Page 19 - Jeff Mathis News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

February 4, 2021 With the players’ union rejecting Major League Baseball’s proposal to delay the start of the 2021 season by a month in hopes of winter coronavirus rates declining, the start of spring training is less than two weeks away, and from a logistical standpoint, so much remains undecided. Will there be a universal designated hitter? Will last year’s experiments with seven-inning doubleheader games and man-on-second extra inning rules carry over? What will the playoff format be? From a personnel standpoint, more than 150 free agents are still looking for work.   The ice has be...

Nationals sign Blake Swihart to minor league deal with spring training invite Jesse Dougherty, The Washington Post Jan. 27, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Catcher is now the biggest question mark for the Washington Nationals, who have otherwise added a first baseman, a left fielder, a starter and two left-handed relievers this winter. They are bringing back 33-year-old Yan Gomes for the end of his contract. The one other catcher on the 40-man roster is Tres Barrera. They'll need to address this, now or later, but have padded their spring training depth with two minor league deals. The first was f...

The Off-season of the Living Dead continues to shamble on...

MLB Trade Rumors Claudio Custodio to minor league contracts. Baltimore also confirmed its previouslyreported minor league deals with lefty Ciuffo, 25, was the No. 21 overall draft pick by the Rays back in 2013. He never graded out as a top prospect but made it to the big leagues with Tampa Bay in 2018 and 2019, hitting a combined .186/.250/.279 in a tiny sample of 50 plate appearances. Had he been healthy in 2019, he’d quite likely have gotten a longer opportunity to boost those numbers, but thumb surgery cost him 10 weeks of the season. Ciuffo spent the 2020 season at the Rangers’ alter...

Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports Last weekend, the Mets signed James McCann to be their starting catcher. On its face, the signing is a curious one, considering J.T. Realmuto is a top-two catcher in baseball and is also a free agent. But there’s plenty of evidence that points to McCann’s breakout over the last two years being legitimate. Dave Capobianco took an in-depth look at McCann’s improvements in a piece here at Amazin’ Avenue earlier this week, and shortly before the signing, Jarrett Seidler illustrated the recent similarities between McCann and Realmuto. The Mets are being a bit r...