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A week after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Carl Crawford is exploring the market for his services and could return to where his MLB career began.

Continue for updates.

Rays Considering Crawford Reunion

Tuesday, June 21

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the Tampa Bay Rays’ interest “likely will increase” if utility man Steve Pearce is “down for more than a few days.” Rosenthal noted the Rays are in need of healthy outfielders.

On Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported the Rays would consider a reunion. 

The Rays are currently sitting in last place in the AL East and are getting almost no production from their outfield. While it’s unlikely they would bench a player like the struggling Desmond Jennings for Crawford, his path to playing time and a possible return to form isn’t as difficult as it would be on a contender.

Crawford Has Declined Since Leaving Tampa Bay

Crawford, 34, was released by the Dodgers on June 13. He was designated for assignment June 5 despite Los Angeles being on the hook for $34 million over the next two years.

“I think we just got to the point with Carl—he’s the type of guy who his entire career has worked very hard and played very hard,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, per Doug Padilla of ESPN.com. “Eventually that just takes a toll on your body. We just felt like we’d gotten to the point where this made the most sense for everyone involved.”

Crawford originally signed a seven-year, $142 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in 2010. He spent just one-and-a-half years in Boston and was eventually shipped to the Dodgers in August 2012 as part of a two-way organizational overhaul. Recovering from Tommy John surgery at the time of his SoCal move, Crawford didn’t make his Dodgers debut until 2013.

For a while, the arrangement worked. Crawford never reached his Tampa heights, but he posted 2.8 and 2.6 wins above replacement in 2013 and 2014, respectively, per FanGraphs. The Dodgers traded for him mostly as a cost of doing business to acquire Adrian Gonzalez, yet he was a solid two-way player despite an obvious decline in foot speed.

Over the last season-and-a-half, Crawford’s career took a major nosedive. He was limited to 69 games in 2015 amid ineffective play and a series of injuries, and he was abysmal across his 30 games this year. At the time of his release, he was hitting .185/.230/.235 without a home run or a stolen base.

It’s also possible Crawford decides to sit out the remainder of 2016, get his body right and land a more appealing job over the winter.

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Less than two years after lavishing Rusney Castillo with a $72.5 million contract, the Boston Red Sox placed the Cuban outfielder on waivers. Castillo later cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reported the news of Castillo’s demotion on Monday. Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball originally reported the news Sunday.  

Castillo, 28, has appeared in only nine games this season. He’s recorded two hits in eight at-bats and spent most of the year in Pawtucket. 

Castillo is owed the balance of his $10.5 million contract in 2016, followed by $46 million over the next four seasons. Billed as a five-tool superstar in the making after defecting from Cuba in 2014, Castillo has ranked among the worst free-agent signings in recent Red Sox history.

He raked the ball in a brief stint toward the end of 2014, hitting .333 with two home runs and six RBI in 10 games. His performance fell off a steep cliff over a larger sample last season, with Castillo batting .253/.288/.359 with five home runs and 29 RBI. Despite being an excellent defender, Castillo had double his wins above replacement (0.8) in that 10-game sample than he did in 2015 (0.4), per FanGraphs.

“My thing is, I just want to be playing baseball,” he said through translator Daveson Perez earlier this month, per Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. “This in itself is a dream for me. The goal for me is to support this team in any way that I can. I’m not thinking about trades, I’m not thinking about where my career might take me next. I know that I want to play good baseball and I want to help the Red Sox.”

The reality here is that Castillo isn’t that bad of a baseball player. He would probably be useful in a platoon for the Red Sox as they await the returns of Blake Swihart and Brock Holt. 

But much like Pablo Sandoval, who was roundly criticized before undergoing shoulder surgery, the disappointment over Castillo’s performances is clouding how he’s viewed. If Castillo were making the minimum, his replacement-level numbers wouldn’t bat an eye. The Red Sox would likely be fine having him man left field for the time being given the ground he covers. 

