Catcher J.T. Realmuto Acquired By The Phillies

The hottest free agent catcher today has found a new home in Philly, and is perhaps a telltale sign that Bryce Harper is indeed going to end up his teammate. There has been long discussion that Mike Trout is going to potentially end up in the same outfield as Harp one day. Is this the makings of the next super team in baseball?

Jamal Collier of MLB.com reports:

Few teams in baseball entered this offseason with as much excitement as the Phillies, a team with payroll flexibility, a talent-rich farm system and a fan base and team eager to return to the postseason for the first time since 2011. Their front office has often aimed big during this aggressive and ambitious offseason, and on Thursday, they landed one of the prizes of the trade market.

The Phillies acquired All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Marlins for catcher Jorge Alfaro, right-hander Sixto Sanchez, left-hander Will Stewart and $250,000 in international bonus slot money.

Realmuto, who turns 28 next month, is under team control through 2020 and had been the subject of trade rumors and speculation for months, with a long list of teams showing interest. The Phillies finally met Miami's asking price with a package of three players, including their top prospect in Sanchez, to acquire a player general manager Matt Klentak repeatedly called "the best catcher in baseball."

CBS Sports goes deeper into Realmuto's player profile: "Going into his age-28 campaign, Realmuto boasts a career OPS+ of 111. As well, he's a solid defender. Over at Baseball Prospectus, the advanced catching metrics grade Realmuto as having been a major defensive asset in 2017 and a bit above average in 2018. He's also proved himself capable of working more than 1,000 defensive innings in three of his four full seasons in the bigs.  The Phillies are betting that the offensive strides Realmuto made last season are mostly sustainable. On that front, Realmuto in 2018 increased his fly-ball percentage modestly while also making significant strides with his rate of hard-hit balls -- both good signs moving forward. He'll make $5.9 million for the upcoming season and isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2020 season, though the Phillies and Realmuto are expected to discuss a long-term contract extension at some point.

Phillies have visions of signing Mike Trout and pairing him with Bryce Harper... 

Angels superstar Mike Trout, who enters the 2019 season with a pair of MVP awards, a career OPS+ of 175, and a whopping 64.3 WAR across parts of eight big-league seasons. He's under contract with the Halos through the 2020 season, and barring a second big extension (not likely, according to one report) he'll hit the market in time for his age-29 campaign. That's where the Phillies come in. Yes, it's a fit in terms of the Phillies' budget and likely competitive window. Also, Trout is a native of Millville, NJ -- which is fewer than 50 miles away from Philly. 

Hall Of Famer Frank Robinson Passes Away

Legendary Major League baseball player and manager Frank Robinson has died at age 83. 

Frank was the winner of baseball's Triple Crown and he was the very first African American to manage an MLB team.

Frank goes down as one of the all time greatest players to ever take the field. In 21 seasons overall, he batted .294/.389/.537 with 586 home runs, 528 doubles and 1,812 RBI. He ranks 10th all-time on MLB's career home run list.

The Hall of Famer had been suffering from bone cancer. MSN Reports:

"Robinson’s impact on the game cannot be overstated. A fixture in baseball for over 60 years, Robinson was the 1956 Rookie of the Year and won the MVP Award in both the National and American Leagues, in 1961 with the Reds and in 1966 with the Orioles. He was also the 1966 Triple Crown winner. For his career he was a .294/.389/.537 hitter who smacked 586 career homers, placing him 10th on the all-time list. He appeared in 14 All-Star Games and was the 1966 World Series MVP. A part of his game that often goes unnoticed: he led the league in getting hit by pitches seven times in his career. He crowded the plate and dared pitchers to throw him inside. They did and he never backed off. A fierce but not necessarily fiery competitor, Robinson was known to slide hard and otherwise play hard in every aspect of the game."

"That alone justified his induction into the Hall of Fame, which occurred in his first year of eligibility in 1982. But he was also a trailblazer, becoming the game’s first African-American manager when the Indians hired him as their player-manager for the 1975 season. He would go on to manage for the Giants, the Orioles, the Expos and, upon that franchise’s move to Washington, he became the Nationals first manager. His career record was 1065-1176, but a lot of that had to do with the fact that he took over some pretty bad teams. He rarely had teams which underachieved their talent level, and his managerial abilities were on perhaps their best display in Baltimore in 1989 when he turned around a dreadful Orioles club and was named the 1989 AL Manager of the Year."

