December 5, 2018 11:20 PM PST
As the final week of the 2018 MLB regular season winds to a
close and we get set for another exciting
postseason [url=http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-jacoby-ellsbury-jersey]Jacoby
Ellsbury Jersey[/url] , it's never too early to start looking ahead to free
agency.This year's free-agent class has been among the most anticipated in
recent memory for years now, with young superstars Bryce Harper and Manny
Machado headlining a star-studded group of players set to hit the open
market.The rumor mill won't really kick into full swing until the annual Winter
Meetings, but let's take a quick run through some early rumors surrounding some
of the top names in this year's class. We've also predicted how this year's
qualifying offers will shake out.Moving Parts on the Philadelphia Phillies
InfieldMaikel FrancoRich Schultz/Getty ImagesThe Phillies were busy on the
free-agent market last offseason, handing multi-year deals to Jake Arrieta,
Carlos Santana, Tommy Hunter and Pat Neshek. This winter is expected to be
equally busy, and an expected pursuit of top-tier free agent Manny Machado could
have a ripple effect on the team's infield alignment.Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports
Philadelphia wrote:"Recently, [manager Gabe] Kapler has used Santana at third as
a way to improve the Phillies' outfield defense. With Santana at third, Rhys
Hoskins can move from left field to his natural first base and Kapler can use a
stronger defender in left."There are variables to consider when weighing the
possibility of using Santana at third base full time. One is Manny Machado. The
Phillies are going to make a free-agent run at him this winter. He would look
good at third base, but he might want to play shortstop and the Phils would
probably be open to that to get him. Another is Maikel Franco. He had some big
downs and some big ups in 2018. Will the Phils keep him or look to deal him? The
guess here is they will look to move him."Franco, 26, has posted a 105 OPS+ with
22 home runs and 68 RBI this season, and he has team control through the 2021
season.However, limited on-base skills (.314 OBP, 6.2 percent walk rate, per
FanGraphs) and below-average defense (-12 DRS, -6.9 UZR/150, per FanGraphs) have
limited him to 0.2 WAR.Still, he'd be an intriguing buy-low candidate for a team
with the patience to try to unlock his full potential.Either way, there are
enough moving parts on the Philadelphia infield to make this one of the more
compelling storylines of free agency.Nelson Cruz Interested in Re-Signing with
Seattle MarinersNelson CruzJayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images"He's happy in Seattle
and wants to stay there," Nelson Cruz's agent Bryce Dixon told Ryan Divish of
the Seattle Times. "He's hopeful we can work something out. From his
perspective, he definitely wants to come back. He loves Seattle."Cruz, 38, is
having another excellent season for Seattle with a 138 OPS+ and 36 home runs.In
four seasons with the team, he's averaged 40 home runs and 102 RBI while posting
a 148 OPS+, and he's been good for 16.9 WAR over the course of his
four-year [url=http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-don-mattingly-jersey]http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-don-mattingly-jersey[/url] ,
$57 million deal.His advanced age makes anything beyond a one-year deal with a
second-year mutual option unlikely, but it's hard to bet against another strong
season given his consistent production.The Mariners have other factors to
consider, though.An aging Robinson Cano might fit best at DH at this point in
his career, but Cruz is also limited to DH duties, so there might not be an
obvious spot for both players.Starting pitching also figures to be the primary
focus of the offseason, so the team might opt to use the $14.25 million it paid
Cruz this season to help add an impact arm.Cruz won't be eligible for a
qualifying offer since he's already received one in his career, so that should
help expand the market of interested teams.The Qualifying Offer MarketBryce
HarperMark Brown/Getty ImagesMark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors recently wrote a
piece previewing the qualifying offer market. He broke the potential candidates
into the following categories:"The Easy Calls":Patrick Corbin, Yasmani Grandal,
Bryce Harper, Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel, A.J. Pollock,Elvis Andrus (opt-out)
and Clayton Kershaw (opt-out)."The Borderline Cases":Michael Brantley, Charlie
Morton, DJ LeMahieu and Justin Smoak (team option)."Probably Not":Adrian Beltre,
Jed Lowrie, Nick Markakis, Hyun-Jin Ryu, David Price (opt-out)The qualifying
offer figure was $17.4 million last winter and will likely sit around $18
million for this offseason.Cruz and Daniel Murphy are not eligible for an offer
since they've already received one in their careers, while Machado, J.A. Happ
and Cole Hamels can't be extended an offer since they were traded at
midseason.So let's take a crack at predicting what will happen with those 17
players.Receives an Offer and Accepts:Charlie MortonReceives an Offer and
Declines:Patrick Corbin, Yasmani Grandal, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Dallas
Keuchel, Craig KimbrelDoesn't Receive an Offer: Adrian
Beltre [url=http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-aroldis-chapman-jersey]Aroldis
Chapman Jersey[/url] ,Michael Brantley, DJ LeMahieu, Jed Lowrie, Nick Markakis,
A.J. Pollock, Hyun-Jin RyuOther:Andrus and Price (opt-in), Smoak (option
exercised)Teams have five days after the conclusion of the World Series to
extend qualifying offers to players, and players then have 10 days to decide
whether to accept or reject, so it's always the first item on a lengthy
checklist of notable offseason dates.Will Machado sign with the Phillies and
cause an infield shakeup? Is Cruz part of the Seattle Mariners' future plans?
