Comments
The last twenty comments in true blog fasion, with the links to their authors and the player commented upon.
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Trent Thornton (P) TOR - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742965
Thornton will likely begin the season as the Blue Jays' fifth starter, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Thornton's hold on the number five spot is unlikely to be a firm one, as highly rated pitching prospect Nate Pearson could be ready to claim the job quite early in the year, since the Blue Jays only have to keep him in the minors for a week in order to gain an extra year of service time.
Hit a homer while tripping over your own feet? Not a problem!
He's a bum!
In the next update, he'll go in the software as "Universal Sleeper."
Nick Solak (DH) TEX - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742937
Solak started in left field and went 2-for-3 in Friday's intrasquad game, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports. He's 7-for-20 during intrasquad play.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Look at any position on the Rangers' depth chart and you'll find Solak's name, many of which he's the top backup. Rangers manager Chris Woodward wants to find an everyday spot for his bat, but he's blocked at his best positions -- second and third base. The latest project is to have him get time at first base.
Touki Toussaint (P) ATL - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742958
Toussaint (illness) has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The Braves confirmed July 4 that Toussaint tested positive for COVID-19, and he'll be on the COVID-19 injured list as a result. The 24-year-old is reportedly asymptomatic, but under MLB protocol, he'll need to test negative twice before he's allowed to rejoin the team.
Fernando Tatis (SS) SD - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742998
Tatis was back at practice Saturday after missing two days of summer camp due to an illness, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Tatis reportedly had a headache and was subsequently tested for COVID-19, but results returned negative and there was never much concern that the young shortstop was dealing with anything serious. The 21-year-old will have plenty of time to continue ramping up activity in preparation for Opening Day.
Sorry, Kent!
Robbie Ray (P) AZ - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742933
Ray tossed five no-hit innings in Friday's intrasquad game, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Ray got up to 76 pitches with his fastball regularly hitting the mid-90s. "The stuff was overpowering at times and the secondary stuff was together," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "I couldn't be more happy with what he did." The manager's comments echo what catcher Steven Vogt said earlier in the week when asked by Steve Gilbert of MLB.com about the most impressive pitchers in camp. Vogt didn't hesitate in raving about Ray.
Eric Lauer (P) MIL - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742981
Lauer landed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons Saturday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Clubs across the league have provided minimal details on several injured-list assignments due to privacy issues concerning COVID-19, though Lauer was reportedly battling a non-coronavirus illness earlier in camp. The lefty, who was acquired in a trade with the Padres back in November, is battling for a spot in the back of the Brewers' rotation.
For some reason we haven't collected his stats with the Pirates the last two years. The links have them.
Clay Holmes (P) PIT - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742945
Holmes (foot) threw a scoreless inning during summer camp Friday, The Athletic Pittsburgh reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The righty is returning after breaking his foot during Grapefruit League action. "I think he threw 10 or 11 pitches," manager Derek Shelton said. "The slider was really, really good. He was one of the guys I was sitting behind the plate on and just watching the action on it; that was good to see."
Brian Dozier (2B) - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742977
Dozier was released by the Padres on Saturday.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The writing appeared to be on the wall for Dozier's Padres career when he was left out of the team's player pool in late June. Whether that was the team's choice or his remains to be seen. It's unclear whether the veteran intends to latch on with another team this season.
Cheslor Cuthbert (1B) CHI-A - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742948
Cuthbert is starting at third base in Saturday's intrasquad game.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Cuthbert's arrival at camp from Nicaragua was delayed for several days, but his presence in the lineup for Saturday's intrasquad game signals that he's cleared intake testing and is taking part in team activities.
Harold Castro (2B) DET - Jul. 11
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742988
Castro is 7-for-11 in intrasquad action with three doubles, three runs scored and four RBI, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Castro turned some heads by batting .291 in 97 games for the Tigers last season, and the 26-year-old is out to prove that performance was no fluke. Castro can play all over the field for the Tigers, and his versatility and ability to make solid contact should afford him plenty of playing time, even if he's not a regular at any one position.
When Lewis came off the field after a playoff game in Tulsa in Double-A, he found a ball in his locker saying, “Learn to swim.”
That stung. I asked an African-American teammate if he knew where the ball came from, and he had no idea. I asked some of my white teammates, and they said they had no idea. I threw that ball in the trash and never brought it up again.
Naturally it made me suspicious. Not many people had access to that locker room. Was it a teammate? Was it a clubhouse worker? I think it just puts you on guard socially to where you can’t just open up to everybody the way you would think. You realize that everybody is not just going to look out for you the way you might think they would.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/sports/baseball/kyle-lewis-mariners-mlb-return.html
I'd cut Wheeler's price to reflect missing the two starts, but didn't cut his projection. He's down to 60 IP for now, with the very real possibility of opting out after the baby comes.
Hunch: MLB will play, and will have highest TV ratings ever, driven by the opportunity to capitalize on lack of competition from college football (which won't play) and a Dodgers-Yankees World Series.
Dakota Hudson (P) STL - Jul. 10
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=742881
Hudson threw 43 pitches in Thursday night's intrasquad game at Busch Stadium and settled in after a rough start, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The right-hander endured his roughest stretch in the first inning, when he yielded singles to Kolten Wong, Paul Goldschmidt and Paul DeJong, the latter hit driving in two runs. Hudson appeared to find a groove after that point by not allowing another hit over the subsequent two frames, although he did issue two walks and uncorked a wild pitch. "You get to kind of experiment to figure out what works whenever you start facing guys over and over and over," Hudson said. "That's when I think it'll allow me to kind of take a step back, but also kind of gain some mental edge going forward. We're talking throughout this whole process. So someone gets a hit, I get a guy, it's a lot of back and forth. Maybe they see something, maybe I see something. We're just trying to grow and get better as we go."
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Joel Sherman in the New York Post:
In the now scheduled 67-day season, players will receive roughly 2.78 days of service for every day the season is played beginning July 23 (if it begins July 23).
Normally a player needs 172 days of service to accrue a year. Astros center fielder George Springer has five years and 166 days of service because in 2014 he was held down just long enough to make sure he would need to play seven seasons to reach free agency rather than six. He did not file a grievance. But if he still carries animosity, he could, for example, choose not to play after July 24 and still have amassed the six service days (the fraction is rounded up) to qualify for free agency after the season.
James Paxton needs seven days to qualify for free agency, Marcus Stroman eight, A’s star shortstop Marcus Semien 19, Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts (the top projected potential free agent) 36.
https://nypost.com/2020/07/11/expect-many-more-mlb-players-to-opt-out-of-2020-season-sherman/