Even if he’s a half-win above replacement, that’s still a net positive. But Castillo’s making the salary of a solid everyday starter and producing like a platoon player. No team bit on his contract, and it appears the Red Sox are going to have to eat a whole lot of it to even move on.

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Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman completed the first cycle of the 2016 MLB season Wednesday with an 11th-inning single against the Cincinnati Reds. 

It’s the first cycle of Freeman’s career and seventh in Braves history, per the ballclub’s Twitter account. It’s Atlanta’s first since Mark Kotsay pulled off the feat Aug. 14, 2008. 

Matt Kemp of the San Diego Padres had the most recent MLB cycle, hitting for his Aug. 14 of last year. It was almost exactly one year to the day in 2015 that Brock Holt of the Boston Red Sox hit last season’s first cycle.

Kevin McAlpin of 680 The Fan provided a history of Braves cycles:

After striking out in his first at-bat, Freeman hit a double to deep right in the third inning and followed that up with a triple in the fourth. He connected on a game-tying home run in the sixth inning before fanning again in the eighth in what could have been his final at-bat.

The Reds had a runner on in the ninth with no outs but failed to even move him over into scoring position. Tucker Barnhart laid down a poor bunt that led to a fielder’s choice, and then Jose Peraza grounded into a double play to end the scoring chance.

The Braves and Reds played through an uneventful 10th, allowing Freeman to complete his cycle leading off the 11th. He advanced to second on a balk by Tony Cingrani and was on third base with no one out after Adonis Garcia reached via an infield single.

However, the Braves offense sputtered thereafter. Jace Peterson hit into a fielder’s choice after a Nick Markakis walk, and Tyler Flowers and Erick Aybar both made uneventful outs to send it to the 12th.

It appeared Freeman had his first five-hit game when he reached on an infield single in the 12th, but that call was overturned on replay. Atlanta won the game in a wild 13th inning in which the offense went for three runs after the Reds had scored two in the top half. Freeman finished 4-for-7 with two runs scored and one run batted in.

It’s been a fundamentally broken season in Atlanta. There’s not much solace to be found overall, but Freeman remains a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak outlook for the Braves. 

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As Ichiro Suzuki approaches the hallowed number of 4,256 career hits, Pete Rose does not sound like a man ready to abdicate his throne as baseball’s all-time hits king.

“It sounds like in Japan,’’ Rose told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, “they’re trying to make me the Hit Queen. I’m not trying to take anything away from Ichiro, he’s had a Hall of Fame career, but the next thing you know, they’ll be counting his high school hits.”

Suzuki, playing for the Miami Marlins in his 16th MLB season, enters Tuesday night’s game against the San Diego Padres with 4,255 career hits. He’s recorded 2,977 hits in MLB and had 1,278 in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league before coming stateside. 

Rose said Suzuki’s accomplishment cannot be seen in the same light due to NPB’s competition level.

“I don’t think you’re going to find anybody with credibility say that Japanese baseball is equivalent to Major League Baseball,” Rose said. “There are too many guys that fail here, and then become household names there, like Tuffy Rhodes. How can he not do anything here, and hit (a record-tying) 55 home runs (in 2001) over there? It has something to do with the caliber of personnel.”

It is true MLB will not acknowledge Suzuki as the sport’s all-time hit king after he records the two more hits necessary to pass Rose. The former Cincinnati Reds star, banned from the sport and Hall of Fame due to gambling on baseball during his managerial career, will maintain the record.

Since his ban, Rose has created a cottage industry around his hit-king moniker. His website’s tagline is “Home of the Hit King,” and Rose actively promotes himself as such when making appearances at card shows and other events. To put it another way, Rose stands to make money by keeping his record in as high esteem as possible.

Suzuki, who is hitting a remarkable .350 this season at age 42, refused to delve into the situation.

“I would be happy if people covered it or wrote about it,’’ Suzuki said, per Nightengale, “but I really would not care if it wasn’t a big deal. To be quite honest, I’m just going out and doing what I do. What I care about is my teammates and people close to me celebrating it together, that’s what’s most important to me.”

