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.

Sergio Romo to Retire as Member of San Francisco Giants Organization

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Romo will end his career in Giant(s) fashion…

The San Francisco Giants have signed the 40-year-old Mexican American professional baseball pitcher, a longtime reliever, who will retire as a member of the team at the end of spring training.

Romo signed a minor league contract with an invite to major league spring training. He’ll retire March 27 during the Giants’ final spring training game against the Oakland Athletics.

“The relationship that Giants fans have with their players is unique — few exemplify that bond more than Sergio,” Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said in a statement Saturday. “After all that he accomplished as a Giant from 2008 to 2016, including his huge contributions to the championship teams, it’s a thrill to have him back in a San Francisco uniform.”

Romo won three World Series titles with San Francisco while spending the first nine years of his major league career with the team. He earned his only MLB All-Star appearance in 2013, when he set a career high with 38 saves.

He holds the Giants’ franchise record for postseason appearances by a pitcher with 27. His 515 games pitched with the team rank fifth all-time, while his 84 saves rank seventh.

After leaving the Giants as a free agent, Romo also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2017), Tampa Bay Rays (2017-18), Miami Marlins (2019), Minnesota Twins (2019-20), Oakland Athletics (2021), Seattle Mariners (2022) and Toronto Blue Jays (2022).

Romo has 137 career saves in 15 major league seasons, going 42-36 with a 3.21 ERA in 821 relief appearances and five starts.

Yuli Gurriel Agrees to Minor League Contract with Miami Marlins Organization

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Yuli Gurriel has a new deal…

The 38-year-old Cuban professional baseball first baseman, nicknamed “La Piña,” and José Iglesias have agreed to minor league contracts with the Miami Marlins organization.

Gurriel won the World Series with the Houston Astros last year after hitting .242 with 40 doubles, eight home runs and 53 RBIs. In the postseason, he had 17 hits with a pair of home runs to help the Astros win their second title in six seasons.

Gurriel adds infield depth, and the Marlins could look for him to provide offense for a team that ranked in the bottom three in runs and slugging in 2022.

Born in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, Gurriel has a career .284 batting average.

It’s unclear where the Marlins could use Gurriel. Miami acquired 2022 American League batting champion Luis Arraez from the Minnesota Twins to play second base and moved Jazz Chisholm Jr. from second to center field.

Iglesias, 33, batted .292 last season with the Colorado Rockies and had a .981 fielding percentage as he made 116 starts at shortstop. Iglesias, who was born in La Habana, Cuba, has a .279 batting average. and .982 fielding percentage over 11 major league seasons with six teams.

Both players were to join the Marlins on Friday at their spring training facility. Miami opens the season March 30 at home against the New York Mets.

Manny Machado Finalizing 11-Year, $350 Million Contract Extension with San Diego Padres

Posted on February 26, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Manny Machado is thisclose to a major (league) deal…

The 30-year-old Dominican American professional baseball player and star third baseman and the San Diego Padres are finalizing an 11-year, $350 million contract extension, according to ESPN.

Machado said earlier this week he intended to opt out of the final five years (and $150 million) of his current contract with the Padres following the season after preliminary negotiations on an extension broke down.

While Machado had set a February 16 deadline to reach a new deal, conversations continued between Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano of MVP Sports, and Padres general manager A.J. Preller. The deal is expected to be official soon.

The franchise cornerstone of an ascendant franchise, Machado is coming off arguably the best season of his career, hitting .298/.366/.531 with 32 home runs and 102 RBIs. He finished second in National League MVP voting and led the Padres to the National League Championship Series, where they were ousted by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Machado’s arrival in San Diego in 2019 on a 10-year, $300 million deal signaled a new era for the Padres, who have yet to win a World Series in their 54-year history.

Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. joined the Padres as a rookie during Machado’s first season in San Diego, and while the team struggled to a 70-92 finish, it thrived in the COVID 19-shortened 2020 season, got a significant boost with the acquisition of star outfielder Juan Soto last year and continued to spend this winter with the signing of shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million contract.

The deal is the fourth-largest guarantee in the game’s history, behind those for Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts.

Cristian Javier Agrees to Five-Year Contract with Houston Astros to Avoid Salary Arbitration

Posted on February 11, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Cristian Javier isn’t leaving Houston…

The 25-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher has signed a five-year contract with the Houston Astros that avoided a salary arbitration hearing, the team announced Friday.

The deal — to run through the 2027 season — is for $64 million, and it includes a $2 million signing bonus, payable within 30 days of the deal’s approval by the commissioner’s office, according to ESPN sources.

Javier gets salaries of $3 million this season, $7 million in 2024, $10 million in 2025 and $21 million in each of the following two years, according to the sources.

His salaries in the final two years can increase based on Cy Young Award voting, by up to $6 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027. He would get a $2 million boost for each first-place finish, $1 million for second and $500,000 for third through fifth.

Javier has the right to block trades to 10 teams without his approval in 2026 and 2027.

A right-hander, Javier went 11-9 with a 2.54 ERA in 25 starts and five relief appearances last year, striking out 198 and walking 52 in 148⅔ innings. He set career bests for wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings.

Javier won both his postseason starts, pitching 11⅓ scoreless innings in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees and Game 4 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

He started a pair of no-hitters, pitching seven innings at the Yankees on June 25 and six innings in the game at the Phillies — just the second no-hitter in World Series history.

