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With the Atlanta Braves limping to the National League‘s worst record to start the season, the team is a prime candidate to have a fire sale and stock up on prospects, leaving outfielder Nick Markakis as a possible candidate to be dealt. 

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Several Teams Showing Interest in Markakis

Monday, May 23

Per Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies are “looking at” Markakis, “though the money is an issue there, especially with the Royals.”

According to Spotrac, Markakis is due a $10.5 million base salary with a $500,000 signing bonus in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, so his addition won’t be cheap for prospective buyers.

And the 32-year-old hasn’t exactly been lighting up opposing pitching this season, hitting .245 with one home run and 24 RBI. He did hit .296 with the Braves last season, though he managed only three home runs and 53 RBI. It was the first season in his career he didn’t hit 10 or more home runs.

Nonetheless, Markakis remains a good defensive outfielder and was a Gold Glover in right field twice during his time with the Baltimore Orioles (2011, 2014), giving him added value.

And while his .354 on-base percentage is hardly elite, he’s still managed to find ways to get on base despite his low batting average this season.

Both the Royals and Phillies are intriguing options for Markakis, though perhaps for opposite reasons. The defending World Series champions are just 22-21 this season and could use added depth in the outfield to bolster another potential October run. Meanwhile, the Phillies are one of the biggest surprises in baseball and currently sit at 25-19 after being MLB‘s worst team a year ago.

With the Braves mired in the basement and unlikely to claw their way out, players like Markakis will almost assuredly be dealt this year, and more contending teams will likely join the fray for his services. Even if the Royals or Phillies don’t pull the trigger, there will be a team on the market willing to absorb his salary over the next two seasons.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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Boston Red Sox reliever Carson Smith is dealing with elbow soreness which landed him on the 15-day disabled list Friday.

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Smith Heading for Second DL Stint of Season

Friday, May 20

The Red Sox announced that Smith was placed on the DL and called up right-handed pitcher Noe Ramirez to replace him on the roster.

Smith returned to the roster on May 3 after initially being placed on the disabled list on April 3 with a right flexor muscle strain, but manager John Farrell recently revealed that another trip to the DL was possible due to issues with his recovery between appearances, according to ESPN.com’s Douglas Tucker.

Smith, 26, was a breakout performer for the Seattle Mariners in 2015, compiling a 2-5 record with a 2.31 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 92 strikeouts in 70 innings. Some thought that Carson might be the closer of the future in Seattle, but the team dealt him to Boston in the offseason.

Carson has appeared in just three games this season due to injury, and he has yet to surrender an earned run, while posting two strikeouts in 2.2 innings.

The Red Sox added Carson to be a late-innings setup man, with Craig Kimbrel entrenched in the closer role and Koji Uehara likely to handle the majority of the eighth-inning duties. For Boston, Carson and Junichi Tazawa are the optimal pair to handle the seventh inning or slide into the eighth on Uehara’s nights off.

That means Tazawa will undertake a heavier load with Carson again sidelined. It could also lead to an increased role for Robbie Ross, who has worked primarily against lefties as the team’s top southpaw reliever.

Nonetheless, the Red Sox have a solid bullpen, especially on the back end, so Carson’s latest injury shouldn’t be devastating. Still, Carson is a solid reliever and a major part of the team’s depth, so Boston will feel his absence.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum has signed with the Los Angeles Angels, as the team announced, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Thursday it will be a $2.5 million deal with another $1.7 million in incentives.

“To sign a contract with the Angels meant the world to me,” Lincecum said, per Shaikin.

“Success will be being healthy at the end of this season, and seeing where I am after that,” Lincecum added, per Shaikin.

Lincecum, 31, went 7-4 with a 4.13 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 60 strikeouts in 15 starts and 76.1 innings pitched in 2015 for the San Francisco Giants. 

The former star was one of the finest pitchers in all of baseball from 2008 to 2011 and was a key contributor to the team’s three World Series titles since 2010. But in recent years he’s been mediocre, a far cry from the dominant pitcher he had been.

His 2015 season was cut short after he required surgery on his left hip, but despite that setback, Lincecum doesn’t plan on calling it quits anytime soon.

“To be honest, I feel like I could pitch for a good five or six more years until I can’t anymore at this point,” he told Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com in early May. “I’m nowhere near that point.”

Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Lincecum should need 20 to 30 days in the minor leagues and will throw a simulated game on Monday, per Shaikin.

“He’ll tell us when he’s ready,” Eppler added, per Shaikin. “He’s earned that.”