How will the qualifying offer process impact his year's free-agent class?We're
still more than a month away from the start of the offseason, but there are
already plenty of fun talking points surrounding free agency.All stats courtesy
of Baseball Referenceunless otherwise stated and accurate through Sept. 25.
BOSTON (AP) — Chris Sale left the mound to a standing ovation and then waited
along with anxious Red Sox fans while the Boston bullpen frittered away most of
a five-run lead.Bases loaded in the sixth inning. Two runs.Bases loaded, nobody
out in the seventh. The Yankees scored another.A leadoff home run by Aaron Judge
in the ninth made it a one-run game.It was only after Craig Kimbrel struck out
the last three New York batters that Sale could savor the first postseason win
of his career, a 5-4 victory over Boston’s longtime rivals Friday night in Game
1 of the AL Division Series.“There’s no holding back now. It’s everything on the
table, everything you’ve got,” Sale said after striking out eight and taking a
four-hit shutout into the sixth. “I threw every pitch tonight like he was going
to take the ball out of my hand after. You have to go up there and do what you
have to do to get a win.”Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Saturday night,
with Boston starting another pitcher trying to overcome a history of postseason
struggles: left-hander David Price is 0-8 as a starter in the playoffs. He’ll
face Yankees righty Masahiro Tanaka.“It’s a five-game series, and getting them
to use the bullpen is a good thing,” Judge said. “We were able to scratch a
couple of runs off them. We’ve got to build off that coming into tomorrow.”In
the first playoff matchup between the teams since 2004, J.D. Martinez hit a
three-run homer off J.A. Happ in the first. The 108-win Red Sox made it 5-0 in
the third and then white-knuckled it as New York slowly chipped away after Sale
left with two on and one out in the sixth.New York, which won 100 regular-season
games plus the AL wild-card game against Oakland, got three singles and two
walks in the sixth, scoring two before Brandon Workman — the only player on the
Red Sox roster with a World Series ring — struck out Gleyber Torres to end the
threat.The Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh but scored
just one run. Boston manager Alex Cora used scheduled Game 3 starter Rick
Porcello to get two outs in the eighth before turning to Kimbrel for a four-out
save.“We almost caught them,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought we
did a really good job of pecking away, a good job of giving ourselves
opportunities, and just ran out of time there.”It was the first ALDS matchup
between the clubs and the first in the postseason since the Red Sox staged an
unprecedented rally from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 AL Championship Series to
advance and then won the World Series to end their 86-year dynasty of
disappointment. (They also met in the ALCS the year before, and it ended with
Boone’s 11th-inning homer in Game 7, better known in Boston as the game when
manager Grady Little inexplicably left a tiring Pedro Martinez on the
mound.)Boston fans were
ready [url=http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-didi-gregorius-jersey]Didi
Gregorius Jersey[/url] , with derisive chants for the Yankees during
introductions and again after J.D. Martinez smacked a 2-0 fastball into the
glove of a stem cell researcher in the front row of the seats above the Green
Monster.“Everything you did before in the season doesn’t matter anymore. This is
the playoffs,” said Martinez, who signed with Boston as a free agent in the
offseason. “You know what the situation is. You’re playing the Yankees. This is
the playoffs. You have to go. And now is the time to get it going.”Sale left
with a 5-0 lead after giving up singles to Judge and Stanton in the sixth; both
came around to score. In all, Sale was charged with two runs on five hits and
two walks in 5 1/3 innings — the longest playoff outing for a Red Sox starter
since 2013.Martinez and Benintendi each had two hits for Boston. Judge had three
