Sandy Alcantara Among Eight Former Cy Young Award Winners Set to Start on MLB Opening Day

Posted on March 25, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Sandy Alcantara is preparing for Major League Baseball’s Opening Day…

The 27-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher, who plays for the Miami Marlins, is among eight former Cy Young Award winners scheduled to start Opening Day next Thursday.

Alcantara, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner is pitted against three-time CYA honoree Max Scherzer, whose New York Mets travel to face the Marlins.

MLB teams announced their Opening Day starters on Friday as part of an effort by the league to gin up interest in the first game of a transformative season in which the game will include a pitch clock.

The MLB Opening Day slate features several first-class duels — and will include two-time winner Jacob deGrom, whose debut with the Texas Rangers was in doubt after tightness in his left side delayed his first spring training start. Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, fresh off a World Series appearance, will get his sixth consecutive Opening Day start — the longest current active streak — and oppose the two-time Cy Young winner in a pairing of longtime NL East foes.

Nine teams had announced their starters before Friday. That list includes the Los Angeles Angels, with Shohei Ohtani coming off his World Baseball Classic MVP award, as well as the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, who will pit Gerrit Cole against Logan Webb.

Some of the other best matchups include:

Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez spearheading the Astros’ title defense at home against Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease;

Cleveland‘s Shane Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young winner, traveling to Seattle to face Luis Castillo;

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias getting his first Opening Day start against Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen in a battle of the third- and fifth-place finishers, respectively, in last year’s NL Cy Young voting.

Among the other Cy Young winners who will kick off their team’s season:

Milwaukee‘s Corbin Burnes, an MLB All-Star each of the past two seasons and the 2021 NL Cy Young winner, will go against the Chicago Cubs’ Marcus Stroman, who previously started Opening Day twice;

Blake Snell, the 2018 AL honoree, gets the start for San Diego at a packed Petco Park against Colorado’s German Marquez, who will get the ball for the third time on Opening Day;

Two-time winner Corey Kluber, whose Boston Red Sox will host Baltimore‘s Kyle Gibson;

Zack Greinke, who will make his third Opening Day start for Kansas City and fifth overall, will oppose Minnesota Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez, taking the mound for the first time to start a season.

Atlanta‘s Max Fried and Washington‘s Patrick Corbin both will start for the third time on Opening Day as the Nationals host the Braves.

The rest of the matchups feature at least one pitcher commencing the season for the first time:

Detroit‘s Eduardo Rodriguez debuting vs. the Rays’ Shane McClanahan, who got the call for the second straight season;

Toronto‘s Alek Manoah, coming off a third-place AL Cy Young finish, going against St. Louis’ Miles Mikolas, who inherited Opening Day duties for a second time after six-time Opening Day starter Adam Wainwright landed on the injured list Thursday with a groin strain;

Pittsburgh‘s Mitch Keller heading to Cincinnati to face Hunter Greene in the one of three matchups of pitchers who have not previously thrown Opening Day, with the others Urías vs. Gallen and Valdez vs. Cease;

Ohtani against Oakland’s Kyle Muller, the least-tenured of the 30 pitchers with just 11 major league starts and 49 big league innings under his belt. He will go for the Athletics after presumptive Opening Day starter Paul Blackburn suffered a torn nail on his right middle finger.

Late Baseball Great Roberto Clemente to be Subject of Biopic

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Roberto Clemente’s life story is headed to the silver screen…

The late baseball icon is getting the biopic treatment from producer Jonah Hirsch and actor/producer AJ Muñoz in collaboration with the Clemente family.The as-yet-untitled film will be based on the family’s best-selling book Clemente: The True Legacy of an Undying Hero.

The announcement comes on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Pirates MLB All-Star’s passing, and the recent news of select Florida schools removing books on Clemente’s life.

The film will showcase Clemente’s rise to greatness against all odds and tell his inspirational life story inclusive of both his baseball career as well as his fight for Latin American equality and social justice.

By acquiring the life rights to Clemente as well as the family-authored book, Hirsch and Muñoz alongside the legend’s sons Roberto Clemente Jr. and Luis Roberto Clemente will serve as executive producers on the project.

“I recall sitting in a meeting with our mother in the summer of 1974 about making this film, and there have been plenty of announcements over the past 50 years including major players in the industry, but nothing ever got done. Now, for the first time, we feel we found the right partners. Clemente fans have been waiting a long time for this film and we will make sure that it was worth the wait.” Roberto Clemente, Jr. said in a statement.

Luis Clemente adds, “My brother and I are very excited about this partnership since our family book will be used to tell dad’s story through our personal experiences and immediate family memories. I’m truly looking forward to working with Jonah and AJ to present this story to new generations to be inspired and to share unknown stories with the fans who will learn even more about the ‘Great One.’”