A change of scenery might be just the thing for Lincecum, though at this point in his career, it seems unlikely he’ll ever be a Cy Young candidate again. Still, he gives the Angels a veteran presence on the mound and a pitcher capable of either giving a team decent innings at the back end of the rotation or sliding into the bullpen as a long reliever. 

Add in his extensive postseason experience, and Lincecum’s signing should bolster the Angels’ pitching staff. 

Los Angeles currently sits 18-22 and has had trouble finding consistency in its starting rotation. The team currently is tied for 22nd in quality starts (16) and ranks below league average in ERA, WHIP and batting average against. 

The team lost Andrew Heaney to season-ending surgery after one start, and Garrett Richards went down with a UCL tear earlier this month. If Lincecum can even be an average MLB starter, he’s going to be a huge boost to a staff in desperate need of help.

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David Ortiz has arguably been one of the best hitters in baseball in the early portion of the season, leading the MLB in slugging percentage (.674) and OPS (1.069). That is making his decision to retire after this season hard to grasp.

For Ortiz, however, the decision goes beyond his ability to produce at the plate, as he told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports:

I’m good with the decision that I’m making because I’ve been thinking about it for a while. It’s been a couple years. Because your body, man. Your body tells you. My body, man. My body’s pretty beat up. Remember, if you look at guys my size, they don’t last. I noticed that seven or eight years ago. That’s why I needed to start doing things right. I lost 25 pounds. I started eating better, do things better. But let me tell you: It’s not easy, man.

As Ortiz, 40, told Passan, he has to visit with the trainer every day, and the travel of an MLB season is wearing on him. Sometimes it hurts just to walk. And he certainly hears the whispers that his prolonged success is due to PED use, especially after he failed a PED test in 2003.

Ortiz, however, attributes that success to his matured mental approach at the plate:

All people talk about is age, age, age, age. Bro, listen. I’m a better hitter now than what I was [expletive] 10 years ago. You know why? Because now I set pitchers up. My mind doesn’t get any confusion. I used to get confused. I’m gonna sit on a slider. Fastball. Boom! Oh, [expletive]. Why’d I take that fastball? My whole program I used to change because of that pitch. Now, I decide I’m gonna sit on a slider. Fastball. I don’t care. Fastball. I don’t care. Breaking ball. I don’t care. Changeup. I don’t care. Slider. Here it is.

That approach has Ortiz hitting .311 with 10 home runs, 33 RBI and 20 runs scored this year. If voters were selecting an AL MVP today, Ortiz would surely be in the running, especially after Boston’s 24-15 start to the season.

It’s always possible that Ortiz could change his mind, of course. Perhaps his hot start will convince him that he has another year or two left in the tank. Perhaps the Red Sox‘s strong core of Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts, along with ace David Price and a strong bullpen, will convince him that he can win another title.

And the Red Sox do have team options over the next two years for Ortiz that could pay him as much as $16 million a year. But as the slugger hinted, it would probably take more than that to keep him in Boston for another season or two.

“Like I said, I’m good with the decision that I made right now,” Ortiz said when discussing the possibility of a team offering him a $25 million-per-year contract. “But would you leave $25 million on the table? I don’t want nobody to offer me that.”

Even that might not be enough to bring Ortiz back, of course. If the Red Sox win a title this season and Ortiz continues to play well and has the chance to retire on the highest of highs, that will be an appealing way to leave baseball. He certainly doesn’t have anything left to prove.

But if he continues to swing the bat like he has to this point, the Red Sox—or another MLB team—may be inclined to offer him that $25 million contract. And that might be enough for the 40-year-old to endure the physical demands for at least one more year.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez suffered a rib injury on May 13, and he was placed on the disabled list on May 17. It’s unclear when he’ll return to the field. 

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Gomez Comments on Injury

Tuesday, May 17

Gomez told reporters he had been hoping to avoid a stint on the DL after hurting his ribs on Friday. 

Gomez Hoping to Find Swing After Slow Start 

Gomez, 30, had a rough start to the 2016 season, as he hit under .200 for much of April. He’s now batting .182 with no home runs and five RBI in 34 games. Those struggles mirrored that of the Astros in general, as the club was dreadful to open the season.

Houston acquired Gomez last season before the trade deadline, and he helped lead the Astros to the playoffs, though he hit just .242 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 41 contests. His 12 total home runs between the Milwaukee Brewers and Astros were his fewest since 2011, though he did play in just 115 games last year.

He was better in the postseason, ripping off two home runs and three RBI in six October games. 