Didi Gregorius Does Not Know When He's Going To Make His Return

The Yankees are going to be without shortstop Didi Gregorius for an unknown amount of time in the 2019 season, after suffering a nasty elbow injury last year. Thankfully, by picking up Tulo it will help out the Bronx Bombers at that spot while Didi remains on the DL... and there's always the chance they will acquire Manny Machado.

Ronald Blum of Yahoo Sports reports:

- Didi Gregorius was quick when asked if he had a date in mind for his return from a torn elbow ligament.

''April,'' he blurted.

Then he smiled, laughed and added: ''We all know that's not going to happen, but that's what I want to do. It's a wait and see 'til everything is cleared, everything is ready to go.''

The New York Yankees shortstop tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow while making a throw from left field after a ball bounced off Fenway Park's Green Monster during Game 2 of the AL Division Series last Oct. 6. He had surgery 11 days later and had a checkup this week.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says he expects Gregorius back sometime in the summer but has not been more specific.

New York added DJ LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki to shore up its infield, moves Gregorius thinks improved the roster. Gregorius wasn't concerned the Yankees would sign a high-priced free agent such as Manny Machado, who plays shortstop and third.

''If he comes over, he makes the team better,'' Gregorius said Wednesday.

Gregorius spoke before the annual Thurman Munson Awards dinner, also attended by Yankees manager Aaron Boone and third baseman Miguel Andujar. Boone doesn't expect any more moves before the team reports to spring training on Feb. 13.

''He's such a dynamic player for us on both sides of the ball, such a reliable player for us at such an important position,'' Boone said, ''but hopefully we'll do our best to hold serve and then look forward to getting a really good player back at some point in the summer.''

Gregorius turns 29 on Feb. 18, when he will be at spring training in Tampa, Florida, and thinks ''hopefully next week I start doing some throwing exercises.''

Curtis Granderson Signs Minor League Contract With The Marlins

According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network:

Outfielder Curtis Granderson has signed a Minor League contract with the Marlins, which includes an invitation to MLB spring training. He has reached the postseason eight times with five different teams, including four years in a row.

MLB insider Steve Adams gives us further breakdown analysis on the Grandy man, who has dealt with his fair share of injuries:

After a pair of 40-homer campaigns from 2011-12, Granderson was hit by a pitch in his first Spring Training plate appearance in 2013. X-rays would reveal a fractured forearm that wound up causing the Grandy Man to sit out the first six weeks of the year. As if that wasn't enough poor luck for the former Tiger, he was struck in the left hand by a pitch from Rays reliever Cesar Ramos on May 24 in just his eighth game of the season. Granderson stayed in the game briefly, but that would be his last contest until Aug. 2, as he had suffered a broken metacarpal that required surgery. 

Strengths/Pros

The first thing that comes to mind with Granderson is power. After averaging 24 homers per season from 2006-10, Granderson exploded with a 41-homer campaign in his second season with the Yankees. He followed that up with 43 long balls in 2012.

The Latest Moves: Minor League MLB Transactions: 2/3/19

As we all await word on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado... here is the latest update on transactions and offseason deals.

Ty Bradley of MLB trade rumors site reports:

Rounding up the latest in minor moves from around the game . . .

The Braves have reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with veteran reliever Ben Rowen. Rowen, an extreme submariner, is the owner of a rare high-grounder, low-walk profile, and has turned in a number of impressive seasons at the AAA level. The 30-year-old’s last big-league appearance came in 2016 with Milwaukee, for whom he made three late-season appearances. The Virginia Tech-product debut also threw 8 innings for the 2014 Rangers, but has mostly made his way around the International and Pacific Coast Leagues over the last six seasons. In 245 career innings at the Triple-A level, the 6’4 righty has pitched to a stellar 3.08 ERA, allowing just 0.44 homers per nine. He figures to be a candidate for the Peter Moylan role at the front end of the Atlanta bullpen, and should make a nifty righty specialist if the club can spare the roster space.

If you're interested in learning who are the other MLB free agents at the top of everyone's list, check out this write up on the Sporting News site:

"Top five remaining free agents who aren't Bryce Harper or Manny Machado"

Read HERE.

