Chris Coghlan signed a minor-league deal with the Phillies. He was awful with the Athletics last season with a .487 OPS before returning to the Cubs where he posted a solid .779 OPS. He appeared in six games at first base, 20 at second base, 10 at third base and 47 in the outfield. He’s a solid late round target in NL-only leagues.
Kelvin Herrera was able to avoid an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a 1-year, $5.325 million deal with the Royals, the mid-point between the figures requested by the team and the player. Herrera will enter the year as the Royals closer after five years of being one of the better right handed setup men in the American League. Where do we have Herrera ranked for the 2017 season? Check out the Player Rankings page which is updated daily.
You asked, and I listened. Are you in a keeper league? Wondering the best way to go about setting up? What about problems to avoid? I’ve got your back in Keeper League Rules.
Boone Logan signed with the Indians on a 1-year deal. The lefty crushed lefties last season holding them to a .142 average with 40 strikeouts over 106 at-bats. It’s nearly impossible to be better. Might his signing help Andrew Miller out? Follow me for a second. The Indians will now have two elite lefty relievers in Logan and Miller. Might the club allow Miller to throw multiple innings in a game knowing that they will still have another lefty, Logan, available to pitch the following day if Miller is unable to go? Just a thought.
Here is a listing of the every growing names being added to the Player Profile Series.
Shelby Miller asked for $5.1 million in arbitration. The Diamondbacks submitted a mark of $4.7 million. Miller will be paid $4.7 million after losing his hearing. The 26 year old righty was brought to Arizona last year for Dansby Swanson, and that’s looking like a horrible deal at the moment (many thought the same thing at the moment the deal was made). Just a year removed from a 3.02 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 171 strikeouts, Miller was a catastrophic failure last season with a 6.15 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and a 3-12 record. Miller pitched better at the end of the year with 11 scoreless innings his last two starts, a tiny ray of hope, but he’s not draftable in mixed leagues in 2017. #Duh
Logan Morrison has agreed to stay with the Rays on a 1-year, $2.5 million deal. The 29 year old first baseman has never lived up to the early promise that he flashed at the start of his career (he hit .283 as a rookie and then backed it up with 23 homers and 72 RBI in 123 games in his second season). The last two seasons he’s hit about .230 while averaging 16 homers, 49 RBI and 46 runs scored. He’s nothing more than a late round add in AL-only leagues. The bigger news with this signing is the likely move of Brad Miller to second base full-time. He already qualifies at first bae and at shortstop. The Rays also signed Rickie Weeks to a minor-league deal. Weeks is just 34 years old, but he last had 375 at-bats in 2013. He was effective last season with nine homers and five steals over 205 plate appearances, and we know he can hit lefties.
Oreo flavored beer? It’s real.
Byung-Ho Park had surgery on his hand this offseason. His reward, as he rehabs, is being designated for assignment so the Twins can open up a roster spot for the recently signed Matt Belisle. Park appeared in 62 games last season hitting 12 homers. He has 25 homer power. However, he also batted .191 and posted an OPS of .684 as he struck out a whopping 80 times in 215 at-bats. It’s possible he passes through waivers and remains with the Twins.
Always check the toilet before you sit down.
WHY...?
Sounds like major league baseball will rule on the Jeurys Familia domestic abuse situation by Opening Day. That sounds good on the surface, but honestly, what the hell is taking so long? The incident occurred on October 31st. It’s going to take MLB six months to find out what happened and to rule on it? Really MLB? The legal system dropped charges against Jeurys but it still seems likely that MLB will suspend Familia for some length of time (Aroldis Chapman had 30 games taken from him last season for a domestic violence arrest even though he wasn’t prosecuted by the legal system). If drafting Familia you pretty much have no choice but to also add Addison Reed who is nearly certain to fill in the 9th inning for the Mets for however long Familia is out.
Did you get your copy of the 2017 Fantasy Alarm MLB Draft Guide yet? No worries if you didn’t yet. There are multiple ways to pick up the “Living Guide” that will grow day-by-day. Find out how by clicking on the above link as we transition from fantasy football into fantasy baseball season.
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.