Clemente is a legendary figure in Latin American culture, having been a 15-time All-Star Major League Baseball player, as well as an advocate and a humanitarian.

Across his 18-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was awarded the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1966 and won four National League batting titles. He was also the first non-white recipient of the National League Gold Glove Award and finished his playing career with exactly 3,000 hits.

As well as being known for his contributions to baseball history, Clemente was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his humanitarian work.

“At a time when most heroes are fictional characters, we couldn’t think of a better time to elevate and reintroduce Clemente’s heroic story to a new generation,” Hirsch and Muñoz said in a joint statement.

Muñoz and his childhood friend Abe Mata, in partnership with Hirsch, established the production company Dreams Are Free around the Clemente story, which will serve as their first signature film with other Latino-driven projects in active development.

Yandy Diaz Agrees to Three-Year, $24 Million Deal with Tampa Bay Rays, Avoids Arbitration

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Yandy Diaz is extending his stay…

The 31-year-old Cuban professional baseball third baseman and outfielder has agreed to a $24 million, three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays that avoided a salary arbitration hearing.

Díaz’s agreement could be worth $36 million over four seasons.

Diaz will receive $6 million this season, $8 million in 2024 and $10 million for 2025. The 2026 club is $12 million with no buyout. There is a $1 million assignment bonus that would be payable by receiving team.

Díaz has spent parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball with Cleveland (2017-18) and Tampa Bay (2019-22). He has a career average of .278 with 39 home runs and 198 RBI.

Acquired by the Rays in a three-team trade on December 13, 2018, Díaz hit .296 with nine homers and 57 RBI in 137 games last season, He career highs with 71 runs, 140 hits, 33 doubles, and 78 walks.

Díaz was the third Rays’ arbitration-eligible player to reach a deal.

Reliever Pete Fairbanks agreed Friday to a $12 million, three-year contract that could be worth up to $24.6 million over four seasons. The right-hander was 0-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 24 appearances last year after beginning the season on the 60-day injured list with a right lat strain.

Left-hander Jeffrey Springs also agreed last week to a $31 million, four-year contract that could be worth $65.75 million over five seasons. He began last season in the bullpe transitioned to the starting rotation in May and finished 9-5 with a 2.46 ERA in 33 appearances, including 25 starts.

Tampa Bay remains scheduled for hearings with right-handers Jason Adam and Ryan Thompson, left-hander Colin Poche, and outfielder Harold Ramírez.

Yoan Moncada to Represent Cuba at Upcoming World Baseball Classic

Posted on January 26, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Yoan Moncada is going native…

Cubans signed with Major League Baseball organizations or other foreign clubs, including the 27-year-old Cuban professional baseball third baseman for the Chicago White Sox, will for the first time join local stars on the national team that’ll play in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, according to officials.

The Cuban Baseball Federation long defended the idea of amateurism and punished those who left the island to seek their fortunes in professional baseball.

But that changed when a program on state television announced the roster of 30 players for Cuba’s national team that will play in the international tournament that begins March 8 in Taiwan.

In addition to Moncada and his teammate Luis Robert, plus three players from Triple-A rosters: infielder Andy Ibanez of Detroit Tigers affiliate Toledo Mud Hens, right-hander Miguel Romero of the Oakland Athletics’ Las Vegas Aviators and right-hander Ronald Bolanos of the Kansas City Royals‘ Omaha Storm Chasers.

Also on the team will be outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who played for the New York Mets but has not been in the majors since 2018.

Two Cubans who play in Japan were picked, outfielder Yurisbel Gracial of the Pacific League‘s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and catcher Ariel Martinez of the Central League‘s Chunichi Dragons.

To arrange participation of the MLB players, Cuba had to get special permission from the U.S., since Washington maintains sanctions on Cuba. Under the agreement, those players are barred from coming to Cuba to work with the team.

Baseball is the national sport in Cuba but economic difficulties, the philosophy of restricting the movement of athletes and the temptations of professional contracts abroad have decimated the game on the island.

Jesus Aguilar Agrees to One-Year, $3 Million Contract with Oakland Athletics

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jesus Aguilar is headed to Oakland…

The 32-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman has agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract with the Oakland Athletics, according to ESPN.

The deal is pending a physical.

Aguilar will join his sixth Major League Baseball team if the deal is finalized. The one-time MLB All-Star spent most of last season with the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins designated Aguilar for assignment in late August while he was leading the team in hits, home runs and RBIs. Miami general manager Kim Ng said the club wanted to allow him the opportunity to catch on with a playoff contender while it gave younger players more at-bats.