The Padres Are Showing Interest In Bryce Harper

As the offseason trades and free agency megadeals begin to wind down, we inch closer toward spring training and the start of Opening Day with no word as to where the sports two biggest stars are going to end up. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado have both been rumored to be talking with the Yankees, The White Sox and The Phillies... now the Padres have stepped up to show they are serious about making something big happen.

Ashley Varela with Yahoo Sports reports:

The Padres are relative newcomers to the ongoing Bryce Harper/Manny Machado free agent saga, but they’ve already started to make things interesting. On Saturday, two days after their reported meeting with Harper in Las Vegas, they let slip to Fancred’s Jon Heyman that they might be leaning toward offering the 26-year-old outfielder a contract rather than continuing their pursuit of shortstop/third baseman Machado.

On one hand, Heyman revealed, the Padres’ ownership recognizes that they have a clear “business/marketing opportunity” with Harper, something that may prove even more valuable than the .249/.393/.496 batting line and 3.5 fWAR he already brings to the table. That’s certainly the kind of attitude that’s expected from any team weighing the pros and cons of a long-term, $400+ million contract offer, even if, as Craig noted on Thursday, it would take some roster reshuffling to fit Harper into San Diego’s current outfield configuration. For what it’s worth, the Padres’ brass was said to be “extremely prepared” and “seemed sincere about wooing [Harper]” during their meeting on Thursday, though it doesn’t appear that any kind of deal is imminent.

As for Machado, Heyman suggests that the All-Star infielder may not be receptive to playing for a West Coast team at all. If that’s the case, it makes sense for the Padres to start amping up their interest in Harper, regardless of which player they actually have a preference for. According to a recent report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the club also might find it difficult to entice Machado to play in San Diego as they intend to move him back to the hot corner in 2019, should the two sides strike a deal in the weeks to come. While Machado is reportedly open to playing third base again, his preferred position is shortstop — which may or may not factor into any career-based decisions he makes this winter.

All that said, the Padres still look like a long shot to land either free agent, especially taking some of their more spendthrift competitors into account. It’s of some consolation that Opening Day is just seven weeks out. We should have some answers soon.

Angels Shohei Ohtani Won't Be Ready For Opening Day

Angels rookie sensation, Shohei Ohtani, exploded onto the MLB scene last year with his raw display of slugging power and pitching dominance, until he was forced to call quits on the season early due to injury. Now it's being reported that the star player has still not fully recovered and will not be ready to go on the first day of the forthcoming 2019 season.

MLB.com reports:

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani's recent checkup with Dr. Neal ElAttrache went well and he's been cleared to do full strengthening exercises with his surgically repaired right elbow, but Ohtani won't be ready for Opening Day, Angels general manager Billy Eppler said in a conference call on Thursday.

Ohtani, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year Award winner, underwent Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1 that will keep him from pitching in 2019. But Ohtani is working toward getting cleared to serve as the club's primary designated hitter this season, and his next step will be swinging the bat.

"What is clear to us is that the timing of his progression will not allow him to be active for Opening Day," Eppler said. "Anything beyond that or a timeline beyond that, I can't answer at this time. It's a multi-layered progression he has to go through. To pinpoint a time is unrealistic."

Eppler said Ohtani's rehab is more complicated than most because he's rehabbing as both a position player and a pitcher. So while he continues to make the normal progressions as a hitter from dry swings to hitting off a tee to soft toss to batting practice to facing velocity, he'll also be building up arm strength as a pitcher and moving up his throwing distances before reaching a mound.

"The uniqueness of Shohei also coming back as a pitcher is that you'll have to incorporate the throwing progressions like throwing from farther distances," Eppler said. "One of the things that we were mindful of is not introducing him to two new things in the same week. The easiest way to frame that is if he's going to hit off a tee, that would come one week, but perhaps if he was going to move back in his throwing progression, that happens in a different week. It wouldn't simultaneously happen, and each event is its own level. We're going level to level, so that's why it's hard to put a timeline."

Ohtani will report to the club's Spring Training complex in Tempe, Ariz., ahead of the club's official report date for pitchers and catchers on Feb. 12. He'll continue his rehab under the care of the club's training and medical staff so he has no further followup appointments.

The 24-year-old Ohtani hit .285/.361/.564 with 22 homers, 21 doubles and 61 RBIs in 104 games as a position player in 2018, while also posting a 3.31 ERA with 63 strikeouts, 22 walks and six homers allowed in 51 2/3 innings as a starting pitcher.