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Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun continues to rehabilitate from offseason back surgery. 

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Braun’s Recovery from Surgery Behind Schedule

Sunday, Jan. 31

Braun isn’t expected to be fully rehabilitated before the start of camp, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. He could still be ready in time for Opening Day, however.

He had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back a week after the 2015 season ended.

Braun, 32, hit .285 with 25 home runs and 84 RBI last season.   

He is one of the few remaining impact players in Milwaukee—along with Jonathan Lucroy and Khris Davis—as the Brewers undergo a rebuilding phase. That process continued Saturday, when the team traded shortstop Jean Segura to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a five-player deal, per the Associated press (via ESPN). 

Braun isn’t allowing the rebuild to adversely affect him, however, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

He added, “I look forward to it. We’re not breaking up a juggernaut team,” per McCalvy. 

That perhaps came in response to comments Lucroy made recently, saying he wanted to play for a World Series title and that he didn’t see the Brewers as a playoff contender this year. He also added, “Rebuilding is not a lot of fun for any veteran guy,” per Haudricourt.

Of course, despite Braun’s public acceptance of the rebuild, he could nonetheless become a very popular trade target, namely if he returns from his back issues and continues to post big numbers. Braun remains one of the most well-rounded players in all of baseball, so teams will come calling if the Brewers struggle early and he is posting big numbers.

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The Washington Nationals announced on Tuesday that they agreed to a deal with veteran pitcher Bronson Arroyo. 

The team also revealed it was a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.

Per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, Arroyo will be receiving a $2 million base deal that is filled with incentives. He can earn up to $8 million if he makes 32 starts in 2016.     

Arroyo, 38, last pitched an MLB game in 2014, when he started 14 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks that season. He went 7-4 with a 4.08 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in 86.0 innings pitched. He missed all of the 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, however.

Arroyo, who won a World Series title with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and was a 2006 National League All-Star and 2010 Gold Glove winner, is a possibility at the bottom of Washington’s rotation.

While he was never an elite pitcher, Arroyo was always an innings-eater who threw 175 or more innings in every season between 2004-2013 and posted 10 or more wins eight times in his career.

The Nationals will be hoping Arroyo can exceed expectations and fit into the fourth or fifth slot in the rotation, giving them quality starts and consistency. He won’t miss a ton of bats or overpower hitters, but he’s an experienced veteran option for Washington and offers it a solid potential option in the rotation. 

That kind of veteran experience could prove vital to a team that is looking to compete for the National League East in 2016.

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Major League Baseball has requested the assistance of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), as it investigates the claims made in the Al Jazeera documentary, “The Dark Side,” that several players received banned substances, per T.J. Quinn of ESPN.com.  

“We’ve had discussions with USADA and are hopeful that together we can make progress in this investigation,” said Dan Halem, MLB‘s chief legal officer, per Quinn.

The NFL won’t be joining the MLB and USADA partnership, however, per Quinn.

“Our review of the matter continues,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Quinn, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “We do not comment on specifics of ongoing reviews.”

In the documentary, Charlie Sly was recorded saying he provided various banned substances to NFL and MLB players. He later recanted those claims, however, though the documentary did show Sly and Chicago Cubs catcher Taylor Teagarden speaking, during which time Teagarden revealed he did receive substances from Sly.

Per Quinn’s report, that has led investigators to believe Sly may have fabricated some, but not all, of the claims made in Al Jazeera’s documentary.

Meanwhile, two MLB players named in the documentary, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, have since filed lawsuits against Al Jazeera America.

For MLB, USADA’s extensive resources and experience within the world of doping would be an obvious aid to its investigation in this matter. The rampant steroid use that marked a generation of baseball players remains one of the biggest controversies and black eyes in MLB history, so incorporating an entity like USADA to aid in this current investigation is a logical step for the league.

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Ian Kennedy may not be the ace he once projected to become, but the Kansas City Royals felt he’s good enough to upgrade their rotation, signing him to a five-year, $70 million deal Saturday.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network passed along word the sides had reached an agreement, and Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal confirmed the report.

Kennedy had been solid if unspectacular for the Padres, finishing the 2014 season 13-13 with a 3.63 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 207 strikeouts in 201 innings pitched. Last year, he regressed, going 9-15 with a 4.28 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 174 strikeouts in 168.1 innings.

