Mid morning Wednesday is the best time for Links, I’m told.
Sorry for the late links today everybody! Traffic, am I right? (Editor’s note: this will be backdated to 7:00 AM for ease of homepage management, thank you. -JT)
In Mariners news…
- We have no choice but to stan a princess with exquisite taste in art.
a fan made Andrés Muñoz a print of his cat Matilda and the Queen recognized her likeness immediately
— Lookout Landing (@lookoutlanding.bsky.social) 2025-03-19T03:35:23.976Z
- Tim Booth took a look at whether Rowdy Tellez has done enough to make the big league roster.
- FanGraphs continues their positional power rankings with second base yesterday, and rated the Mariners strength at the position as 22nd in the league.
- Shannon Drayer wrote about Luke Raley’s recent successes in spring, especially his success against left-handed pitching, and how it could open up more opportunities for him this season.
- If you’re heading to T-Mobile for Opening Day next week, be sure to check out the full slate of events, and also this list of the new menu items! I also ask that someone please try the new Lil’ Dump(l)ers, and then tweet at me and let me know how they are. I’m desperately curious.
Around the league…
- The Baltimore Orioles sent two of their top prospects, Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo, to minor league camp. Mayo, who has had a tough time with Major League pitching since being brought up late in 2024 before being optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk, was clearly frustrated by the decision.
- The Tampa Bay Rays have abandoned the idea of building a new stadium in St. Petersburg, instead refocusing on renovating Tropicana Field, to the disappointment of officials in the city.
- Craig Kimbrel is going back to the Braves!
Veteran Craig Kimbrel’s minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves will pay him $2 million in the major leagues, a source tells ESPN. Kimbrel is expected to ramp up for a few weeks and, if all goes according to plan, join the Braves’ big league bullpen. @Ken_Rosenthal on the news.
— Jeff Passan (@jeffpasan.bsky.social) 2025-03-18T22:35:56.044Z
- The Texas Rangers signed left-hander Patrick Corbin to a one-year major league contract.
- The amount of incredible baseball talent that has joined the league from Japan in recent years has more eyes on MLB than ever before.
- Baseball Reference is adjusting their WAR formula!
- Yesterday, the Department of Defense’s website saw the removal of an article about Jackie Robinson’s time served in the U.S. military during WWII. Articles written about his time served were similarly scrubbed from the Army and Air Force webpages. These actions drew statements of dissension from many voices around baseball and sports as a whole, including Jeff Passan and Craig Calcaterra. If you would like to read the original article from the DoD, you can find it archived here.
This used to be the URL for a story on the @DeptofDefense website about Jackie Robinson’s time in the Army. The story has been removed. The ghouls who did this should be ashamed. Jackie Robinson was the embodiment of an American hero. Fix this now. https://t.co/rEpZFUbJ8h
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 19, 2025
Update: The DoD issued a clarification doubling down on the decision to remove the story.
The @DeptofDefense sent ESPN an updated statement from Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot on the removal of the story on its website about Jackie Robinson’s military service.
(The story remains deleted.) pic.twitter.com/ePo3qLLj11
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 19, 2025