Tonight on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, Lester is a -160 favorite to beat the Reds and Anthony DeSclafani. MLB odds: Baseball lines from Las Vegas Chicago took the first and third game of this four-game series on Thursday and Saturday, and Cincinnati won on Friday. The Cubs, sitting third in the NL Central, are trying to keep their swagger, while Cincinnati, five games below .500, are trying to find theirs....
Let’s take a look at five MLB players to watch on MLB Opening Day. MLB Honorable Mentions Before starting the list, it is worth mentioning other notable players who almost made the list. Honorable mentions include Freddie Freeman debuting for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leading the newly loaded Toronto Blue Jays, and Shohei Ohtani taking the mound after his impressive 2021 MVP season. Now let’s get started with the list....
On the other end of the spectrum are teams that are barely making it in terms of financial expenses, and the franchises have to keep a check on their annual payroll. For the upcoming 2023 season, the Oakland Athletics have the least expensive roster. Most baseball fans have watched the film Moneyball, where early 2000s General Manager of the A’s Billy Beane struck together a cost-effective formula to get mediocre players who were specialists in their own regard....
The past few days, we’ve seen player after player speak out, without much reservation, against the Astros and the players who cheated their way to the 2017 World Series title. Cody Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP, didn’t hold back on Friday. Stephen Strasburg, the 2019 World Series MVP, isn’t one prone to outlandish statements. For him, Friday’s comment was really letting it fly. And it’s not just the players with “MVP” next to their names....
Now, let’s get to a ranking, along with supporting arguments. I want to be very clear about one thing: We’re ranking teams based on their chances of winning the World Series. The path to the title matters, very much. If we were ranking teams regardless of matchups, this would have different look. MORE: Ranking all 10 MLB playoff teams based on rootability On to the list … 1. Cleveland Strengths: This team has everything necessary to win in the postseason....
FAGAN: Blue Jays all the way? | MORE: Ranking AL postseason pitching staffs On the routes leading to the ballpark, pedestrians were handed paperboard armbands featuring Iago, the parrot from the movie Aladdin, which comes out on Blu-ray next week, information handily contained on the back of the armband, with the hashtag #WalkingTheParrot. Why would Blue Jays fans want cartoon bird armbands? To celebrate Edwin Encarnacion’s home run trots. Encarnacion, who hit 39 homers this season and has 197 dingers in his Blue Jays career — sixth on the team’s all-time list — celebrates going deep by raising his arm as if carrying a parrot around the bases....
So before you continue reading these far-too-early Power Rankings and start spewing mean-spirited tweets at me and tell me to find a new job, also remember: Baseball is a fickle sport where the only thing that’s for sure is that nothing is for sure. (Thanks, Sting.) MORE: Watch ‘ChangeUp,’ a new MLB live whip-around show on DAZN Here’s a take: Baseball in 2019 won’t be much of a surprise. There will be expectedly good teams, there will be horrifyingly bad teams and there won’t be much of a middle-class....
After announcing that MLB The Show 21 will be available for the first time on Xbox platforms, players on both PlayStation and Xbox are in for a treat, as the title will allow for cross-platform play, cross-saves, and online multiplayer between PlayStation and Xbox players. The title will also feature a number of impressive features for next-gen consoles, utilizing many of the capabilities of both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X....
This entry in the sports franchise came with an entirely revamped fielding system, which also improved hitting and pitching. That, as well as other long-requested modes made MLB The Show 2 one of the most exciting sports games in years. Still, those quality of life improvements appear to have excluded any focus on the catcher’s position. As experienced by MLB The Show 2 player ARPowers99, their catcher demonstrated absolutely no usefulness whatsoever....
Toronto sits with a record of 54-43 as of July 26 and in the top wild-card spot in the AL. However, the playoff race is tight and teams will be looking to add an extra bat or arm at the deadline to bolster their chances at winning the World Series. While a left-handed bat in the order could be a nice addition, GM Ross Atkins should be focused on pitching....
That was way back in 2009. So, yeah, the Rockies are doing their best to seize the opportunity in front of them. They’re 60-46, a half-game behind the Diamondbacks in third place in the NL West, though both are light-years behind the division-leading Dodgers. More importantly, they own the second wild-card spot, and the closest contenders are the Brewers (5.5 games back) and the Cardinals (7.5 games back). SN’s TRADE TRACKER: Analysis of all deals leading up to deadline...
They’ve already made one bold move, sending a pair of prospects to the Red Sox in exchange for veteran starter Jake Peavy to shore up a rotation that could be without Matt Cain for the rest of the season. GM Brian Sabean has a history of activity at the trade deadline, and it would be surprising if that’s the only big move he makes (no, signing Dan Uggla doesn’t count as a big move)....
New York believes it can “still get a solid return” for the 29-year-old right-hander, even though he is on the injured list with shoulder fatigue, according to a report from the New York Post, which cites an unidentified team source. Wheeler is expected to throw a bullpen session sometime early this week and there’s a chance he could make at least one start, and possibly two, before the July 31 deadline, the report says....
THE RUMOR: The Mets may trade right-hander Dillon Gee within the month. REPORTED BY: ESPN New York THE DETAILS: Despite losing No. 2 starting pitcher Zack Wheeler to season-ending Tommy John surgery, the Mets have a number of pitching prospects that some in the organization prefer over Gee, who will be free agent after this season. LAST SEASON: Gee held a 4.00 ERA with a 94/43 K/BB ratio over 137 1/3 innings a year ago for the Mets....
For one thing, even New York has to realize the inherent risk of adding a 30-year-old shortstop who has missed 222 games over the past three seasons, and is due $114 million through 2020. For another thing, the Yankees would be hard pressed to come up with a trade package that would entice Colorado to give up its best player. According to a report from Andy Martino of the New York Daily News , though, not only does a deal to send Tulowitzki to the Yankees appear to be a pipe dream, the four-time All-Star shortstop does not appear to be headed anywhere....
DETAILS: The Royals lost Gold Glove outfielder Alex Gordon (wrist) for 3-4 weeks on Monday but can still use Markakis in right field over Jarrod Dyson when Gordon returns. The Phillies (25-19), perhaps the best surprise of MLB in the young season, could suddenly be buyers at the trade deadline if they can maintain their pace in the NL East. Philadelphia’s glaring weakness in the outfield lies with right fielder Peter Bourjos (....
Daily lines have plenty of time to be tinkered with, but future wagers are happening now — and quickly — as bettors invest on several teams that were active this past week and try to exploit an edge on numbers they believe the books may not have moved enough. The most popular team being bet before and after the San Diego winter meetings has been the Cubs. William Hill sports books, with over 100 locations across Nevada, has seen 18 percent of its overall World Series handle come on the Cubs, as well as 15 percent of overall tickets written....
New York and Los Angeles only totaled six hits total in the contest, but the Mets got a big hit at an opportune time. Rajai Davis hit a three-run double in the eighth inning to give his team the lead, helping keep the Mets’ postseason hopes alive with a 3-0 victory. Jacob deGrom’s stellar pitching held the Dodgers off through seven innings of work. He notched eight strikeouts and pitched like the Cy Young winner he is....
But the 2019 chapter of baseball’s most bitter rivalry has been all Yankees so far, with New York beating Boston 4-1 in the opener of a three-game series in Yankee Stadium (Thursday’s game was rained out). With the win, the Yankees (37-19) are now 3-0 against the rival Sox this season. The victory also pushed New York’s lead in the AL East to 1 1/2 games over the Rays, and 8 1/2 games over the third-place Red Sox (29-28)....
