Veteran reliever Joe Smith announced his retirement on Wednesday, calling it a career after spending parts of 15 seasons in the Major Leagues. Via his representatives at Excel Sports Management, Smith issued a lengthy statement thanking the Mets, Guardians, Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays, Astros, Mariners and Twins organizations in addition to his coaches, teammates, trainers and … [Read more...] about Joe Smith Announces Retirement
Julio Rodríguez Tops 2023 Pre-Arb Bonus Pool
Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez will receive $1,865,349 from the $50MM bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, the highest of the 2023 recipients, per a report from Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. The AP later released a full list of bonus recipients. A notable new element of the current collective bargaining agreement is that $50MM is to be taken from central … [Read more...] about Julio Rodríguez Tops 2023 Pre-Arb Bonus Pool
Latest On J.D. Martinez’s Market
Among the top free agents on the market his offseason, one could argue that no player has had his market impacted more by the presence of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani than veteran slugger J.D. Martinez. After all, the Dodgers declined to extend Martinez a qualifying offer last month despite interest in a reunion due to the complications that would arise if the club landed … [Read more...] about Latest On J.D. Martinez’s Market
Royals, Mariners Have Shown Trade Interest In Tyler O’Neill
The Cardinals have been exploring trade scenarios involving outfielder Tyler O’Neill — president of baseball operations John Mozeliak acknowledged as much at this week’s Winter Meetings — and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the Royals and Mariners are two of the several teams who’ve spoken to the Cards about the 28-year-old O’Neill. A two-time Gold … [Read more...] about Royals, Mariners Have Shown Trade Interest In Tyler O’Neill
East Notes: Red Sox, Mets, Taylor, Arozarena
The Red Sox are known to be interested in adding to the front of their rotation this winter, though Alex Speier of the Boston Globe suggests that desire could come with a major caveat. Speier relays that the club prefers to avoid signing a player attached to a Qualifying Offer. President of baseball operations Craig Breslow neither confirmed nor denied that preference when … [Read more...] about East Notes: Red Sox, Mets, Taylor, Arozarena