Carlos Rodon was the Yankees’ significant signing for the 2023 season. The big lefty was supposed to be New York’s No. 2 behind ace Gerrit Cole. However, as fans know, that did not work out.
A forearm problem in March, followed by a back ailment in rehab, delayed his debut in pinstripes. But even when Rodon did make it to the mound, he was sidelined for a while due to an injury, and his performance on the field fell short of expectations.
“I just feel like I got some stuff to prove, and I want to stay on the field a lot longer than I did last year,” Rodon told Greg Joyce of The New York Post on Monday.
Rodon reported to Tampa, where the Yankees’ player development complex is based, in early January, he is noticeably leaner and has no mustache, opting for a clean-cut style. While the southpaw was unsure how much weight he had lost, Rodon hopes the changes translate to the mound as well.
The 31-year-old, who is in the second year of his six-year, $162 million contract, has a 6.85 ERA in 64.1 innings across 14 starts in 2023.
If 2024 is to be a new chapter for Rodon, he must change physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Remember his altercation with pitching coach Matt Blake? And it appears that he is poised to do just that.
“I wouldn’t be here this early — or have gotten here this early if I didn’t think [I could get back to that 2021-2022 form],” Rodon said in an interview with The Post. “So, yes, just very committed. Clearly, a poor performance compared to last year. My first year in the Yankees uniform was certainly not my finest. I would like to make it up, for sure.”
Mets’ City Connect uniforms officially arrive for the 2024 season.
The Mets’ City Connect jerseys will formally debut during the 2024 MLB season.
The league announced on Tuesday that the Mets and eight other clubs will wear City Connect uniforms this season, which will be introduced in a staggered fashion between Opening Day and the All-Star break.
According to Paul Lukas of Uni Watch, the Mets will debut their new uniforms on Friday, April 26 at Citi Field against the St. Louis Cardinals.
According to Uni Watch, the uniforms will be presented approximately a week before their on-field debut.
In addition to the Mets, the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays will wear City Connect uniforms this season.
The design of the City Connect uniforms is not yet known.
Some teams that have revealed City Connect outfits have maintained their regular team colors. Others, such as the Colorado Rockies (green City Connect jerseys) and the Boston Red Sox (yellow and blue) have deviated significantly from the standard.
This offseason, the Mets made a slight adjustment to their black jersey and cap, removing the white drop shadow. It is unclear whether this alteration is related to the planned City Connect uniforms.
Aside from the Yankees and Oakland Athletics, who are considering a move to Las Vegas, every MLB team has received or announced a City Connect jersey since the program’s inception in 2021.
Massive update: White Sox reveal if Dylan Cease will be on the opening day roster
The post Massive update: White Sox reveal if Dylan Cease will be on Opening Day roster first published on NBC Sports Chicago
As the MLB offseason comes to a close, the White Sox have become more open about their intentions for important trade piece Dylan Cease.
Insider reports revealed in November that the starter had a 90 percent probability of being dealt by Opening Day. With pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training on Wednesday, White Sox general manager Chris Getz has made it apparent that he is willing to keep Cease for the foreseeable future.
“At this point, Dylan Cease, I expect him to be our Opening Day starter,” Getz told reporters via Zoom on Monday. “He had a great offseason. I’ve been in contact with him on a daily basis, and I know his name has been mentioned publicly in connection with potential deals, which, naturally, has had no effect on him. He’s very professional and completely focused on the task at hand. So I look forward to seeing him in a few days, and I believe he’s in a good position to have a successful year.”
Since January, the White Sox have been rumored to be asking for “the sun and the moon” in return for the right-handed ace, with ESPN stating that Cease will most likely stay on the South Side until the deadline.
“There is no pressure on them to lower their asking price,” an executive told ESPN’s Buster Olney. “They’ll get what they want at the (trade) deadline.”
Getz has made it clear that he would not budge on the price.
“When you’ve got someone of a Dylan Cease [caliber] and how he prepares and the lifestyle that he lives, the even temperament at which he operates and obviously the talent and the stuff, they are a rarity,” Getz said in an interview with MLB Network Radio on Sunday. “… Dylan Cease is someone I admire greatly. I am quite comfortable going into spring training and the season with Dylan.”
