Tag: Baseball

Yankees

Troy Tulowitzki Signs With New York Yankees

Veteran shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has reached an agreement with the New York Yankees for the league minimum.

Tulowitzki was released by the Blue Jays in December after his worst season since he was a rookie, batting .249 with 7 home runs and 26 runs batted in. The Yankees are in need of a shortstop as Didi Gregorius recovers from Tommy John surgery so they will give the accomplished middle infielder a shot.

Once upon a time, Tulowitzki was the best shortstop in baseball. He is a five-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove Award winner, and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He even has two fifth-place finishes in the MVP race.

His best season came in 2011 with the Colorado Rockies when he hit .302 with 32 homers and 105 RBIs, but since then, he has steadily declined. However, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. According to Toronto Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins, “He looks like he is healthy. He’s recovering well. He has full range of motion. He has his strength. … Our reports are very positive.”

The Yankees can only hope that a change of scenery will revitalize the once dominant shortstop and truly transform him into a “Bronx Bomber.”

 

Featured Image via Flickr/ Terry Foote

Mets

Could Bryce Harper be an Option for the Mets?

Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen has spoken about bringing a “culture of positivity” to Queens by bringing in established stars in the league that would instantly transform their offensive production. One free agent that would meet these dreams would be the 2018 Home Run Derby Champion, Bryce Harper.

Some fans are skeptical that the Mets have any interest in the phenom, but Mike Puma of the New York Post has set the record straight.

“Van Wagenen has made it clear, according to sources, that he is interested in the All-Star outfielder,” Puma wrote. “But there is skepticism within the industry that team owner Fred Wilpon would approve an outlay of $300 million-plus for that type of acquisition.”

New York hasn’t exactly made a habit of giving out monster contracts to superstar players, but opportunities to land players of the same caliber as Bryce Harper don’t come around every day. It’s time that the Mets embrace a “carpe diem” mentality, which translates to “seize the day.”

Harper, 26, has been a top player in the MLB since he entered the league in his early 20s. In his short seven years in the league, Harper has put together quite the resumĂŠ. He has been named an All-Star 6-times and has taken home the Rookie of the Year Award, among other accolades.

His best season by far came in 2015 when he batted an outstanding .330 to go along with a league-high 42 home runs and 99 RBIs. In recognition of his fantastic performance that season, Harper was bestowed with the NL Hank Aaron Award, Silver Slugger Award, and the NL MVP Award.

Although he hasn’t duplicated this kind of output in the past few years, Harper has still been a productive player. Last season, he posted a .249 BA with 34 HRs and a career-high 100 RBIs.

 

Harper is a five-tool player who is able to field, throw, run the bases, hit, and hit with power. This unique combination does not come around that often, and the Mets should recognize that signing Harper could be a complete 180 for the organization. They should take advantage of the opportunity before them, no matter what the cost.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/ Matthew Straubmuller

Mets

Mets Aggressively Trying to Work Out Deal for Robinson Cano

The Seattle Mariners have been looking for a potential trade partner to take on Robinson Cano, and the club has contacted both New York teams in an attempt to move the second basemen.

Although the Yankees don’t seem to be that interested, the Mets are being aggressive in their pursuit of the 8-time All-Star.

Cano has a strong connection within the Mets organization, being the formal client of GM Brodie Van Wagenen. Van Wagenen negotiated Cano’s monster 10-year $240 million deal with the Mariners back when he was an agent, and now he is looking to bring in a familiar face to bolster New York’s struggling offense.

While Cano was suspended half the season for violating baseball’s drug policy, he did manage to bat .303 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 80 games played.

While these numbers may not be that impressive, it is worth considering how successful Cano has been in years past. In his 14 year career, he has batted over .300 nine different times, holding a .304 career average to go along with 22.2 homers and 88 RBIs. His best season came in his final year with the New York Yankees when he hit .314 with 27 HRs and 107 RBIs. His stellar career has allowed him to accumulate five Silver Slugger Awards along and two Gold Glove Awards, not to mention the fact that he was a World Series Champion in 2009.

Cano has experience playing in the Big Apple and knows what fans will expect from him. While he may not be the player he once was, the Mets are desperate for a big bat, and Cano could help fill that void.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/Keith Allison

Yankees

CC Sabathia Agrees to 1-year, $8 million deal with Yankees

According to reports, the New York Yankees have re-signed veteran starting pitcher CC Sabathia to a one-year, $8 million contract.

The left-hander did not have much interest in testing the free-agent market, enticing the veteran to take less money to return to New York after making  $25 million in 2017 to $10 million in 2018. Sabathia has been with the Yanks for ten seasons, and would presumably like to retire in the same uniform.

Sabathia was 9-7 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 140 strikeouts in perhaps his best season on the Bronx Bombers in the last five years, showing the MLB community that he still has some gas left in the tank.

In addition to locking up Sabathia, the Yankees also recently re-signed Brett Gardner to a one-year deal.  “These are known commodities,” said Yankees GM Brian Cashman. “We know exactly who they are in that clubhouse, who they are dealing with our press and our fans, and obviously — most importantly — competing on the field of play.”