Aguilar signed with the Baltimore Orioles and played in 16 games for them down the stretch, but Baltimore narrowly missed the playoffs.

In 129 games between Miami and Baltimore last season, Aguilar batted .235 with 16 homers, 19 doubles and 51 RBIs. His best season came with the Milwaukee Brewers during his All-Star year in 2018, when he received National League MVP votes after hitting 35 homers with 25 doubles and 108 RBIs — all of which remain career highs.

In 759 career games for Cleveland (2014-16), Milwaukee (2017-19), Tampa Bay (2019), Miami (2020-22) and Baltimore, Aguilar is a career .254 batter with 109 homers, 105 doubles and 393 RBIs.

He’s made most of his appearances at first base or as a designated hitter, along with 16 games at third base.

Pablo Guerrero Signs International Deal with Texas Rangers

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Pablo Guerrero has a Lone Star future…

The Texas Rangers have signed the Dominican baseball outfielder, the son of MLB Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and younger brother of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays, to an international deal.

The Guerrero family posted a photo of the signing ceremony in the Dominican Republic on social media.

The Rangers later announced all of their agreements through their Player Development Twitter account.

Guerrero’s father, Vlad Sr., played 16 years in Major League Baseball, including a one-year stint with the Texas Rangers in 2010 when the club made its first World Series appearance. Guerrero hit .300 with 29 home runs and 115 RBI.

Guerrero’s Hall-of-Fame career included nine All-Star Game appearances, eight Silver Slugger awards and the 2004 American League MVP award.

Guerrero Jr. plays for Toronto and is entering his fifth season as a first and third baseman. He is already a two-time All-Star and finished second in AL MVP voting in 2021.

Baseball America also reported several other Rangers international agreements, including Cuban outfielder Geisel Cepeda, Venezuelan catcher Juan Sulbaran, along with outfielder Brailyn More, shortstop Lisandro Mejia, and pitchers Snarlyn Encarnacion, Walkin Ortiz, Yormi Nivar, Felix Martinez and Frank Martinez, all from the Dominican Republic.

Pitchers and catchers report to the team’s facility in Surprise, Arizona, on February 15, with position players to follow on February 20.

The Spring Training game schedule starts on February 24 with a game against Kansas City at the Surprise complex shared with the Royals.

The Rangers will wrap up their exhibition season with a pair of games at Globe Life Field against the Royals on March 27 and 28. The Rangers open up the regular season at home against Philadelphia on March 30.

Carlos Correa Finalizing Six-Year, $200 Million Deal with Minnesota Twins

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Correa will be twinning again.

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop is finalizing a six-year, $200 million contract with the Minnesota Twins, pending a physical, according to ESPN.

The announcement comes after weeks of discussion to salvage a deal with the New York Mets broke down, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.

The stunning turn caps a whirlwind month for Correa, who agreed to a 13-year, $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants on December 13.

After the Giants raised concerns about Correa’s surgically repaired right leg, he pivoted quickly to the Mets, who offered him a 12-year, $315 million contract.

The Mets flagged his physical as well, and efforts to amend the deal fell apart, leading Correa back to Minnesota, where he signed after a topsy-turvy offseason last year, too.

The agreement includes a vesting option for four years and $70 million and will become official if Correa passes a medical review, which is currently taking place.

The focus will be on his lower right leg, which he broke in 2014 during a minor league game, and a source said the Twins expect to be comfortable with it. Correa has not spent time on the injured list for a right leg ailment in his eight-year Major League Baseball career, but Giants and Mets medical personnel were concerned about how the leg would age.

Correa is among the game’s best shortstops and entered the winter in hopes of securing the mega-contract that eluded him last offseason, when he settled for a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Twins that included an opt-out after the first season.

Correa hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and high-level defense, leaving the Twins hopeful he would consider returning after he filed for free agency.

Minnesota never intended to play in the $300 million-plus neighborhood, and after Aaron Judge returned to the New York Yankees, the Giants, in search of a franchise player, blew past that number for Correa, leaving the Twins to try to salvage their winter by signing outfielder Joey Gallo and catcher Christian Vazquez.

All the while, they lurked as the fallback plan for Correa, thrilled to potentially add him to a lineup that also includes MLB All-Stars Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez in addition to top prospect Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Nick Gordon, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach.

Should Correa pass his physical — the Twins are more familiar with his medical situation than any other team and earlier in the winter considered a 10-year, $285 million deal, which is around what the current deal would wind up at if the option vests — Minnesota will enter 2023 with strong hopes of winning the AL Central.