What can be acknowledged is it’s incredible Suzuki has had this level of longevity. He was 27 years old when he made his MLB debut. He spent a majority of his athletic prime in Japan, where he became a renowned superstar but carried the skepticism of someone who could only star in the “minor” leagues.

Suzuki blasted that narrative immediately, winning the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners. He led the AL in hits seven times, won two batting titles and broke the all-time record for hits in a season (262) in 2004.

And Suzuki has three separate campaigns in which he recorded more hits than Rose’s career high of 230.

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Of the so-called four major professional sports leagues in the U.S., MLB‘s draft is by far the hardest to assess.

Even the best players won’t make their big league debuts for two or three seasons. The ones who get fast-tracked are more than likely to be short relievers—guys who aren’t typically drafted high enough to garner national attention.

Mike Trout didn’t become a full-time MLBer until nearly three years after his draft date. Bryce Harper wasn’t down quite two years. And these are all-time outliers.

First overall pick Mickey Moniak probably won’t be in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform until 2019, and he might not get there until 2020. By contrast, Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram will be selected by the Philadelphia 76ers later in June and be expected to be their best player. Instantly.

It just goes to show just how much things can change for baseball players in developmental. So when grading these picks, it’s important to look more for perceived value than going all hot take about the players. Twenty-four teams passed on Trout in 2009. The Los Angeles Angels selected Randal Grichuk one pick before him.

This isn’t an exact science. With that in mind, let’s check in on how things played out.

2016 MLB Draft Grades 

Best Classes

Boston Red Sox

Notable Selections: LHP Jason Groome (12), SS C.J. Chatham (51) and RHP Shaun Anderson (88).

Let’s start with the obvious: Getting Jason Groome at No. 12 is an absolute steal. No one would have batted an eye if the Barnegat High School product went off the board No. 1 overall. He’s a premium left-handed pitching talent equipped with a mid-90s fastball and two solid off-speed pitches (changeup and curve).

Concerns about Groome’s makeup caused him to slip more than anything physical. He has never been in any trouble, but as Zach Braziller of the New York Post noted, teams began scurrying away over “maturity” issues. What those issues are is unclear.

“I really didn’t feel that bad because everything happens for a reason,” Groome said on a conference call, per Braziller. “I always said I wanted to end up somewhere where I’m comfortable and feel protected. There’s no better spot to do that than Boston. They’re my favorite team.”

Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald categorized Groome as “someone who likes to have fun, perhaps too much fun at times.” These shadowy quotes bear nothing substantive. He’s a 17-year-old star athlete who likes to have fun and might be a little immature.

Cool. What 17-year-old kid doesn’t like to have fun and isn’t a little immature? Until there is fire to justify this smoke, the Red Sox landed arguably the best player in this whole class because teams were a little afraid of paying him and because he doesn’t have the mental makeup of a 40-year-old investment banker.

That’s good value.

The Boston Red Sox went a little safer at No. 51 with C.J. Chatham, the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year. He’ll probably wind up playing third base or outfield given his height (6’4″), but he could provide real two-way value if he sticks. 

Shaun Anderson is an interesting fit given the fact he closed at Florida despite having more starter-worthy stuff. That could mean his arm is fresh as he embarks on an MLB career or that Florida may wind up being justified if he can’t last long innings.

Oakland Athletics

Notable Selections: LHP A.J. Puk (6), RHP Daulton Jefferies (37) and RHP Logan Shore (47).

Another year, another solid Billy Beane draft. The Oakland Athletics general manager has built a reputation as a team-building demigod by drafting well, particularly in regard to young pitchers. He focused on the rotation early in this year’s draft, and that should result in a stocked rotation.

Like Boston, this starts with taking advantage of a top prospect who fell too far. A.J. Puk was Baseball America‘s top-rated player in this entire class. He lasted all the way to the sixth pick.

The Florida product is listed at 6’7″ and 230 pounds and struck out 95 batters in 70 innings as a junior. His command has been a little iffy, and his 2-3 overall record scared some teams off, but Puk is borderline unhittable when he’s firing on all cylinders.

