A slew of signings, albeit minor ones as we enter 2024
Team information
[MLB Trade Rumors] Diamondbacks Sign Logan Allen To Minor League Contract – Allen, 26, is the older of the 2 Logan Allens with MLB expertise. As with the present Guardians starter of the identical identify, he was as soon as a reasonably well-regarded prospect within the Cleveland farm system. The 26-year-old Allen has but to seek out a lot MLB success, nonetheless. Over three seasons in Cleveland, he pitched to a 5.45 ERA in 69 1/3 innings. The Guardians waived him in May 2022, the place he was nabbed by the Orioles. He made three reduction appearances earlier than Baltimore outrighted him from the 40-man roster. Those are Allen’s most recent MLB outings. He has spent the previous 12 months and a half in Triple-A.
[SI] Diamondbacks Reported to Have Signed SS Kevin Newman – The D-backs will hope the veteran infielder can present some depth and choices, backing up Geraldo Perdomo, the presumptive starter at quick. The switch-hitting Perdomo has been far much less efficient towards left-hand pitching and the crew could also be hesitant to begin Jordan Lawlar as a platoon bench participant, preferring him to develop additional in Triple-A Reno and get on a regular basis at-bats. Thus the Newman signing provides them an possibility ought to they resolve Lawlar wants extra time to develop.
[The Comeback] D-backs signal former Gold Glove winner Tucker Barnhart – Barnhart’s defensive abilities are his calling card. He’s a two-time Gold Glove Award winner for his distinctive framing and skill to deal with pitchers. His throwing arm can be above common, contributing to his excessive caught-stealing price. Barnhart has a .245 profession batting common with 53 home runs, 286 RBIs, and a .674 OPS.. While not recognized for his hitting prowess, Barnhart has respectable on-base (.319) and slugging percentages (.356) for his profession, indicating his capacity to get on base and hit some additional bases.
[Venom Strikes] Designated hitter choices nonetheless on the free agent marketplace for the Arizona Diamondbacks – The Arizona Diamondbacks want a delegated hitter. The National League West has grow to be a critical uphill battle for the Snakes. The Dodgers are giving out clean checks to whoever they really feel like, and whereas the D-Backs positive do have a powerful rotation, they’ve a large gap open of their line-up. But if the Diamondbacks correctly fill this gap within the line-up, they may considerably enhance their beginning 9. There are sufficient full-timers and semi-regulars nonetheless on the free agent market they may pursue to massively enhance their line-up. So, who’re the most effective nonetheless on the market?
[SI] What’s Next for the Diamondbacks Offseason? – Unless the crew is ready to go properly past the $150 million threshold talked about above, the perceived higher-end choices similar to J.D. Martinez, Jorge Soler, & Teoscar Hernandez are seemingly out of attain. Each of them is projected to obtain a take care of a mean annual wage of $14-16 million (in keeping with Roster Resource crowd sourcing). Slightly inexpensive choices might embody Rhys Hoskins, Justin Turner, or Joc Pederson, every projected to earn $12 million in 2024. Each of them would push the crew as much as or barely over the $150 million threshold.
And, elsewhere…
[CBSSports.com] MLB offseason grades – We’re already nearing the halfway level between the ultimate out of final fall’s World Series and the primary pitch of Opening Day 2024. If that feels off, it is in all probability as a result of this offseason has been inconsistently paced. The extended, sequenced free companies of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto put the remainder of the market on ice. As a consequence, 15 of CBS Sports’ prime 25 free brokers stay available. The commerce market has additionally moved at a glacial tempo, with a number of huge names nonetheless anticipated to alter fingers earlier than springtime. With a lot offseason left to go, when it comes to motion if not time, we really feel obligated to match these marks to progress experiences fairly than report playing cards. Loads can change, in different phrases.
[MLB] MLB publicizes groups taking part in 2024 Desert Invitational – Major League Baseball right this moment introduced the eight Division-I groups who will compete within the 2024 MLB Desert Invitational, MLB’s annual Arizona-based match designed to have a good time the normal begin to the faculty baseball season. The match will likely be held the weekend of February Sixteenth-Nineteenth in a round-robin format throughout three places all through the Greater Phoenix space – (1) Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, (2) Sloan Park, and (3) Grand Canyon University. MLB Network will solely air three LIVE video games with Gregg Caserta, Dan Plesac and Jim Callis on the decision, whereas eight of the twelve contests will stream on MLB.com.
[FOX Sports] Who hit probably the most irrelevant home run of the 2023 MLB season? – The premise is easy: All home runs are influential, however in case you ranked all 5,868 home runs from the 2023 season, one among them must be the least necessary. That’s simply math. Out there, within the baseball world of 2023, was a most forgettable lengthy ball, a round-tripper that warranted almost zero dialog or mind area, and we’re right here to seek out it. Any variety of elements could make a homer significant — the batter who hit it, the pitcher who allowed it, the dimensions of the gang that witnessed it, the context of the sport inside the bigger season — and we’re right here to shred away all the importance.
Rating: B+
Dir: John Woo
Star: Joel Kinnaman, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kid Cudi, Harold Torres
Know what the saddest factor is? That the poster touts this as being “From the producer of John Wick.” Really? Rather than promoting that it’s “By the director of Face-Off, Mission: Impossible II and Hard Boiled, mofos!” With all due respect to Basil Iwanyk, I don’t suppose his identify precisely will get individuals working to the cinema. I suppose it signifies how far Woo’s inventory has fallen. It has been twenty years since his final movie in Hollywood, the underwhelming Paycheck. But he’s again, with an audacious and completely divisive entry, which feels prefer it was made as the results of a drunken wager. “Betcha can’t make a whole movie without dialogue, Johnny.” Challenge accepted.
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