What you will find is someone with an average-to-plus hit tool, who can make the plays defensively at multiple positions, with a lot of speed on the bases. Durbin slashed .256/.334/.387 in his rookie season, with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases, which led to third place in Rookie of the Year voting. The ball is usually put into play when Durbin is at the plate.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss... Tim's recent post looking at MLB's economics and issues of parity (1:20) The possibility of a salary cap coming into existence at some point in the future (5:25) Comparing the salary cap path to alterations to the current revenue sharing system (8:40) The public relations battle with fans knowing all about players and their salaries but not necessarily knowing so much about the owners and their finances (17:35)
The D-backs have bolstered their rotation mix this winter by agreeing to a two-year reunion with Merrill Kelly and bringing Michael Soroka in on a one-year deal, but the bullpen remains largely untouched. Taylor Clarke's low-cost, one-year deal is the only addition of any real note. General manager Mike Hazen emphasized to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he still plans to add to his relief corps, but the focus for much of the winter was on the rotation.
Or maybe it's a magic arm, whether that's newly-acquired pitching prospect Brandon Sproat or Tread lefty Drew Rom. I fully expect both to shove, especially against the Cubs. MLB Pipeline has the 25-year-old Sproat at No. 6 in Milwaukee's system, and he should break camp with the big club after logging just under 21 innings over four starts for the Mets last year.
They've spoken in the past about wanting to lure more free agents and make impact additions in the lineup, but both comments from Pittsburgh brass and the reporting surrounding their early offseason endeavors struck a different tenor. The Pirates' reported willingness to offer Josh Naylor in the vicinity of $80MM was a genuine surprise, given the lack of spending to which we've become accustomed from owner Bob Nutting.
The Yankees were known to be one of the teams talking with the Marlins about a possible Edward Cabrera trade, but with Cabrera now in a Cubs uniform, the New York Post's Joel Sherman reports that the Bronx Bombers are looking elsewhere for rotation help. The NY Post's Jon Heyman reiterates that the Yankees continue to have trade interest in the Brewers' Freddy Peralta and the Nationals' MacKenzie Gore,
It's worth noting, too, that the Mets are deep in both top prospects and young big leaguers that could be marketed to other clubs. Their farm system is generally regarded as one of the ten best in the game. Following this year's draft and trade deadline, Baseball America ranked the Mets' system ninth in the game. MLB.com ranked it seventh.
Many current gig economy jobs are at risk of automation as AI usage expands, Tim Fung, founder and CEO of Airtasker, said in an interview with Business Insider. Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash are already making some deliveries using self-driving vehicles. Fung estimated that human ride-hailing drivers could be eliminated within three to five years. AI is also likely to replace many data science, coding, and engineering workers in the near term, Fung said.
This team has a surplus of young, controllable outfielders, with Jarren Duran's name the one that has come up the most in trade rumors. What's more, Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida have less of a path to playing time now that Contreras is in the fold. Breslow recently told reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com) that roster logjams like this "tend to work out," but one such way these things can work themselves out is through a trade or two.
As per usual, Chris is right. After a brief moment atop the conference, the Caps now sit seventh in the east and dropping. A team that has ranked in the league's top three in five-on-five play has now fallen to 15th in the month of December. They need a change. They need several changes. Recoveries from injury, recoveries from illness, a trade or two, power-play personel patch-up, no more mock turtlenecks from Joe and Craig, etc., etc.
The MLB Draft Lottery took place on Tuesday evening, and the Atlanta Braves unfortunately slipped a few spots. Heading into the lottery, Atlanta had the sixth-best odds. Instead, the Braves will have the ninth overall pick in the 2026 draft. The Chicago White Sox will pick first, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins. With the Winter Meetings underway, it has been rumored that the Braves have interest in utility player Willi Castro, who has also drawn interest from the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The lefty made 32 starts in 2024. He had a 14-start stretch in the middle where he posted a 6.18 ERA, 19.8 K%, and 11.4 BB%. That 8.3 K-BB% was the fourth-worst in baseball among qualified starters during that June 3rd-August 17th period. Before and after that, Gore pitched like an ace. His velocity was up early in the season, spiking to 96.6 miles per hour from the beginning of the year through July 1st. It was a full mile per hour slower from that point on.
