MLB and the MLBPA released their latest COVID-19 test results today, which includes tests taken through the end of the day on Thursday. In the past week, 10,458 tests have been taken and six have resulted in new positives. That's a 0.05 percent positive rate among the tests conducted.
Of the six positives, five were players and one was a staff member. Throughout the entire monitoring phase so far, 17,949 tests have been conducted and 23 have resulted in new positives. Overall, between the intake testing and monitoring testing, 93 individuals have tested positive, 80 of which have been players while 13 were staff members. Twenty-eight different teams have now had a member test positive between intake and monitoring testing. The latest news came out last night when the Tampa Bay Rays announced that outfielder Austin Meadows was placed on the 10-day Injured List after testing positive.
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MLB.com's Mark Bowman reported tonight that Braves' All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, which is now just a week away. Freeman has been away from the team since testing positive for COVID-19 on July 3.
Bowman reported that Freeman has been feeling good for the past 10 days after dealing with a fever at the onset of his infection. He cannot rejoin the team until he produces two negative tests at least 24 hours apart from each other. Even if Freeman were to produce those negative tests before next Friday, it's unlikely that he would be able to get in shape and prepared for the season in that short amount of time. Since he's been away from the organization, he's been able to get some work in at home, but he hasn't been able to see live pitching in a while, and putting him in a game this soon would not be a good idea. The Braves have a few options at first base until Freeman returns; Johan Camargo, Austin Riley and Adeiny Hechavarria are all players that can fit in at first. Hechavarria, who is listed at first base on the Braves' depth chart but has mostly played second base and shortstop, batted .241 last season, which he split between the Mets and Braves. He hit .328 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 24 games with Atlanta. Riley and Camargo each saw significant playing time for the Braves last season, although neither hit over .233. They each saw some time at first base last year. None of those options will be a great replacement for Freeman, who hit .295 last season with 38 home runs and 121 RBIs. Hopefully for the Braves' sake, they're able to get Freeman back sooner than later. Alex Rodriguez will not broadcast the New York Mets game on ESPN next weekend, due to a potential conflict of interest, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.
Rodriguez is part of a business group that is reportedly bidding to buy the New York Mets from the Wilpon family, and having him on the call for games involving the Mets could get dicey. ESPN Senior Vice President Mark Gross said the network will "shy away" from having Rodriguez call Mets games, according to DiComo. Right now, next week's Sunday Night Baseball game is the only Mets game scheduled to air on ESPN this season, but that could change later in the year as the season goes on. While this decision makes sense as Rodriguez is involved in business dealings with the Mets, it's a shame for TV viewers. Despite being one of the most disliked players in MLB during his playing days, Rodriguez has built his reputation up through his broadcasting jobs, which include color commentary on Sunday Night Baseball and a studio analyst position with Fox Sports. His long career and his stature as one of the best players to play the game of baseball, even with the steroids use, make him a knowledgable analyst and an insightful broadcaster to listen to. We'll see how things change if his group moves forward with purchasing the Mets, but it would be a big loss for ESPN and Fox if he were no longer able to broadcast games.
Rumors have been floating over the past couple of weeks about teams using fake crowd noise during games this season. With most teams presumably not allowing fans at their ballparks, it sets up an interesting atmosphere (and yes, there are lots of jokes about the Rays and Marlins playing with no fans in a normal year).
The only time in recent history where we've seen a game with no fans in attendance was in 2015 when the Orioles hosted the White Sox in an empty stadium due to civil unrest in Baltimore at the time. It was an odd game to watch, but it serves as an example of what we could see this season, unless teams go ahead and use fake crowd noise. You might be wondering what that would look, or sound, like. Well, Tim Healey of Newsday is here to show us.
This video from the Mets' intrasquad game on Wednesday is a little bit weird to watch, but that's what we could expect from fake crowd noise this season. It seems unnatural due to the fact that there are no actual people in the ballpark, but it might have to be done, otherwise watching baseball this season will feel like watching The Masters.
This week's episode of the podcast focused on our predictions for the American League in the upcoming MLB season. In case you missed the episode, or you just had a hard time following what we were saying, I decided to write out our predictions. Also, now that they're in writing, we can come back and look at the end of the season to see how right (or wrong) we are. AL EastMatt's Pick: You really can't go with anyone but the Yankees here. Even with recent injuries and DJ LeMahieu out with COVID-19, they've still got all the talent and the depth needed to win the division this season Trey's Pick: It wouldn't surprise me if the Rays keep it close with the Yankees, but ultimately, the Yankees filled the one hole in their rotation by signing Gerrit Cole. They'll win the division. AL CentralMatt's Pick: The Chicago White Sox have the right mix of talented young players and veterans that they brought in in free agency to make a run at this division. It'll be tough since they have to play the teams in the NL Central this year, all of which should be good, but they'll get it done. Trey's Pick: I like the Twins' lineup so much. With the universal DH, they can play Nelson Cruz every day now and that will help them a lot. They have one of the best lineups in baseball, plus they added Josh Donaldson in the offseason. It's hard to pick against them. AL WestMatt's Pick: I'm going with the A's to win the West this year. They've won 97 games each of the last two seasons and finished closely behind the Astros. I think this is the year they get it done and finally overtake Houston as division champs. Trey's Pick: Individual players matter a lot in the 60-game season, so I'm going with the Angels simply because they have the best player in baseball in Mike Trout. He finally gets back to the postseason this year, leading the Angels to a division title. Wild Card TeamsMatt's Pick: Rays and Twins Trey's Pick: Astros and Rays MVPMatt's Pick: How can you ever pick against Mike Trout to win the MVP? He's pretty much a lock every year. Trey's Pick: I said he's the reason that the Angels win the AL West, he's gonna win the MVP as well. Cy YoungMatt's Pick: I couldn't decided, so I had to go with two options. Gerrit Cole and Corey Kluber are both great pitchers, both in new cities, and I think they'll both make a huge impact for their new team this year, so either could win the Cy Young. Trey's Pick: Gerrit Cole is the best pitcher in baseball, and now he's with the Yankees, which should help him in any awards consideration. Rookie of the YearMatt's Pick: The White Sox must have high hopes for Luis Robert if they signed him to a six-year $50 million deal before he's even made his MLB debut. He absolutely crushed it in the Minors last season, and he'll do the same in MLB this year.