Despite a less-than-stellar performance in 2023, Cease demonstrated his worth in 2022, putting off a near-perfect season. He threw approximately 200 innings, with a 2.20 ERA in his starts. He also struck out 227 batters that year.
“I’ve got to have the health of the organization in mind, and if I feel like [a trade] is something that we should do to make us better in the short term and long term, I think you have to take strong consideration there,” he said. “…teams are still calling. They are still working on a settlement that benefits both parties.
“If there’s a match somewhere, we’ll do it.”
5 Phillies pitches we can’t wait for in 2024
The Phillies’ 2023 season did not go as planned, but no one should blame the pitching staff. They posted a playoff ERA of 2.20, the lowest of any club with at least 75 innings pitched in the previous 25 seasons.
The staff succeeded in large part due to some dominant weapons in their pitchers’ arsenals. Pitches ranging from dominating to completely unhittable. As the new season approaches, we look at five pitches from Phillies pitchers that we’re excited to see again.
Orion Kerkering’s sweeper
Phillies fans only had a taste of this pitch in September and October, but they are eager for more. While the 22-year-old is still a raw rookie, his sweeper is as close to a unicorn as you can get in baseball.
Kerkering’s sweeper has 18.6 inches of horizontal movement, more than any other in the game in 2023. What distinguishes it is Kerkering’s pitching velocity, which averages 86 mph and ranks fourth in the game, according to Baseball Savant. With a little instruction, that wicked sweeper might be combined with a sinking fastball to cause havoc.
Zack Wheeler’s fourseamer
The old Number One is the defining feature of the Phillies’ ace. Wheeler has a variety of pitches in his repertoire, although he relies heavily on the four-seamer, throwing it 43.4% of the time in 2023.
Wheeler’s 4-seamer isn’t overpowering – his average velocity of 94.7 mph is in the 77th percentile among MLB pitchers – but his pitch’s location is the reason for its efficacy, as the world saw the last two Octobers.
Among qualified MLB starters, Wheeler’s four-seamer is in the top five in opponent batting average (.199), slugging percentage (.333), swing-and-miss percentage (31.4), and putaway percentage (23.7). He will be 34 years old in May, but his consistency has been impressive. His fastball velocity in 2018 was 94.6. In 2023: 94.7.
José Alvarado’s cutter
Alvarado, like Kerkering, throws only two pitches, one of which is a dazzling fastball that approaches 100 mph. Alvarado’s secondary pitch, a cutter, is one of the hardest in the league, averaging 93.1 mph.
They call it a cutter, yet it resembles a slider. As hard as he throws it, it has a 25-inch drop. Does it sound like a difficult pitch to square up? Alvarado’s swing-and-miss percentage on his cutter is 44.5, the second-best in baseball, and it actually decreased in 2023 from 55.7% in 2022.
78 plate appearances against Alvarado ended with a cutter. There were 41 strikeouts (52.6%), the best percentage in the game. He is a major reason why the late innings are in good hands.
Aaron Nola’s Curveball
Nola’s 2023 season was not as successful as previous years. His 2023 ERA (4.46) was more than a run higher than 2022. However, Nola achieved his fifth 200-strikeout season, thanks in large part to his curveball. The pitch, like Nola’s in 2023, was hit-and-miss, or rather, miss-and-hit: he allowed 12 home runs on curveballs while also striking out 79 of 202 batters with the deuce.
When his curve is genuinely biting and he locates it well, as he did in 2022, it is a hitter’s nightmare. He had a 39.4 swing-and-miss % and a.286 xSLG (expected slugging percentage). Aside from his location concerns, Nola needs to be inch-perfect with his pitches due to a lack of overpowering velocity; perhaps he relied too heavily on the curve last season (31.6% of the time, up from 26.5% in 2022).
Ranger Suarez’s Curveball
The mystery around Ranger’s curveball stems from the fact that he rarely uses it. It comes in like a balloon, at around 75 mph compared to his 93 mph four-seamer, but he manages to sneak it in by leveraging the element of surprise. He barely throws it 19.5% of the time, yet it was one of baseball’s most effective curveballs in 2023.
