Draft Strategy: Returning Injured SPs Tuesday, February 24, 2015 In my last column, I went over some players who were being taken too early or too late on average in standard roto drafts. One of the players being taken too early, I felt, was Marlins starter Jose Fernandez, who underwent Tommy John surgery last season and is expected to make his 2015 debut in June. Fernandez is one of a handful … [Read more...]

Report: Yankees unhappy with Alex Rodriguez reporting early It doesn't matter what he does at this point, lightning rod extraordinaire Alex Rodriguez will always find himself on the receiving end of some sort of criticism. The A-Rod news of the day Monday was that the 39-year-old arrived at the New York Yankees' facility in Tampa Bay a few days early. It would seem like a good idea for a … [Read more...]

Ripken denies abusive hazing of Gregg Zaun Cal Ripken denies he ever beat up Gregg Zaun for hazing purposes, or any other reasons. (USATSI) Gregg Zaun told some pretty far-out stories this past week about being hazed as a young player with the Baltimore Orioles 20 years ago, and how Hall of Famer Cal Ripken was the ring leader of the disciplinary committee. Upon reflecting, Zaun wasn't angry — … [Read more...]

Mat Latos' comments about time with Reds cause quite a stir Mat Latos is known just as much for his fiery personality as he is for his fire-balling right arm on the mound, so the following shouldn't come as any suprise. The 27-year-old starting pitcher was dealt to his hometown Miami Marlins in December after three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and in a lengthy one-on-one interview with … [Read more...]

Luis Tiant helped the Red Sox land Yoan Moncada Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada, born over 15 years after Luis Tiant made his final appearance for the Boston Red Sox, finalized a monster deal with the team on Monday, and the Red Sox apparently have Tiant to thank for helping sway the 19-year-old infielder to sign with them and not with the New York Yankees. Here's the story from ESPN.com's Gordon … [Read more...]

Orioles reportedly take a flyer on infielder Everth Cabrera There were rumblings a few days ago that the Baltimore Orioles were close to a deal with free agent infielder Everth Cabrera. On Monday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports confirmed that the two sides had come to terms on a one-year contract for $2.4 million. Cabrera's issues are no secret. He received a 50-game suspension in 2013 for his … [Read more...]

New commish Rob Manfred says shorter MLB season is a possibility If we've gleaned anything about Rob Manfred as he approaches two months in Bud Selig's commissioner's chair, it's that almost any idea is a possibility. He's wide open to change, it seems, whether that's the notion of banning defensive shifts that he brought up in January or the shortening of the MLB season. Manfred addressed … [Read more...]

New commish Ron Manfred says shorter MLB season is a possibility If we've gleaned anything about Rob Manfred as he approaches two months in Bud Selig's commissioner's chair, it's that almost any idea is a possibility. He's wide open to change, it seems, whether that's the notion of banning defensive shifts that he brought up in January or the shortening of the MLB season. Manfred addressed … [Read more...]