hits, including the only extra-base hit, and Luke Voit had two singles for New
York, which went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.Happ lasted just two
innings for his shortest postseason start, allowing five runs on four hits and a
walk while striking out two.POWER OUTAGEThe Yankees had 10 hits, but the first
nine were singles. Stanton, who hit 38 homers in the regular season, had four of
the Yankees’ 13 strikeouts.“Sometimes you know that goes with Giancarlo
sometimes,” Boone said. “If you make pitches against him, his outs are a lot of
times strikeouts. … You have to live with that sometimes.”NO RELIEFRyan Brasier
faced three batters and two of them reached. Workman got a big out but also
allowed two hits and a walk. Matt Barnes walked one but allowed an inherited
runner to score. Even the usually reliable Kimbrel coughed up a run.Just like
that, the 5-0 lead was down to one run.It was exactly the kind of performance
that had Boston fans in a panic entering the series. But Workman insisted the
team is still confident in its bullpen.“I believe we’re the guys that are going
to get the job done,” he said.HAMMY TIMEAaron Hicks singled off Sale to start
the fourth — ending an 11-pitch at-bat — but once he got to first base he began
flexing his right leg. After a visit from the trainer, Hicks was replaced by
pinch-runner Brett Gardner.Hicks, who battled hamstring problems down the
stretch, was also late going out to center field in the bottom of the first. The
team said he had tightness in his right hamstring and was being evaluated.“He’ll
get examined further tomorrow, and have an MRI and everything,” Boone said. “He
felt like it might have been cramping, so we’ll just have to see.”UP NEXTPrice
pitches for the Red Sox in search of his first playoff win as a starter, though
he has two postseason wins in relief. Tanaka pitched seven shutout innings in
Game 5 of the ALCS against Houston last year.
As the final week of the 2018 MLB regular season winds to a
close and we get set for another exciting
postseason [url=http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-jacoby-ellsbury-jersey]Jacoby
Ellsbury Jersey[/url] , it's never too early to start looking ahead to free
agency.This year's free-agent class has been among the most anticipated in
recent memory for years now, with young superstars Bryce Harper and Manny
Machado headlining a star-studded group of players set to hit the open
market.The rumor mill won't really kick into full swing until the annual Winter
Meetings, but let's take a quick run through some early rumors surrounding some
of the top names in this year's class. We've also predicted how this year's
qualifying offers will shake out.Moving Parts on the Philadelphia Phillies
InfieldMaikel FrancoRich Schultz/Getty ImagesThe Phillies were busy on the
free-agent market last offseason, handing multi-year deals to Jake Arrieta,
Carlos Santana, Tommy Hunter and Pat Neshek. This winter is expected to be
equally busy, and an expected pursuit of top-tier free agent Manny Machado could
have a ripple effect on the team's infield alignment.Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports
Philadelphia wrote:"Recently, [manager Gabe] Kapler has used Santana at third as
a way to improve the Phillies' outfield defense. With Santana at third, Rhys
Hoskins can move from left field to his natural first base and Kapler can use a
stronger defender in left."There are variables to consider when weighing the
possibility of using Santana at third base full time. One is Manny Machado. The
Phillies are going to make a free-agent run at him this winter. He would look
good at third base, but he might want to play shortstop and the Phils would
probably be open to that to get him. Another is Maikel Franco. He had some big
downs and some big ups in 2018. Will the Phils keep him or look to deal him? The
guess here is they will look to move him."Franco, 26, has posted a 105 OPS+ with
22 home runs and 68 RBI this season, and he has team control through the 2021
season.However, limited on-base skills (.314 OBP, 6.2 percent walk rate, per