Gomez, one of the game’s more colorful players, remains one of the most important players in Houston’s lineup alongside burgeoning superstar Carlos Correa, established star Jose Altuve and a solid supporting cast that includes Colby Rasmus, George Springer and Luis Valbuena. 

The Astros shouldn’t lose too much production with Gomez out of action, as Preston Tucker—who often serves as the team’s designated hitter—will likely slide into the outfield. But getting Gomez back in the lineup as quickly as possible—and getting him hot down the stretch—will be crucial for the team as it tries to return to the postseason again this year.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced Tuesday he will begin working Aroldis Chapman into some save situations when the closer returns from his suspension on May 9, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. 

Girardi revealed to Hoch that “should the Yankees have a ninth-inning lead against the Royals on Monday, Chapman will get the call, sliding right-hander Dellin Betances and left-hander Andrew Miller into setup roles.”

“I just think it makes our bullpen longer,” Girardi said. “You use guys maybe a little bit differently, which I think helps.”

Chapman, 28, has been serving a 30-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. He was traded to the Yankees from the Cincinnati Reds in December 2015 for prospects Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo, Tony Renda and Caleb Cotham.

He’s been working out at the team’s minor league complex in Tampa, Florida, in anticipation of his return, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has been checking in on his progress, as he told Hoch:

I’m sure he’s champing at the bit to get up here and assist, but he’s not part of the equation right now while we wait it out. It’s one of those scenarios where no news is good news. 

You see the appearances that he has and you see the notations in the game reports from the pitching coach, but it’s not like I’m on the phone every other day or even on a weekly basis, [saying,] ‘Tell me what’s going on.’ He’s just getting his work done, which is good.

Chapman has established himself as one of the finest relievers in baseball during his career, going 4-4 with a 1.63 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and 116 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched and 33 saves in 36 save opportunities for the Reds in 2015.

While he’ll certainly get the chance to save some games upon his return, per Girardi, it’s unclear if he’ll be handed the role on a more permanent basis.

That leaves the roles for Miller and Betances up in the air as well. Miller has been brilliant this year and has yet to sacrifice a run while converting all five of his save opportunities. Betances has been solid if unspectacular, with a 3.09 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and five holds.

Ultimately, deciding on which player best fits in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings is a good problem for Girardi to have going forward. The manager certainly has quite a bit to figure out, however, as the Yankees have limped out to an 8-16 start this season.

But if the Yankees continue to struggle, they could become sellers and would almost certainly move one of their premier relievers for young prospects at the trade deadline. That would be one solution to the team’s excellent depth in the bullpen, though it certainly isn’t an ideal result for an organization expected to compete for titles each season.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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At least one MLB player is expected to be suspended in the coming days for the use of the drug Turinabol, according to T.J. Quinn of ESPN.com, with two sources revealing to Outside the Lines that the “positive test is one of a handful being processed.”  

That means more suspensions are likely to follow, per Quinn’s report, and the “unnamed players who tested positive have been informed, and MLB officials are still wrapping up the administrative process required to suspend them.”

Thus far, both Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Daniel Stumpf have tested positive for Turinabol, an “old-fashioned steroid developed by the East Germans in the 1960s as part of a government doping program,” per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Both players were suspended 80 games by MLB for use of the drug.

The recent spike in positive tests for Turinabol can likely be attributed to more sophisticated testing protocols and procedures.

“The window of detection has moved out to, typically, several weeks, and in some rare circumstances up to months after administration,” Daniel Eichner, the president of the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory in Utah, told Quinn about the testing for Turinabol.

In the past, athletes who were taking the drug knew that it would break down “relatively quickly in the body and used to be undetectable after a week, and sometimes even less time,” per Quinn. 

Victor Conte, the former founder of BALCO—which infamously was in the middle of one of the biggest doping scandals in sports history—is surprised to see any athletes still trying to cheat the system by using Turinabol, as he revealed to Nightengale:

“If you’re smart, you’ll never get caught. The research shows that if you go home from the ballpark, and take a fast-acting testosterone, it will peak at 1 in the morning, get down before the 4-to-1 TE ratio by 4 in the morning, and by the time you get to the ballpark, you can’t test positive. That’s what (Alex Rodriguez) and all of those guys in Biogenesis were doing.

So to get caught now, you’ve got to be pretty dumb. And to use Turinabol, that’s dumber than dumb. Nobody with any brains are using Turinabol. That’s just stupidity.”