Omar Minaya to Serve as Adviser to Baseball Operations for New York Yankees

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Omar Minaya is heading to the New York Yankees corporate office…

The 64-year-old Dominican baseball executive, a former New York Mets general manager, is joining the team as an adviser to baseball operations.

The move to hire Minaya comes two days after the Yankees brought former San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean into the front office as an executive assistant to general manager Brian Cashman.

Minaya is a native of Queens and started scouting after the conclusion of his minor league career.

He worked for the Texas Rangers before moving to the Mets, the Montreal Expos, back to the Mets, and the San Diego Padres before returning to the Mets for a third time.

He was the general manager of the Expos from 2002 through 2004 and the Mets from 2005 through 2010.

The veteran baseball executive most recently worked with Major League Baseball as a consultant for domestic and international amateur scouting initiatives. Among his most notable accomplishments was helping discover Sammy Sosa and Ivan Rodriguez as a scout for the Rangers.

The Yankees’ front office has received criticism in recent years for leaning too hard on analytics, and adding Sabean and Minaya brings in two executives with successful scouting backgrounds.

United States will Permit Cuban MLB Players like Jose Abreu to Represent Home Country at World Baseball Classic

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jose Abreu could represent Cuba in next year’s World Baseball Classic.

The United States will permit Major League Baseball players from Cuba, like the 35-year-old professional baseball player, to represent their home country in the tournament next year.

The decision announced over the weekend in a news release by the Baseball Federation of Cuba (FCB) could be a big step in once again turning Cuba’s national team into heavy hitters on an international stage.

Major League Baseball confirmed Monday that the U.S. granted the license to FCB.

It clears the way for MLB stars such as Abreu, Yordan Alvarez, Randy Arozarena, Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert to play for Cuba in the WBC in March if they choose to accept a potential invitation.

It’s up to each country’s national governing body to pick the players on its WBC team. Final 30-man rosters are due on February 7 for the WBC, which begins March 8 with Cuba facing the Netherlands in Taiwan.

While the sport of choice for much of Latin America is soccer, baseball dominates in Cuba. The island has gained fame around the world for its baseball talent.

But in recent years, hundreds of those players have defected from Cuba to play professionally elsewhere. Most notably, many have become United States residents and stars with major league teams in the U.S.

The defections are largely due to a not-so-uncommon geopolitical spat between the two seaside neighbors, leaving Cuban players stuck in the middle.

Cuban athletes competing on the island can’t earn a paycheck under the communist government, which prohibited professional sports following the Cuban revolution 60 years ago.

Longtime sanctions by the U.S. make it largely impossible for Cubans to play professionally for an American team without defecting. Meanwhile, Cuba historically has not allowed Cuban players who defected on their national team rosters.

The defections have taken a toll on Cuba’s performance in international baseball competitions. For example, the Cuban baseball team failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games after years of previously winning medals in the sport.

In November, Cuba changed its tune and invited several top players who defected to represent the country in the World Baseball Classic, a tournament that features some of the sport’s top players competing in Japan, Taiwan and the U.S.

Weeks later, Cuban officials accused the Biden administration of blocking those players from representing Cuba.

In a statement Saturday, FCB President Juan Reinaldo Perez Pardo called the permit a “positive step,” and said the Cuban federation should have more information about the team’s WBC roster once it has more details about the license granted by the U.S.

At the same time, Perez Pardo also criticized the U.S., tweeting Saturday that “it is arbitrary and discriminatory that a permit from the government of this country (the U.S.) is needed to attend” the WBC.

Albert Pujols Named National League’s ‘Comeback Player of the Year’

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Albert Pujols is this year’s Comeback King…

The 42-year-old Dominican slugger for the St. Louis Cardinals has won the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year award.

Pujols came back to St. Louis for his farewell season and posted his biggest numbers in years at the age of 42. The three-time MLB MVP compiled an .895 OPS for the NL Central champions and became the fourth Major League Baseball player to reach 700 career home runs.

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander was the American League recipient.

The winners were chosen in voting by the 30 team beat reporters at MLB.com.

Pujols batted .270 with 24 homers and 68 RBIs in 109 games for the Cardinals after getting released by the Los Angeles Angels in May 2021 and finishing last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His OPS was his highest since his last season with the Cardinals in 2011 (.906) before joining the Angels, and his home runs were his most since hitting 31 in 2016 for the Angels.

The 11-time MLB All-Star hit 18 home runs in the second half and retired after the Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs by Philadelphia in the wild-card round.

He finished his career fourth in major league annals in home runs (703), second in RBIs (2,218) and total bases (6,211) and ninth in hits (3,384).

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