FanGraphs) and below-average defense (-12 DRS, -6.9 UZR/150, per FanGraphs) have
limited him to 0.2 WAR.Still, he'd be an intriguing buy-low candidate for a team
with the patience to try to unlock his full potential.Either way, there are
enough moving parts on the Philadelphia infield to make this one of the more
compelling storylines of free agency.Nelson Cruz Interested in Re-Signing with
Seattle MarinersNelson CruzJayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images"He's happy in Seattle
and wants to stay there," Nelson Cruz's agent Bryce Dixon told Ryan Divish of
the Seattle Times. "He's hopeful we can work something out. From his
perspective, he definitely wants to come back. He loves Seattle."Cruz, 38, is
having another excellent season for Seattle with a 138 OPS+ and 36 home runs.In
four seasons with the team, he's averaged 40 home runs and 102 RBI while posting
a 148 OPS+, and he's been good for 16.9 WAR over the course of his
four-year [url=http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-don-mattingly-jersey]http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-don-mattingly-jersey[/url] ,
$57 million deal.His advanced age makes anything beyond a one-year deal with a
second-year mutual option unlikely, but it's hard to bet against another strong
season given his consistent production.The Mariners have other factors to
consider, though.An aging Robinson Cano might fit best at DH at this point in
his career, but Cruz is also limited to DH duties, so there might not be an
obvious spot for both players.Starting pitching also figures to be the primary
focus of the offseason, so the team might opt to use the $14.25 million it paid
Cruz this season to help add an impact arm.Cruz won't be eligible for a
qualifying offer since he's already received one in his career, so that should
help expand the market of interested teams.The Qualifying Offer MarketBryce
HarperMark Brown/Getty ImagesMark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors recently wrote a
piece previewing the qualifying offer market. He broke the potential candidates
into the following categories:"The Easy Calls":Patrick Corbin, Yasmani Grandal,
Bryce Harper, Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel, A.J. Pollock,Elvis Andrus (opt-out)
and Clayton Kershaw (opt-out)."The Borderline Cases":Michael Brantley, Charlie
Morton, DJ LeMahieu and Justin Smoak (team option)."Probably Not":Adrian Beltre,
Jed Lowrie, Nick Markakis, Hyun-Jin Ryu, David Price (opt-out)The qualifying
offer figure was $17.4 million last winter and will likely sit around $18
million for this offseason.Cruz and Daniel Murphy are not eligible for an offer
since they've already received one in their careers, while Machado, J.A. Happ
and Cole Hamels can't be extended an offer since they were traded at
midseason.So let's take a crack at predicting what will happen with those 17
players.Receives an Offer and Accepts:Charlie MortonReceives an Offer and
Declines:Patrick Corbin, Yasmani Grandal, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Dallas
Keuchel, Craig KimbrelDoesn't Receive an Offer: Adrian
Beltre [url=http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-aroldis-chapman-jersey]Aroldis
Chapman Jersey[/url] ,Michael Brantley, DJ LeMahieu, Jed Lowrie, Nick Markakis,
A.J. Pollock, Hyun-Jin RyuOther:Andrus and Price (opt-in), Smoak (option
exercised)Teams have five days after the conclusion of the World Series to
extend qualifying offers to players, and players then have 10 days to decide
whether to accept or reject, so it's always the first item on a lengthy
checklist of notable offseason dates.Will Machado sign with the Phillies and
cause an infield shakeup? Is Cruz part of the Seattle Mariners' future plans?
How will the qualifying offer process impact his year's free-agent class?We're
still more than a month away from the start of the offseason, but there are
already plenty of fun talking points surrounding free agency.All stats courtesy
of Baseball Referenceunless otherwise stated and accurate through Sept. 25.