With these allegations, it would seem that a fairly substantial number of MLB players didn’t get the memo.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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Washington Nationals superstar Bryce Harper has signed a contract extension with Under Armour, per a Tuesday announcement from the company.

According to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com, the deal is a 10-year extension “believed to be the largest endorsement deal in history for a baseball player.”

Harper released a statement on Instagram about the news:

Harper, 23, is one of MLB‘s brightest young stars. The defending National League MVP and 2012 NL Rookie of the Year is hitting .271 this season with nine home runs and 24 RBI after just 25 games. He’s already well on his way toward replicating his epic 2015 campaign, when he hit .330 with 42 home runs, 99 RBI and 118 runs scored.

His continued ascension to superstardom makes him arguably baseball’s most marketable player, so his decision to re-sign with Under Armour is a major win for the company.

Harper joins an elite group of athletes under the company’s endorsement umbrella that includes Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, golf sensation Jordan Spieth, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and NFL quarterbacks Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers) and Tom Brady (New England Patriots), per Rovell.

“I’m proud to call Under Armour my family, and I know that together, we will achieve great things,” Harper said in a statement, per the Washington Post‘s James Wagner. “Under Armour has been one of my biggest advocates since I began my professional journey, and I can’t wait to share what’s next with the fans.”

The company “will begin selling Harper’s first signature cleat, the Under Armour Harper One, in July,” according to Rovell. But Harper also offers intriguing possibilities from a marketing standpoint, as he’s been seen donning “Make Baseball Fun Again” hats and has been outspoken against baseball’s culture of unwritten rules that he feels constrict personal expression and fun.

That stance makes Harper a likely candidate to resonate with younger fans—a demographic the sport continues to have a hard time reaching—and is just another reason why he’s so marketable and is one of the premier stars for Under Armour.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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Seattle Mariners owner Howard Lincoln has retired, the organization announced on Wednesday.

Mike Salk of 710 ESPN Seattle first reported that Lincoln would be retiring.

Minority owner John Stanton will take over as Chairman and CEO, per the Mariners. 

The Mariners provided a statement from Stanton: 

The Mariners remained owned on a majority basis by Nintendo of America. Per Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, “Lincoln is the company’s voice on the team’s board of directors and had essentially become its de facto owner given the limited involvement of the Japanese company in Mariners affairs.”

Lincoln, 76, took over as the Mariners’ CEO in September 1999 and has often “been credited with the team’s expansion into Japan, a market from which they’ve signed star players including Ichiro Suzuki, Hisashi Iwakuma and Kazuhiro Sasaki,” per 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brent Stecker.

Under Lincoln, the Mariners have had seven winning seasons and reached the postseason twice. According to Baker, the organization has grown dramatically and is now worth in excess of $1 billion.

A major part of that financial growth was assured in 2013, when the team and DirecTV formed a regional sports network, Root Sports Northwest, much like the New York Yankees did with the Yes Network and the Boston Red Sox did with NESN, to name two examples. 

The Mariners are currently 11-9 and in first place in the AL West.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Tuesday he would ban shifts in baseball if he was the commissioner of MLB, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com.

“It is an illegal defense, like basketball. Guard your man, guard your spot,” he said, comparing the shift to basketball’s defensive three-second rule, per Marchand. “If I were commissioner, they would be illegal.”

Yankees starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi lost his no-hitter in the seventh inning Monday evening after the Texas Rangers‘ Nomar Mazara hit a ball through the gap at shortstop that was vacant because the Yankees were running the shift.

While Girardi conceded that he would continue employing the defensive tactic while it was legal, he added: “I just think the field was built this way for a reason, with two on one side and two on the other.”

The shift has also been employed successfully against the Yankees at a consistent rate, another reason for Girardi’s ire.

As Marchand noted, the shift “has hurt the Yankees more than any team the last three seasons. The Yankees have been shifted more than 1,000 times than any other club. Their .269 average is the worst over that span.”

Don’t expect the shift to go away anytime soon, however. While MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred considered banning the shift before taking over his post in 2014, per Marchand, he’s since noted: “When I talked about the defensive shifts, I let myself get into a situation where I speculated about a change I wasn’t serious about.”

Indeed, the shift has become a crucial defensive strategy for many teams. It is most often employed against power hitters who have a tendency to pull the ball, increasing the likelihood that what might otherwise have been a hit will instead find its way to a newly positioned infielder.

There is a trade-off, of course, as the team is left with just one infielder on the other side of the field, meaning a well-placed bunt or opposite-field hit is almost guaranteed to be a hit. That strategic balance is why the shift will likely remain a legal part of the game. 

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

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