Though he didn’t pitch much in his first three seasons with the Yankees, he’s been a steady performer over the past six years, finishing every season with at least 165 innings pitched and 160 strikeouts.

In 2011, he was one of the finest pitchers in baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 198 strikeouts in 222 innings pitched while finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

While that season proved to be an outlier, at the age of 31, he is still capable of being a solid third or fourth option.

Kennedy should slot into the rotation behind Yordano Ventura and Edinson Volquez, at least at the outset. It gives the staff more depth as Kansas City turns its attention toward a repeat World Series bid.

The Royals will need Kennedy more than ever after losing Johnny Cueto in free agency.

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The San Francisco Giants traded right-handed pitcher Cody Hall to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later, announced Arizona. 

The Giants had designated Hall for assignment on Monday to make room for recently signed outfielder Denard Span, per Chris Haft of MLB.com.

Hall, 28, made his MLB debut this past season, appearing in seven contests and posting a 6.48 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings of work. He’s spent his entire pro career coming out of the bullpen, posting a 2.58 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 323 strikeouts in 289.0 innings pitched across all levels in five professional seasons.

Hall has flashed potential during his minor league career, and the Diamondbacks will be hoping he can live up to that potential and bolster a bullpen that was solid if unspectacular last season.  

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Starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen reportedly signed with the Miami Marlins on Tuesday to a five-year deal with a vesting player option for a sixth year, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

ESPN’s Buster Olney confirmed the deal.

According to Rosenthal, the deal is worth $80 million, pending a physical, with the vesting option taking the deal to a potential $96 million valuation, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. Heyman also reported Chen will have an opt-out option after the second year.

Chen, 30, went 11-8 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 153 strikeouts in 191.1 innings last season, the third time in the past four campaigns he threw for 185 or more frames. Both his ERA and WHIP were career bests. 

Chen was Baltimore’s most consistent starter since 2012, eating innings and reliably giving the team quality outings. That made him appealing in the secondary market for starting pitchers once players like David Price, Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto signed their megadeals.

Chen isn’t a star, but he’s a solid option in the middle of a rotation. He’ll slide behind Jose Fernandez, the team’s ace, as the No. 2 starter and give the Marlins a decent option atop the rotation.

The signing has left the Marlins feeling confident, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

The New York Mets and their young, dominant starting rotation might disagree with that assessment. But Chen will bolster a rotation that was mediocre last year and improve the Marlins’ chances in the NL East.

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South Korean reliever Seung-hwan Oh signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, general manager John Mozeliak confirmed at a press conference.  

“Ultimately we brought Oh in to what we feel is already a very dynamic bullpen and he will most definitely add to that,” Mozeliak told reporters.

Oh, nicknamed the “Final Boss,” had a 2.73 ERA, 41 saves and struck out 66 batters in 69.1 innings last season for the Hanshin Tigers. In a career spent in both the Korea Baseball Organization and Japan’s Central League, he’s posted a 1.81 ERA and has struck out 10.7 batters per nine innings.

He was so dominant over the last two seasons in Japan that Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports described him as “the Mariano Rivera of Korea.” According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oh “has a fastball that he throws from 93 mph to 95 mph, and he offsets that with a hard slider and a slower breaking ball.”

He’s made his mark as a closer, though he’ll serve as the setup man in St. Louis, with Trevor Rosenthal—who had 48 saves in 2015—entrenched in the ninth-inning role. The move could prove to be a particularly sly one for St. Louis, which missed out on the big free agents this winter but may have given itself the best late-innings duo in the National League with this signing.

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Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has filed a defamation lawsuit against Al Jazeera America, according to Jim Salisbury of the CSNPhilly.com.

“Today I authorized my attorneys to file suit against Al Jazeera and its reporters. Their irresponsible reporting forced me to take this action to protect my name and to fight back against the spreading of these lies. I will have no further comment, as the filing itself contains all I need to say,” Howard said in a statement, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

Reuters also reported Tuesday that Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is suing Al Jazeera as well. Howard and Zimmerman share an attorney, according to Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports.