Last season, hitters posted a.143 average off Suarez’s curve, ranking ninth in the MLB, and a.226 slugging percentage (12th). They managed only three extra-base hits in 88 plate appearances, all of them finished with the curve. He used his curve significantly more in 2023 than in 2022, throwing it fewer than 8% of the time two seasons ago. Perhaps batters were resting on his fastballs, since both his 4-seamer (.304 opponents’ BA) and sinker (.289) were lower than league average.
Report: Jorge Soler and Giants agree on a three-year contract.
Late Monday night, the Giants allegedly added outfielder Jorge Soler to their free-agent acquisition list.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday that San Francisco and Soler have reached an agreement on a three-year contract.
Soler, 31, is coming off one of his greatest seasons in his 11-year career, hitting 36 home runs with a.250/.341/.512 slash line for the Miami Marlins during the 2023 Major League Baseball season.
According to Slusser, Soler’s contract is pending a medical, and while the financial terms are undisclosed, the annual average value is expected to be between $12 and 17 million based on recent signings.
The slugging outfielder won World Series MVP honors with the Atlanta Braves in 2021, hitting.300 with three home runs and six RBIs in a six-game series victory over the Houston Astros.
The Giants, who needed to add some much-needed power to their lineup, accomplished just that with the reported Soler deal.
Analyzing the Yankees’ salary predicament for 2024 and beyond following an all-in offseason.
The Yankees are going all in for 2024.
The deal for Juan Soto exemplifies New York’s new direction, but with a bloated payroll and contracts with aging veterans, do the Yankees have the horses to win their first World Series since 2009?
GM Brian Cashman plans to continue adding to the squad through trades, but no new free agent signings are expected.
Cashman has kept Hal Steinbrenner from incurring the “Steve Cohen tax” in prior seasons, and there’s no reason to think he won’t do the same in 2024.
This is where trades have shown to be a valuable asset for Cashman.
While Marcus Stroman’s signing likely keeps the Yankees out of the Blake Snell/Jordan Montgomery sweepstakes, it does not prevent them from trading assets for a young, controllable arm.
While that is doubtful before the season begins, Cashman has pursued this strategy in recent years around the trade deadline. However, as we’ll see, 2024 is an all-or-nothing scenario since the club — and the payroll — will undergo significant changes in 2025.
There will be a lot of salaries coming off the books after this season — more on that later — but there is also money invested in Aaron Hicks.
The Yankees still owe their former outfielder, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels, more than $9 million for the next two seasons. While not ideal, the Yanks will work around it.
Here’s how the Yankees’ payroll predicament looks for the current season and in 2025…
Salary committed for 2024.
Here are the key players the Yankees added this offseason and what they’ll make in 2024:
- Juan Soto – $31 million
- Marcus Stroman – $18.5 million
- Alex Verdugo – $8.7 million
- Trent Grisham – $5.5 million
- Caleb Ferguson – $2.4 million
- Luke Weaver – $2 million
- Victor Gonzalez – $860,00
As you can see, over $69 million is locked up in new Yankees in 2024, led by the $31 million Soto and the team agreed to before arbitration. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, New York is expected to commit roughly $295 million in total, or $306 million after taxes.
Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodon, and Soto will receive more than half of the estimated 2024 payroll, totaling $166.8 million. When stated in those terms, it’s clear why Cashman has had to look for ways to improve in the past, such as dipping into the farm system for bench help or taking chances on veterans like Matt Carpenter.
But with a win-now club and an unofficial spending limit, Cashman and the front staff will have to get inventive.
After missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Yankees reportedly offered Snell a six-year, $150 million contract, but turned down the Cy Young winner’s asking price of $270 million over nine years.
The Yankees were correct to walk away from negotiations at that moment, and they turned to Stroman, whom they signed for two years and $37 million, with an option for 2026.
How can the Yankees improve in 2024?
There isn’t much wiggle space for newcomers, which is why Cashman may go the trade route — especially with so many contracts ending soon.