 

The 38-year-old lefty has built quite the resumé throughout his 18-year career. Since his debut in 2001, Sabathia has been named an All-Star six times, three of which came as a member of the Yankees. Furthermore, he won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007 when he posted a 3.21 ERA with 19 wins and 209 strikeouts. In 2009, he also was named the ALCS MVP for two strong starts against the Angels. In Game 1, he limited his opponent to one run on four hits and a walk in eight innings, striking out seven in a 4–1 Yankees victory. His start in Game 4 was just as impressive, pitching another eight strong innings, allowing only one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out five. New York would go on to defeat the Phillies in six games to take home the World Series Championship.

Although CC Sabathia isn’t the ace he once was, he is still a valuable asset to have at the back-end of the rotation as the Yankees look to make a postseason run in 2019.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/Keith Allison

Mets

Introducing Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen

The New York Mets recently filled their front office vacancy by hiring Brodie Van Wagenen to replace Sandy Alderson as the organization’s GM.

Van Wagenen has established himself as one of the most prominent professionals in the sports business industry as an agent with the Creative Artists Agency. As the Co-Head of CAA’s Sports’ Baseball division, Brodie has represented many high profile clients, including  Ryan Howard, Robinson CanĂł, and Ryan Zimmerman. He has also had a number of current Mets as clients such as Yoenis CĂŠspedes, Noah Syndergaard, Tim Tebow, and Cy Young candidate Jacob deGrom.

Although he does not have any front office experience, the Mets have the utmost confidence that Van Wagenen will be able to use the skills he has acquired over his career to guide the Mets’ front office, making the team relevant in the MLB landscape once again.

His knowledge of all things baseball makes him a perfect candidate for his new role, any many professionals in the industry agree.

“He’s built to run things; he’s built to lead,” said his ex-teammate Kyle Peterson. ““In many ways, he’s been preparing for this role for the last 25 years. He was one of the leaders in his industry. It’s not like he needed a job and I know he wouldn’t have taken any job. He’s going to surprise people who don’t think he’s ready. He has a million things to learn, but if you’re assuming he can’t learn them, you’d be wrong.’’

“He lives in this market, he knows our team, knows the pace of the city, said Mets Assistant GM John Ricco.” “So he doesn’t have the institutional knowledge, well, we have a lot of people in-house that do. Can we cover it? Those are the questions I was asking myself. I’m a little less a believer that this is a real leap of faith. I think he brings a lot of the things the good GMs have already and we can cover the things he doesn’t have.”

While being a front office member of a New York team is never easy, the consensus is that his transition into his new position will be relatively smooth and will bring the same impact he had on his clients as an agent to the entire Mets franchise as their leader.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/ Doug Kerr

Mets

David Wright to Play in Final Home Stand Before Likely Retiring

David Wright hasn’t played an MLB game since 2016, and many fans around the league thought he might never make a return to the field after battling lingering back and shoulder injuries, but the Mets have announced their intentions to start the captain one final time on September 29th before he likely retires from the game.

Wright has been the face of the Mets franchise for a long time. He has been on the club since 2004 and has experienced his share of success during his years in the Big Apple. Over the course of his career, he has been selected to seven All-Star Games while winning the Gold Glove Award and the Silver Slugger Award twice. He has shown tremendous dedication and loyalty to the Mets organization which earned him the title of “Captain” in 2013.

You can’t deny the impact that Wright has had both on and off the field. From day one, he has dedicated himself to the organization and making it the best possible place to play the sport he loves.

He has solidified himself as one of the best players in Mets history. He is the franchise’s career leader in RBIs (970), hits (1,777), runs (949), and stolen bases (196), all while batting .296 in his career.

This will be the end of the road for “Captain America,” but it is impossible to undervalue the effect he has had New York Mets baseball. He will forever bleed orange and blue.

David Wright is a Mets icon, one of the finest players and people ever to wear the uniform, Mets uniform or any uniform, and clearly our fan favorite,” said COO Jeff Wilpon.

 

Featured Image via Keith Allison

 

Mets

Jacob deGrom ties MLB record with 25th straight starts allowing three runs or fewer

Jacob deGrom has been outstanding this season, maintaining a 1.68 ERA to go along with 230 strikeouts. He continued his historic campaign last night by making MLB history, tying the record for 25 straight starts allowing three runs or fewer, a record that dates back to 1913.

Despite this accomplishment, deGrom remains focused on the task at hand: winning baseball games.

“I honestly have not been looking at stuff like that, just trying to get ready for my next start,” deGrom said. “I am out there trying to put this team in a position to win. I don’t like giving up runs.”

Mickey Calloway likes what he sees from his ace, but is even more impressed by his attitude when he takes the field. “He’s been the best pitcher in all of baseball,” Callaway said. “It’s grit and determination. He just won’t be beaten.”

As usual, deGrom didn’t pick up the win. He went six strong innings against the Dodgers while striking out six and allowing only two hits and one earned run. However, the Mets only offered the All-Star one run worth of run support, so he got the typical no decision he is used to. That one run also came off his own bat when he drove in Jay Bruce with a single that put his club on the board.

His teammates feel for deGrom as he deserves to have a better record than 8-8. “It is what we come to expect from Jake every time. It is almost not fair. We expect him to go out there and pitch seven innings and give up zero or one run every time. For him to keep doing that and then not get these W’s is unfortunate.”

Every time people doubt his abilities and argue that he shouldn’t win the Cy Young Award, the young pitcher gives them a reason to reconsider.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/slgckgc