's games). FAGAN: Ranking minor league baseball by states | SCORES: Catch up on the action On June 7, Rays manager Joe Maddon issued a proclamation on Twitter: “Our short term goal is to get to 50-50, then we’ll take our chances....
The Reds are still shopping Chapman in search of a trade partner, Fox Sports reported Thursday. No deal is close to being done, according to the report, but Chapman can be moved while under investigation. The Dodgers and Reds, who reportedly had all but completed a trade involving Chapman, put the deal on hold Monday — pending resolution of the issue — when the incident became public during the winter meetings in Nashville....
The Dodgers, Braves, Astros and Rays are all monitoring the market for the 28-year-old starter, according to a report from the Detroit News. The Padres are also “evaluating Boyd as a trade possibility,” according to MLB.com. The Tigers “prefer to acquire at least one potential All-Star position player if they move Boyd," according to MLB.com. “It’s just noise, right?” Boyd said about the trade rumors last month, via MLB.com. “There’s no action that needs to be taken or anything....
They have agreed to cooperate with MLB in developing and testing an automated ball-strike system as part of a new, five-year labor agreement reached Saturday, The Associated Press reported. Umpires have also agreed to cooperate with commissioner Rob Manfred if he decides to implement the technology at the major league level, the AP reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the labor negotiations. MORE: Atlantic League makes ‘robot umps’ a permanent fixture...