Gleyber Torres, who is due $14.2 million in 2024, will become a free agency unless an agreement is signed before the autumn. His name has been linked to prospective trades the last two seasons, and if the Yankees need another starter before the deadline, don’t be surprised if a deal is made.
Perhaps the team can also trade Verdugo or Grisham, both quality bench outfielders, to a contending team for some help. Verdugo’s contract is about to expire, while Grisham’s final arbitration year is in 2025, so teams trying to reduce payroll or keep it low may be interested. This is a feasible option if Jasson Dominguez recovers from Tommy John surgery this summer and can deliver, potentially becoming a regular starter.
Similarly, the Yankees will most certainly seek to enhance their bullpen from inside. The organization appears to be prepared to fill voids as the season progresses with young, controllable arms, despite concerns about the health of the majority of the starters.
Luis Gil and Luke Weaver have already excelled in this role, and prospects Will Warren and Clayton Beeter might follow suit with strong spring training and minor league performances. The Yankees had a similar issue in 2023 when they had a complete rotation, but injuries allowed Clarke Schmidt to make an impression on the team. The same thing can happen this season.
What it means for 2025 and beyond
Here are the Yankees’ projected payroll obligations from 2025-2028 per Cot’s:
2025 – $187.3 million
2026 – $140.1 million
2027 – $121.1 million
2028 – $96.1 million
The Yankees have seven players on expiring contracts. In total, there might be $70.5 million coming off the books. Much of that is due to Soto’s last year, but he will most certainly be the primary target for Cashman and the Yankees when he becomes available as a free agency.
Failing to sign Yamamoto allows the Yankees to pursue Soto, who could command a contract worth roughly $40 million per year for 12 or more seasons. He will be the focus to provide the Yankees with a 1-2 punch of Judge and Soto for nearly a decade. Even at the highest level, the Yankees’ salary would theoretically allow them to acquire another bat. That is especially true if Dominguez pans out.
If Torres is dealt or not re-signed, the Yankees might shift DJ LeMahieu to second base, his natural position, while looking for an upgrade at third base. Alex Bregman will be a free agent and may complete the Yankees’ lineup for the proper price.
They also have a club option on Anthony Rizzo, which would give Cashman even more money to try to retool for 2025 and beyond. LeMahieu could be shifted to first, and they could try to get another second baseman, or perhaps Oswald Peraza proves he can be an impact hitter while keeping his pay low enough to address other issues.
Rodon and Cole are the only two pitchers in the rotation with long-term, lucrative contracts. Cole does, however, have the option to opt out after the 2024 season. Given his pitching performance, the Yankees’ ace will most certainly opt out. However, if the Yankees extend his contract for another year at $36 million, they will be able to reverse that choice.
The Yankees have a lot of young guns on the verge of getting into the major leagues. Warren, Clayton Beeter, and Chase Hampton are all on the verge of entering the rotation behind Cole and Rodon in the coming years, allowing New York to reduce its payroll.
While Cashman and the Yankees want to win it all in 2024, they can retool in 2025 and beyond if they don’t overcommit to older players and believe they have the potential to step up.
They’ll also have to be “lucky” in free agency and hope that players want to come here for a good price. It will be challenging, but the way is there.
Giants: DH/OF Jorge Soler allegedly agrees to a three-year, $42 million contract.
The San Francisco Giants have finally added another batter to their lineup.
According to various reports, the Giants and outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler have agreed on a three-year, $42 million contract.
Soler, who will turn 32 at the end of February, is entering his 11th season in the majors. In 2023 with the Miami Marlins, he hit 36 home runs, the second-highest total of his career, with a batting line of.250/.341/.512. He played in more than 100 games for the fourth time in his career and enjoyed his finest season since 2019, when he appeared in all 162 games and hit an AL-leading 48 home runs for the Kansas City Royals.
A man like that is exactly what the Giants need right now, as their 2023 season was practically one big power outage. They hit only 174 home runs as a club in 2023, ranking 19th in the majors, and finished with a.383 slugging percentage. If they want to compete for one of the National League wild-card slots in 2024, they’ll need to up their power game. (Playing in the same division as the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants have little chance of winning the NL West.)