Javier had asked for $3.5 million in arbitration and had been offered $3 million. He made $749,100 last year.

Jose Alvarado Agrees to One-Year, $3.45 Million Deal with Philadelphia Phillies

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jose Alvarado is philling good…

The 27-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher, a reliever for the Philadelphia Phillies reliever has avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal for $3.45 million.

He had filed for $3.7 million and the Phillies’ $3.2 million.

Alvarado went 4-2 with a 3.18 ERA and two saves in 59 relief appearances. He had a 5.56 ERA in 12 postseason appearances for the National League champions, getting the win in the Game 5 pennant clincher against San Diego Padres.

He failed to hold a one-run lead in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the World Series, relieving Zack Wheeler with two on and giving up a three-run homer to Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez.

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Jason Adam became the team’s fourth player to go to a salary arbitration hearing this year, asking a panel for $1,775,000 on Friday while the Rays argued for $1.55 million.

A decision is expected Saturday.

Adam was 2-3 with a career-low 1.56 ERA and a career-best eight saves in 67 relief appearances, striking out 75 and walking 17 in 63⅓ innings. He earned $1.15 million.

Tampa Bay also is awaiting decisions in the cases of relievers Ryan Thompson ($1.2 million vs. $1 million) and Colin Poche ($1.3 million vs. $1,175,000) and outfielder Harold Ramirez ($2.2 million vs. $1.9 million).

Teams have won three of five decisions against players so far. Eleven players remain scheduled for hearings, which run through February 17.

Los Angeles Dodgers to Retire Fernando Valenzuela’s Jersey Number

Posted on February 5, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special retirement for Fernando Valenzuela.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will retire the No. 34 jersey of the 62-year-old Mexican former professional baseball pitcher during a three-day celebration this summer.

He’ll become the first Latino player to have his number retired by the Dodgers.

Valenzuela was part of two World Series champion teams, winning the 1981 Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards. He was a six-time MLB All-Star during his 11 seasons in Los Angeles from 1980-90.

He’ll be honored from August 11-13 when the Dodgers host Colorado.

Valenzuela will join Pee Wee Reese, Tommy Lasorda, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Jim Gilliam, Don Sutton, Walter Alston, Sandy Koufax, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson and Don Drysdale with retired numbers.

“To be a part of the group that includes so many legends is a great honor,” Valenzuela said. “But also for the fans, the support they’ve given me as a player and working for the Dodgers, this is also for them.”

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.

Philadelphia Phillies Acquire Gregory Soto from Detroit Tigers

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Gregory Soto is heading east…

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired the 27-year-old Dominican hard-throwing professional baseball pitcher and infielder Kody Clemens from the Detroit Tigers, the tam has announced.

In return, Detroit received infielder Nick Maton, outfielder Matt Vierling and catcher Donny Sands.

Soto was an MLB All-Star the past two seasons, including 2022, when he went 2-11 for the fourth-place Tigers. Despite that record, he had a respectable 3.28 ERA, although his command has been an issue the past couple of seasons. He walked 34 batters in 60⅓ innings last season while producing a career-high 14.5% walk percentage in 2021.

Soto joins an evolving, formidable bullpen in Philadelphia. The Phillies also added veteran Craig Kimbrel to the mix this offseason, and holdovers Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado helped the organization to the World Series last year.

Eric Hosmer Agrees to One-Year Contract with Chicago Cubs

Posted on January 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Eric Hosmer is headed to the Windy City…

The Chicago Cubs filled a need at first base and designated hitter, giving the 33-year-old half-Cuban American free agent a one-year contract, according to ESPN.

Chicago will only have to pay Hosmer the minimum salary, according to ESPN sources, as he still has three years and $39 million left on a contract he signed with the San Diego Padres in 2018.

Hosmer was traded from the Padres to the Boston Red Sox last season, not long after San Diego acquired Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals.

Hosmer was released by the Red Sox at the end of the year.

Hosmer has a career .764 OPS while spending his best seasons with the Kansas City Royals who he helped to a World Series title in 2015.

Two years later, he signed an 8-year, $144 million deal with San Diego which runs through 2025. The Padres are paying most of that remaining salary.

Hosmer figures to see time mostly at designated hitter as well as first base. The team also has holdover Patrick Wisdom, who can play first, as well as prospect Matt Mervis. Mervis hit 36 home runs combined in three different levels of the minors last season, but it’s not clear if he’ll make the team out of spring training.

Last season, Hosmer had a hot April — compiling an OPS over 1.000 — but cooled off for the final months of the year. From May to October, his OPS was just .636.

The signing is part of a longer term plan by the Cubs who are attempting to improve in 2023 after a 74 win season but also have an eye on competing at a higher level in the coming years. The deal should be viewed similar to Cody Bellinger‘s one-year contract — as a bridge to younger prospects who aren’t quite ready for the majors.

Along with Mervis potentially taking over at first base, the team is hoping centerfield, where Bellinger plays, will be manned by Pete Crow-Armstrong soon. He was acquired in a trade with the New York Mets in July 2021.

Hosmer joins Bellinger, shortstop Dansby Swanson, pitcher Jameson Taillon and catcher Tucker Barnhart as key offseason acquisitions for Chicago.

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