“I probably did a little jig, to be honest,” A’s director of scouting Eric Kubota said of Puk’s availability, per John Shea of SFGate.com. “We started hearing this morning he was sliding for whatever reasons. We never thought we’d be able to talk about him with the sixth pick. We were pretty excited when he was there.”

Oakland continued its run on pitchers by selecting Cal’s Daulton Jefferies and Logan Shore, who played with Puk at Florida. Jefferies made only eight starts this season because of a shoulder injury. But he was 7-0 with a 1.08 ERA in those appearances, flashing a next-level command of his pitches in the strike zone.

Shore is 11-0 with a 2.44 ERA, and while he hasn’t had the national attention of his teammate, he has been a bastion of consistency.

Milwaukee Brewers

Notable Selections: OF Corey Ray (5), 3B Lucas Erceg (46), C Mario Feliciano (75) and RHP Braden Webb (82).

This draft should go a long way toward giving the Brewers’ minor league system some life. Louisville outfielder Corey Ray is one of the most ready-made hitters in the entire class. He’ll find his way on base and has the wheels to be a consistent threat on the basepaths. If he develops even average power, there’s a chance he’ll be a consistent 20-20 guy.

“He has the ability to impact the game in multiple ways, which is something we were looking for in this pick,” general manager David Stearns said, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He’s an up-the-middle position player with above-average speed. He gets on base, and once he gets on base he has the ability to disrupt the other team.”

The Brewers continued their push toward better everyday players by taking third baseman Lucas Erceg, who has one of the best power bats in the class. The Menlo College star set a school record with 20 home runs this season after transferring from Cal. His departure from the Golden Bears because of eligibility issues hurt both him and the team, which struggled to find a middle-of-the-order replacement.

Puerto Rican catcher Mario Feliciano should also bring some pop at that spot if he can develop enough to stay there. Feliciano’s defensive development is paramount to his becoming a solid MLB player. If he has to switch positions—say, to first base—then his plus power becomes relative. But a guy who can hit 20 dingers from behind the plate is valuable in today’s game.

South Carolina’s Braden Webb was the first of five college pitchers the Brewers took on Day 2 of the draft and is by far the best. Webb went 10-5 during the regular season and struck out 123 batters in 94.1 innings.

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Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Vincent Velasquez left Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs after just two pitches with a biceps injury, and it is uncertain when he will return to action.

Continue for updates.

Velasquez to Undergo Further Testing

Wednesday, June 8 

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported Velasquez will be re-evaluated on Thursday, adding it could include an MRI. 

Velasquez Comments on Injury

Wednesday, June 8 

Velasquez told reporters he “isn’t worried” about his injured biceps.

Velasquez Has Emerged as Bright Spot for Surprising Phillies

A revelation early in the season, Velasquez has come back to earth a bit in recent starts. He began the season by posting wins in four of his first five starts but was 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP over his last six heading into Wednesday. This was his fourth consecutive start not lasting through the fifth inning.

Overall, Velasquez is 5-2 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. He’s second behind Aaron Nola on the Phillies with 73 strikeouts.

Given his recent struggles, perhaps a little rest could do Velasquez some good. As Jayson Stark of ESPN.com noted, there have long been concerns about his ability to stay healthy. Leaving after two pitches is concerning, especially if he did not feel any issues in pregame warm-ups.

The Phillies don’t have an especially deep array of talent on their roster, so this injury may just accelerate what feels like an inevitable summer swoon. They’ve lost nine of their last 12 games coming into Wednesday, undoing nearly all of their feel-good vibes from the first month of the season.

Velasquez, the leader of those good feelings, going down may only serve as the final death knell. 

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One day after his latest on-field incident—a brawl with Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado—reports have surfaced that the Kansas City Royals are considering trading pitcher Yordano Ventura.

Continue for updates.