The Giants’ offseason did not go as well as most supporters expected. They were able to sign KBO outfielder Jung Hoo Lee in December, which was a great development, but there hasn’t been much more for fans to be enthusiastic about, or even hopeful for. Until signing Soler, the Giants had done little to improve their totally dismal 2023 roster.
Soler won’t change everything, but he’s a decent addition who will inject some much-needed energy into the squad.
Hernández: Mookie Betts still cares. And he knows he cannot disappear in the playoffs again.
Mookie Betts cares. He genuinely cares, and he cannot see why anyone would think otherwise.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Betts replied.
Betts, a seven-time All-Star currently in the fourth year of a 12-year, $365-million contract, is one of baseball’s most gifted athletes. He’s also a world-class bowler and part-time podcaster, a World Series television correspondent, and a die-hard basketball enthusiast who frequently visits Crypto.com Arena. When he performs as poorly as he did in the playoffs last year, it raises the possibility that he is distracted or not fully involved in the sport in which he makes his career.
“I played four sports growing up,” Betts insisted. “I’m just used to switching gears.”
Read more: Shohei Ohtani is ‘moving’ toward opening day readiness after first batting practice.
Betts appears to be the finest player in baseball at times, such as when he led the Dodgers to their lone championship in 36 years during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Betts dominated the postseason that season, winning games with his hitting, defense, and baserunning.
Betts, on the other hand, has a tendency to disappear for long periods of time. The significant changes in performance, combined with his somewhat low-key manner, have caused some of his teammates to question his devotion.
Last season was another example. Betts finished second in the voting for the most valuable player award, but went hitless against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series. The Dodgers, who won 100 games in the regular season, were swept in three straight.
“I may not have hit well, I may not have played well,” Betts was quoted as saying. “The game is difficult.
“It’s not that I don’t care.”
Of course, Betts cares. A player who did not care would be less fundamentally sound. A careless player would never learn to read how balls reflect off walls, as Betts did as a Gold Glove right fielder. A guy who didn’t care couldn’t move to the infield at 30, as Betts did last year.
Not convinced? Listen as Betts reflects on last season.
When he reported to spring training on Monday, he sounded bothered by his memories of October.
“That’s when I didn’t show up,” Betts said. “I didn’t do anything to help the team. I know I take great pride in doing what I can to help the team.”
Betts did not consider the season a total waste, citing a regular season in which the Dodgers won 100 games and he batted.307 with a career-high 39 home runs and 107 RBIs as a leadoff hitter.
“Also had a pretty good stretch, played pretty well last year,” he went on to say. “Clearly not when it mattered. I have to give myself a little pat on the back and say excellent job, but I also have to remember to show up when it counts.”
Betts stated that he did not want to sulk about his playoff struggles or allow his displeasure to impair his interactions with his children, but he followed up each of those words, and others like his, with a similar declaration: He must show up when the games count most.
Even a query about capitalizing on a timeframe in which Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman will be in their primes prompted Betts to reach the same conclusion.
“I mean, yeah,” Betts replied. “But, again, you need to go play, man. We’ve had some guys in their prime here, and we haven’t done anything. We have to play regardless of which team we put together. I need to show up. I went 0 for 11, and we had an excellent team last year. So it makes no difference if I don’t turn up. Not only me, but all of us. “If we don’t show up, we’ll lose.”
He was already in hibernation before the playoffs began, as his disastrous October was preceded by a tough September. He batted.244 and homered once in his final 25 regular-season games, eliminating him from MVP consideration.
Betts had no idea why he suddenly stopped hitting, but manager Dave Roberts had a theory.
“I think there was a little bit of chasing 40 homers,” Roberts was quoted as saying.
Betts was certainly influenced by what transpired in the NLDS, according to the manager.
“It was hard on him,” Roberts added. “There are probably only a few people who have the same level of responsibility as a superstar player. So when you don’t follow through or deliver, you feel the responsibility, disappointment, or irritation, whatever it is.
“He cares. Mookie cares.
Betts cares enough to acknowledge the issue. He cares enough to know that the problem has persisted for some time, as he has gone three for 38 in his last ten playoff games, spanning three postseasons. He cares enough to try to do something about it, even if he’s not sure what he should do differently.
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