BOSTON (AP) — Chris Sale left the mound to a standing ovation and then waited
along with anxious Red Sox fans while the Boston bullpen frittered away most of
a five-run lead.Bases loaded in the sixth inning. Two runs.Bases loaded, nobody
out in the seventh. The Yankees scored another.A leadoff home run by Aaron Judge
in the ninth made it a one-run game.It was only after Craig Kimbrel struck out
the last three New York batters that Sale could savor the first postseason win
of his career, a 5-4 victory over Boston’s longtime rivals Friday night in Game
1 of the AL Division Series.“There’s no holding back now. It’s everything on the
table, everything you’ve got,” Sale said after striking out eight and taking a
four-hit shutout into the sixth. “I threw every pitch tonight like he was going
to take the ball out of my hand after. You have to go up there and do what you
have to do to get a win.”Game 2 in the best-of-five series is Saturday night,
with Boston starting another pitcher trying to overcome a history of postseason
struggles: left-hander David Price is 0-8 as a starter in the playoffs. He’ll
face Yankees righty Masahiro Tanaka.“It’s a five-game series, and getting them
to use the bullpen is a good thing,” Judge said. “We were able to scratch a
couple of runs off them. We’ve got to build off that coming into tomorrow.”In
the first playoff matchup between the teams since 2004, J.D. Martinez hit a
three-run homer off J.A. Happ in the first. The 108-win Red Sox made it 5-0 in
the third and then white-knuckled it as New York slowly chipped away after Sale
left with two on and one out in the sixth.New York, which won 100 regular-season
games plus the AL wild-card game against Oakland, got three singles and two
walks in the sixth, scoring two before Brandon Workman — the only player on the
Red Sox roster with a World Series ring — struck out Gleyber Torres to end the
threat.The Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh but scored
just one run. Boston manager Alex Cora used scheduled Game 3 starter Rick
Porcello to get two outs in the eighth before turning to Kimbrel for a four-out
save.“We almost caught them,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought we
did a really good job of pecking away, a good job of giving ourselves
opportunities, and just ran out of time there.”It was the first ALDS matchup
between the clubs and the first in the postseason since the Red Sox staged an
unprecedented rally from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 AL Championship Series to
advance and then won the World Series to end their 86-year dynasty of
disappointment. (They also met in the ALCS the year before, and it ended with
Boone’s 11th-inning homer in Game 7, better known in Boston as the game when
manager Grady Little inexplicably left a tiring Pedro Martinez on the
mound.)Boston fans were
ready [url=http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-didi-gregorius-jersey]Didi
Gregorius Jersey[/url] , with derisive chants for the Yankees during
introductions and again after J.D. Martinez smacked a 2-0 fastball into the
glove of a stem cell researcher in the front row of the seats above the Green
Monster.“Everything you did before in the season doesn’t matter anymore. This is
the playoffs,” said Martinez, who signed with Boston as a free agent in the
offseason. “You know what the situation is. You’re playing the Yankees. This is
the playoffs. You have to go. And now is the time to get it going.”Sale left
with a 5-0 lead after giving up singles to Judge and Stanton in the sixth; both
came around to score. In all, Sale was charged with two runs on five hits and
two walks in 5 1/3 innings — the longest playoff outing for a Red Sox starter
since 2013.Martinez and Benintendi each had two hits for Boston. Judge had three
hits, including the only extra-base hit, and Luke Voit had two singles for New
York, which went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.Happ lasted just two
innings for his shortest postseason start, allowing five runs on four hits and a
walk while striking out two.POWER OUTAGEThe Yankees had 10 hits, but the first
nine were singles. Stanton, who hit 38 homers in the regular season, had four of
the Yankees’ 13 strikeouts.“Sometimes you know that goes with Giancarlo
sometimes,” Boone said. “If you make pitches against him, his outs are a lot of
times strikeouts. … You have to live with that sometimes.”NO RELIEFRyan Brasier
faced three batters and two of them reached. Workman got a big out but also
allowed two hits and a walk. Matt Barnes walked one but allowed an inherited
runner to score. Even the usually reliable Kimbrel coughed up a run.Just like
that, the 5-0 lead was down to one run.It was exactly the kind of performance
that had Boston fans in a panic entering the series. But Workman insisted the
team is still confident in its bullpen.“I believe we’re the guys that are going
to get the job done,” he said.HAMMY TIMEAaron Hicks singled off Sale to start
the fourth — ending an 11-pitch at-bat — but once he got to first base he began
flexing his right leg. After a visit from the trainer, Hicks was replaced by
pinch-runner Brett Gardner.Hicks, who battled hamstring problems down the
stretch, was also late going out to center field in the bottom of the first. The
team said he had tightness in his right hamstring and was being evaluated.“He’ll
get examined further tomorrow, and have an MRI and everything,” Boone said. “He
felt like it might have been cramping, so we’ll just have to see.”UP NEXTPrice
pitches for the Red Sox in search of his first playoff win as a starter, though
he has two postseason wins in relief. Tanaka pitched seven shutout innings in
Game 5 of the ALCS against Houston last year.