Royals Tired of Ventura’s Act

Wednesday, June 8

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the Royals have offered Ventura to two teams “within the past month.” Passan did not disclose the teams, as his sources were anonymous executives. 

Ventura, 25, is 4-4 with a 5.32 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 2016. His struggles reached a high point Tuesday night, as he fired a fifth-inning fastball into the ribs of Machado. The two-time All-Star, who also has a reputation of having a fiery temper, strode to the mound and landed a punch to Ventura’s face before taking him to the ground.

Benches cleared, and both players were ejected and will likely face suspension for their actions. Machado had admired a long fly ball earlier in the game, which led to Ventura jawing at him before plunking him in the next at-bat.

Yet after the game, Machado’s punch seemed to fade into the background, as the focus shifted to Ventura’s troubling pattern of behavior. Orioles outfielder Adam Jones lauded his teammate for defending himself while expressing frustration with Ventura, per Steve Melewski of MASN Sports: 

Screw it, defend yourself. Someone is trying to hurt you maliciously, you go out there and defend yourself. I hope the league reviews what happened. When you have a weapon at 100 mph and you don’t have to hit, and you are trying to hurt somebody, that is not part of the game.

Tonight, Manny handled it himself and I couldn’t be happier for him. … I knew it was going to happen. The guy has electric stuff and the talent is all there, but between the ears, there is a circuit board off balance. I don’t get it. I don’t get it.

For his part, Machado expressed zero regret to Melewski for his actions and again pointed at Ventura’s attempt to hurt him:

I don’t regret anything. It is part of the game. Reactions fly. When someone is throwing 99 (mph) at you, it is going to hurt. You can ruin somebody’s career, so you don’t think in that situation, you just react. Whatever happened happened and we just have to move forward. All that matters is we came out with a W.

Royals manager Ned Yost acknowledged Ventura’s teammates have “probably” grown a little weary of these situations.

“There’s a little frustration when things like this happen, yeah,” Yost said, per Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.

Ventura was involved in similar incidents twice last season. MLB fined him last April for intentionally hitting Brett Lawrie and suspended him for seven games after an argument with Adam Eaton led to another bench-clearing brawl.

Passan also wrote Ventura is planning to hit Toronto Blue Jays star Jose Bautista the next time the teams play. Bautista and Ventura had their issues with each other last August.

This is a lot of trouble for a player who has gotten progressively worse in every MLB season. The Royals and other teams likely remain enamored with his talent, but until Ventura reaches a new level of maturity, he’ll never realize his full potential. 

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Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper left Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies after getting hit in the right knee by a Jeremy Hellickson pitch in the seventh inning. It is currently unclear when he’ll return to the field. 

Continue for updates.

Harper Out vs. Phillies

Wednesday, June 1

Mark Zuckerman of MASN reported Harper will not be in the lineup Wednesday against Philadelphia.

Harper Comments on Injury

Tuesday, May 31

“It hurts,” Harper said, via Zuckerman. “Whenever you get squared up like that, [it was] definitely something that didn’t feel good. I think we’ll evaluate tomorrow and see how it feels.”

Harper’s Timeline to Return Revealed 

Monday, May 30

Harper is considered day-to-day with a right-knee contusion, according to Jamal Collier of MLB.com. 

Nationals Can’t Afford to Lose Harper for Extended Period of Time

The slugger was replaced by Chris Heisey when the Nationals took the field in the bottom of the inning. Harper was 0-for-2 before exiting. Heading into Monday’s contest, he was hitting .245 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI while sporting a .416 OBP.

Harper is coming off his first MVP Award and is also a year removed from his healthiest professional season. He played 153 games in 2015 and set career highs with a .330/.460/.649 slash line, 42 home runs and 99 RBI. His individual success did not translate to team wins, though, as Washington finished a disappointing 83-79 despite having one of baseball’s highest payrolls.  

“Last year’s behind us. I mean, all of last year’s behind us,” Harper told reporters. “We were a losing team. I know we were above in the win column and loss column, but we still lost.”