Trey's Pick: Brendan McKay is the next Shohei Ohtani, a two-way player that can be dominant on both ends. He should make a big impact with the Rays this year on his way to winning Rookie of the Year. It's happening!
After weeks of expressing my opinion that Yasiel Puig would be an excellent free agent signing and that some team needs to pick him up before the season starts, we're getting reports that he is signing. And the best part, he's signing with the Atlanta Braves. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported the news this afternoon. Puig has spent the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but split last season between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians. The All-Star right fielder hit .267 last season with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs. With right fielder Nick Markakis opting out of the 2020 season due to concerns about the coronavirus, it makes perfect sense for the Braves to sign Puig. Plus, with the DH coming to the National League this season, the Braves could have used an extra bat anyway before Markakis decided to opt out. This is a great day for Braves fans. Just imagining Ronald Acuña, Jr. and Yasiel Puig playing baseball together is a great feeling. Now we'll get to see it play out on the field in just over a week.
I have to admit, it's been a while since I've watched any CPBL games and I haven't been following it as closely as I did when the season first started. But we return to CPBL coverage today with news that the first half of the season has been completed, and the CTBC Brothers are first half champions.
The Brothers currently sit at 36-23, three games ahead of the Rakuten Monkeys. The Brothers clinched the first half championship with a 6-1 win over the Uni Lions this morning.
It looks like those fans are having a great time. I can only hope that we'll have moments like this again soon in the U.S.
If I understand everything correctly, the Brothers have clinched a playoff spot with their first half championship. The Brothers have won seven championships in the CPBL in their time, but haven't won since 2010. They've faced the Rakuten Monkeys in three of the last five Taiwan Series, and it certainly seems like that scenario is likely again this year. Maybe during the second half of the season I'll do a better job of following along. With the 2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled, many teams are looking for ways to stay engaged with their communities and continue to provide some form of entertainment. The Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Eastern League have come up with a good one - Movies in the Outfield.
The Flying Squirrels host two movie nights each week, on Thursday and Saturday, and fans can sit on the field in 10' x 10' boxes for up to four people, or 10' x 20' boxes for up to eight people. Fans can also order concessions, although they are encouraged to place their orders prior to the event to help streamline the process and keep social distancing. I think the Squirrels knocked it out of the park with this one. Fans can't enjoy baseball at the ballpark this season, so they might as well enjoy some baseball movies. Even without a season in place, Richmond is providing fans with quality, affordable entertainment and it seems like a fun way to spend a summer evening. The next showing is this Thursday when the Flying Squirrels will be playing A League of Their Own.
Thanks to a tweet by the Gwinnett Stripers, Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, we were reminded this morning of a great day in baseball history. Ronald Acuña, Jr., then the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball, made his Triple-A debut this day in 2017.
Acuña got the call up to Triple-A and immediately made an impact for the Stripers. The highly-touted outfielder went 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBIs as Gwinnett defeated the Charlotte Knights 13-4. — Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) July 13, 2020
Acuña would go on to be named Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year in 2017 after batting .325/.374/.522 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs across three levels of the Minor Leagues.
He began the 2017 season with the Florida Fire Frogs before being promoted t the Mississippi Braves and eventually the Gwinnett team. Acuña got the call up to the Major Leagues on April 25, 2018, making another immediate impact with Atlanta as he went on to win National League Rookie of the Year. Acuña came into Spring Training this year with the goal of a 50 home run/50 stolen base season. Obviously with the season shortened to 60 games, that's not likely. But it is still possible we could see Acuña go 20/20 this year, which would put him in impressive company. Acuña needs to hit 13 home runs and steal 17 bases in order to join Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout and Andruw Jones as the only players with 80 home runs and 70 stolen bases by age 22. Per MLB.com's Mark Bowman, if Acuña matches his pace from last season, he'll hit 16 home runs and steal 22 bases. We are witnessing history as it happens, and as a Braves fan, it's a lot of fun having a guy like Acuña on your team. As we get closer to the beginning of the 2020 MLB season, All-Star rightfielder Yasiel Puig is still a free agent. That could change soon, though, as MLB.com's Mark Feinsand is reporting that the Baltimore Orioles are interested in Puig, and have made at least one offer.
Puig is a career .277 hitter across three teams throughout his seven-year career. Last season he batted .267 with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. According to CBS Sports, the Orioles outfield is expected to consist of a combination of Austin Hays, DJ Stewart, Stevie Wilkerson and Mason Williams. The addition of Puig would provide an immediate upgrade to the O's outfield, and although Baltimore isn't expected to contend this season even with a big-time free agent, Puig could still help the team tremendously. Puig has had a long free agency this offseason, although he said in April that he had received offers from the Miami Marlins and several other teams. Puig also said at that time that he didn't believe there would be an MLB season in 2020, but perhaps now that the schedule is set, he'll sign when the right offer comes his way. |
AuthorMatthew Atkins, Journalist and Baseball fan. Archives
March 2023
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