An Al Jazeera documentary titled The Dark Side: The Secret World of Sports Doping claimed that players including Howard, Zimmerman and NFL superstar Peyton Manning used steroids and human growth hormone and linked them to a clinic that distributed them. 

Charlie Sly, a pharmacist who allegedly supplied the athletes, claimed that both Howard and Zimmerman used a steroid called Delta-2, per the Huffington Post’s Travis Waldron and Ryan Grim.

Sly recanted his statements from the documentary, however, while Howard, Zimmerman and Manning have all vehemently denied the claims in the film.    

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Pitcher Tyler Clippard is one of the hottest names on the free-agent market among relievers and is sure to have no shortage of interest from teams this winter.  

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Mets, Several Teams Expressing Interest in Clippard

Tuesday, Dec. 15

According to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, the New York Mets “haven’t ruled out” bringing back Clippard, while the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are “seeking relief help” and could be in pursuit of the pitcher.

As Crasnick noted, however, the fact that Clippard remains unsigned to this point is a bit curious:

That workload appeared to take some juice off of his fastball, and Clippard had some struggles down the stretch. He also struggled to command his changeup at points, as John Harper of the New York Daily News pointed out:

Still, in a weak pool of relievers, Clippard will find a home.

“Considering the terrible contracts being given to relievers, he’ll get his money,” one anonymous executive told Crasnick. “He’s too good not to.”

Clippard, 30, finished 5-4 with a 2.92 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, 19 saves and 64 strikeouts in 2015. He was solid overall for the Mets after being acquired from the Oakland Athletics in July, settling into the setup man role in the eighth inning. 

His versatility is a major plus for prospective teams, as Clippard can serve as the closer if called upon to do so, as he did in Oakland. He is arguably the top reliever left on the market and would certainly be a major contributor to a contending team looking to shore up the late innings.

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred won’t lift the lifetime ban for all-time hits leader Pete Rose, informing him both over the phone and in writing, according to MLB.com.

Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times and T.J. Quinn of ESPN.com also reported Rose wouldn’t be reinstated Monday.

In his decision, Manfred said he had “little confidence that [Rose] has a mature understanding of his wrongful conduct, that he has accepted full responsibility for it, or that he understands the damage he has caused.

“In short, Mr. Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life.”

Manfred also expressed concern that Rose continues to bet on horses and sports, including baseball.

Reds president and CEO Bob Castellini later released a statement on the decision:

The Commissioner called me this morning prior to the announcement. We respect his decision on the matter of Pete Rose and are grateful for his diligence and the amount of time he spent on the matter. We also appreciate that Commissioner stated that HOF consideration is a separate issue and we and the fans think he deserves that opportunity. We are pleased that we have had and will continue to have opportunities to commemorate Pete’s remarkable on-field accomplishments. Any future plans to celebrate Pete’s career with the Reds first will be discussed with the Commissioner and then will be communicated publicly at the appropriate time. 

Manfred didn’t see a conflict of interest with MLB‘s relationship with daily fantasy sports and doesn’t consider it gambling, according to Quinn. 

Rose, baseball’s all-time leader in hits, has been banned from baseball since 1989, when the MLB determined he bet on games while he was the manager of the Reds. Rose has repeatedly applied for reinstatement to the game, though he continued to deny he bet on baseball until 2004, when he released an autobiography in which he came clean.

Evidence that Rose also bet on the game as a player, including an extensive Outside the Lines report in June, has continued to mount over the years and damaged Rose’s chances for reinstatement. 

Rose, 74, finished his career with an MLB-record 4,256 hits. He was a lifetime .303 hitter who added 160 home runs, 1,314 RBI, 2,165 runs and 198 stolen bases in 24 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and, briefly, the Montreal Expos. He won three batting titles, three World Series titles and was selected to 17 All-Star Games.

He was one of the finest players in the game’s history, but Manfred’s decision is a major blow to Rose ever being reinstated to the game. Manfred had made it a point to hear Rose’s case when he was appointed to be commissioner and said Rose “deserves a fair, full hearing,” in April, per NBC News’ Chuck Todd (via Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News).

That the result of that hearing was Rose remaining banned from the game makes it all the more unlikely that Rose will ever be reinstated during his lifetime.

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