The Nationals are undoubtedly hoping Harper will be back in the lineup soon. He’s their best player, and the only thing that’s affected his superstar trajectory has been injuries.

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The San Diego Padres apologized to the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus on Sunday after investigating an incident where a prerecording played over their scheduled national anthem appearance Saturday:  

After a thorough examination of the events that occurred during last night’s National Anthem, we have concluded our internal investigation and have found no evidence of malicious intent on the part of any individuals involved. Based both on the unintentional mistake that was made, as well as the failure to immediately intervene and correct the situation by those who had oversight, we have terminated our relationship with the third-party contractor who was responsible for the error, and taken disciplinary action against our employee who was responsible for the game production on Saturday.

The organization drew criticism Saturday when a prerecorded version of a woman singing the national anthem played over stadium speakers. No one in the game operations department corrected the error, so the prerecording continued as the men stood on the field.

“We once again sincerely apologize to members of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus, their families and those who came out to support their Pride Night performance,” the Padres’ statement read. “The Padres organization is proud of our long-standing commitment to inclusion—within both our sport and our community. We deeply regret that a mistake on our part has called this into question, but accept full responsibility.”

MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that the league will investigate the incident to “determine whether there was intent on the part of the club.”

Members of the chorus said they were embarrassed by the situation and hoped it wasn’t done to be hurtful.

“We were just excited to be at a game and let the audience see us and hear us and let us know that we’re sports fans too, and we’re normal guys,” RC Haus, artistic director for the chorus, told Kirk Kenney and Deborah Sullivan Brennan of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “And then a woman sings over us, and it was mortifying.”

San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus executive director Bob Lehman was more critical, highlighting in a statement what he felt were slights by the Padres organization leading up to the game. Lehman said the team attempted to force chorus members to pay for their tickets rather than let them in for free. The Padres later rescinded the request, which “was not part of any previous discussion or written or verbal agreement and would have cost the small, community-based nonprofit thousands of dollars,” according to Lehman.

In reference to the prerecording playing, Lehman told Kenney and Brennan, “I really want to believe that it was an error. But the first thought was, ‘Did they do this on purpose?'”

The team has invited the chorus for a return performance. It’s unclear at this time if the chorus will accept.

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As the weather heats up, so should the trade rumors surrounding Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, a potential unrestricted free agent this winter.

Continue for updates.

Multiple Teams Eyeing Bruce

Monday, May 23 

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported Bruce has been targeted by a “few teams,” including the Kansas City Royals.

The 29-year-old is hitting .270/.327/.518 with eight home runs and 28 runs batted in so far this season. He’s bordering on a pace that would see him touch the 30-home run mark for the first time since 2013.

That Bruce is available via trade should come as no surprise. The Toronto Blue Jays nearly acquired him in February as part of a three-team deal before medical reports halted the trade. It’s unclear which of the players caused the trip-up. Toronto outfielder Michael Saunders was also part of the deal.

The Reds are in the midst of a full-scale rebuild, winning 64 games in 2015 and sitting at 15-29 so far this season.

“It is tough losing. It’s tough to have leads and lose them. It’s also tough when we don’t score and don’t hit very well,” Bruce said, per David Jablonski of the Springfield News-Sun. “The only option is for us to continue to go forward. No one’s going to feel sorry for us. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We just have to do better on both sides of the ball.”

Bruce is one of any number of Cincinnati veterans who could be on the move. Second baseman Brandon Phillips, shortstop Zack Cozart and first baseman Joey Votto could all arguably be more valuable elsewhere.

Bruce is perhaps the easiest to move given his contract situation. The veteran outfielder’s $13 million salary for 2017 carries only $1 million in guarantees. A team in need of some power could use him as a short-term rental before allowing him to hit the open market.

That could be attractive to a small-market club like the Royals, who are tied for 27th in runs scored and 26th in home runs. The defending World Series champs are near the bottom in every major offensive category.

Bruce has been an abysmal defensive outfielder for his entire MLB career, so a move to the American League might help. Becoming a designated hitter might be his best career move over the long term, regardless.

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