On June 7, 2019, Craig Kimbrel signed a three-year, $43 million deal with the Cubs. And his first (half) season in Chicago was a disaster: 6.53 ERA, 8.00 FIP. And his second year (the COVID-shortened 2020 season) got off to an equally brutal start: 7 ER through his first 2.2 IP.
But after that, he was a changed man.
Kimbrel finished the 2020 season with a 1.42 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 12.2 IP — yeah, that’s a 53.1 K%. And he began 2021 on an equally impressive hot streak: 0.51 ERA, 4...
A disturbing report came out yesterday that the Washington Post could be shutting down their sports desk. This is not the sort of thing I normally write about, but it is something I could not avoid. Words cannot describe how big of a disaster this would be. As a kid growing up in DC, I […]
The Arizona Cardinals fired Jonathan Gannon less than three weeks ago. He already has a new job. The former Arizona Cardinals head coach will now be the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers Gannon was the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator for two years before coming over as the Cardinals head coach. In his time […]
In Mariners news… Around the league…
The New York Mets went into the offseason with the idea of revamping their roster. David Stearns said as much at the end of last year’s disappointing collapse that saw the team go from first place to missing the playoffs over the summer, saying that returning most of the roster “wasn’t the right thing to […]
Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, the Yankees swindled the Red Sox on a couple different deals, mostly famously the one for Babe Ruth, a trade that’s had its own lore for decades. The Yankees’ acquisition of Les Nunamaker from Boston a couple years prior is not remotely on the level of Ruth, just because you […]
As the 2026 MLB season draws near, various projections have started to come out about where the San Diego Padres will finish as a team, and some sites have gone on to predict how individual players will finish their season. These projections are a lot like weather models. There are formulas and trends that are […]
Team News Ryne Nelson not taking pitching role for granted in 2026“I feel the exact same coming into camp this year as I did last year,” Nelson said. “I think the second you get comfortable, and you think that things are going to be easy or whatnot, you start to let what got you here […]
The New York Rangers are working with Artemi Panarin to find him a new team before the trade deadline this season. GM Chris Drury has made it clear as day that the team won't be offering Panarin a contract extension, and they'll begin their re-tool, looking to move Panarin for a package that includes a first-round pick, top prospect, and a conditional draft pick/mid-level prospect. While Panarin holds all the say because of his full no-movement clause, there's been a few teams thrown out there...
“We’ve got some financial flexibility now to continue to bring in talent.” Talk about a real knee-slapper. The White Sox GM sure knows how to tell ’em. Chris Getz made that remark after the trade of Luis Robert, Jr. to the Mets, a move that not only forced everybody covering the team to figure out […]
Who is he and where did he come from? He’s Tyler Samaniego, and he has only a slightly easier name to pronounce than Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia, whom he was traded for along with Johan Oviedo. Samaniego has not yet cracked a Major League roster, but his status as a lefty arm with a 98 […]
39 years ago, Major League Baseball held the final of four free-agent compensation drafts. Blue Jays picked Tom Henke from the Texas Rangers, grabbing a big piece of their future contending teams in the form of the shutdown closer. What isn’t usually mentioned is the huge stroke of good fortune involved in them landing Henke […]
Meet the Mets The Mets signed veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel to a minor league deal with an invite to big league spring training. For his Mets Beat newsletter, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com wrote about how patience paid off for the Mets this offseason. Mike Petriello of MLB.com took a deep dive into whether the Mets […]
As I write this, I am staring out my window watching snow fall at about one inch per hour. You, the readers, are scattered all around the country, but there are large swaths of states affected by this weekend’s massive storm. One of the best things to do today is just watch the conference championship […]
This week’s Media Bytes digs into why J.T. Miller isn’t going anywhere, why skepticism around The Letter 2.0 is growing louder, and why insiders are openly questioning whether this front office can actually pull off another “retool.”
Coming away from the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up event, there was plenty of buzz among fans about how excited they are to see the young guns get their opportunity to light up Busch Stadium. Even in a season that is sure to be full of growing pains, Cardinals Nation is ready for Spring Training […]
The Braves only managed 76 wins last season. It’s hard to imagine the Braves doing worse than that. And that 76 win team had a 10 game winning streak in September. That team lost their Opening Day starting rotation. Well, you all know all that. But was 2025 as bad as it will get? At […]
Yesterday was a mess in the SEC. Mississippi State lost at home to Vanderbilt by a lot, Auburn beat Florida in Gainesville, Tennessee toppled the G-League All Stars in Tuscaloosa, and Texas blasted top 25 Georgia in the second half by 20. Considering the range of results in the league, Missouri should think themselves fortunate […]
1985 The first Australian ever to play for the White Sox, Shane Lindsay, was born in Melbourne. Lindsay only had a four-game, 10-day major league career. He was called up as the season spiraled down the drain in 2011, with a solid debut in Detroit on September 4 (one scoreless inning, with a walk and […]
During last year’s New York Baseball Writers’ Awards Gala, Shohei Ohtani was unable to attend the event despite being awarded his 2024 NL MVP plaque. This time around, in receiving his second consecutive NL MVP and third consecutive MVP, Ohtani was in person to present his acceptance speech. Just as he did when he accepted […]
Your morning round-up of the latest from Blueshirt Banter, Rangers News, and updates from around the NHL
The gloves are still on. But the Cubs are ‘going for it’, and there aren’t so many kids playing. Maybe Kevin Alcantara breaks camp with the big kids. Otherwise, it’s pretty much a veteran squad. Jaxon Wiggins might change that some, but he isn’t expected any time soon. He’ll be handled with the proverbial sartorial […]
Not every big move is created equally. Sometimes necessity meets opportunity, and you get the ideal scenario for a deal, something we recently saw with Cody Bellinger and an agreement to return to the Bronx that made too much sense for every party involved. Other times, as a team like the Dodgers has routinely shown, […]
Settle in, folks. Things around here gonna be cold for a while. But enough about the team’s offseason!!! On to the links. Phillies news: MLB news:
Hello, friends. There are now 60 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. WBC-participating pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota in just 15 days. I don’t normally derive much excitement out of spring training is approaching milestones but in the midst of the current snow/ice and with the possibility of not seeing above-freezing temperatures for several […]