National League notes
Arizona: Acquired as part of the deal that sent outfielder Daulton Varsho to Toronto, catcher Gabriel Moreno quickly established himself as a game-changing type of player last season. His throwing arm was both a weapon and a deterrent and he won a Gold Glove. He graded out as one of the better pitch blockers in the majors. Coaches believe he made significant strides in his ability to lead a pitching staff over the course of the year. And not only was he a contributor at the plate, he took his offensive game to a new level late in the year and into October, driving the ball more often and with more authority. The no-doubt blasts he uncorked in the first two rounds of the playoffs made it easy to dream on him quickly turning into a 20-homer threat. Despite the success, Moreno, 24, did not coast into his second season. He is noticeably more muscular in his upper half, though he says he still weighs in right around the same 200-pound mark he was at last year. “I’m impressed with where he’s at physically,” bench coach Jeff Banister said. “To have a young kid, first time full season like that and go to the World Series, to go into the offseason and be that dedicated, it says a lot about his character and where he’s at.” Does Moreno think he could hit 20 to 30 homers this year? “Of course,” he said. “I believe in myself. I have good confidence right now and everybody believes in me, too. I’m working hard to get to where I want. I want to win games and get the job finished. We’re going to get the World Series win. That’s the goal this year.”
Atlanta: Ronald Acuña’s right knee has Atlanta officials concerned. He will fly to Los Angeles to have an examination by Dr. Neal ElAttrache to determine the cause of irritation around the meniscus in his surgically repaired right knee. If arthroscopic surgery is needed he’ll open the season on the injured list. Acuña, the unanimous National League MVP winner, was baseball’s greatest offensive player last season, hitting .337 with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases, becoming the first player in history to hit 40 homers with more than 50 stolen bases. ... The Braves signed veteran left-hander Chris Sale to a two-year, $38 million contract with an option for a third season. Sale, 34, was scheduled to earn $27.5 million this season under terms of a five-year deal he signed with the Boston Red Sox, but after acquiring the seven-time All-Star in a trade last month for infielder Vaughn Grissom, the Braves reworked the contract to add another guaranteed year. Sale will make $16 million this coming season and $22 million in 2025. (The Red Sox also sent Atlanta $17 million in the trade, so they’ll essentially be covering his 2024 salary.) The Braves also have a club option for $18 million in 2026. A first-round draft pick (13th overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 2010, Sale has battled injuries in recent years. He missed the entire 2020 season recovering from elbow surgery and only pitched a total of 481⁄3 innings in 2021 and 2022 due to other assorted injuries. He spent nearly two months on the injured list in 2023 with a stress reaction in his pitching shoulder, posting a 4.30 ERA in 1022⁄3 innings. In 13 major league seasons, Sale has a 120-80 record and 3.10 ERA. He’s also struck out 11.1 batters per nine innings over his career, which is the highest rate for a qualified pitcher in MLB history.
Chicago: Agent Scott Boras, when asked if any team this winter offered more than the three-year, $80 million contract Cody Bellinger signed with the Cubs: “When I go to a wedding, I never talk about the bridesmaids.”
Cincinnati: Longtime Reds first baseman Joey Votto has made it clear in recent videos he’s posted that he’s disappointed to remain a free agent with MLB spring training underway. During an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Votto acknowledged that his morale is “as low as it gets, and at this rate, I don’t see it getting any better.” Votto added that he was hopeful that a “Dan Patrick push” would get him a job. “Funny enough, I’ve had 10 times the analyst jobs over this offseason than I have had any baseball offers,” Votto told Patrick.” ... Shortstop Elly De La Cruz spent much of the winter learning English so that he can have fluid communication with his teammates, coaching staff and the media. Now, De La Cruz is trying to teach Spanish to Reds manager David Bell.
Colorado: Rockies third base prospect Warming Bernabel arrived to spring training camp feeling lucky to even be alive. He was shot in the back Dec. 3 in his hometown of Bani, Dominican Republic. He was assaulted by three men who tried to steal a gold chain around his neck when he was shot. The bullet went completely through his back, missed any organs, and struck his wife’s biceps, he told the Denver Post.
Los Angeles: One swing. One skyhigh, fly ball. One opposite-field homer. That’s all it took to remind everyone why the Dodgers dropped $700 million on Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani, who until eight days before had not faced even batting practice off a pitcher since September, stepped up and hit a towering home run in his final swing of the day as he made his Dodgers debut last week against the Chicago White Sox. “It’s remarkable, it really is,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously, there’s been so many huge moments for him in his career, and he always seems to rise to those moments.’’ In his first game since having elbow surgery last September, Ohtani struck out on three pitches in his first atbat. He grounded into a double play in his second at-bat. And then he hit a 377-foot home run deep into the Arizona sky, 102 mph off his bat, over the left-field fence off White Sox reliever Dominic Leone. Also last week, Ohtani wrote on Instagram. “The season is approaching but I would like to announce to everyone that I have gotten married.” Ohtani made no mention of who the bride was or when he got married, only saying that she was a “Japanese woman” and asked the media not to conduct “unauthorized interviews.” ... Kiké Hernandez was close to signing with the New York Yankees before taking a one-year, $4 million deal with the Dodgers. He gave Dodgers president Andrew Friedman the chance to match and knew he’d have more playing time in LA. “I talked to Andrew and I was like, ‘Hey, if we can’t make something happen in the next couple of days, I’m going to have to turn the page and go somewhere else because I need to do what’s best for me and my family,’ ” Hernandez told reporters. “I felt like opportunities were starting to go away by waiting too long.”
Miami: Shortstop Tim Anderson made his Marlins spring training debut last week and was hitting. 286 through three games. The 2019 AL batting champion for the White Sox signed a $5 million, one-year contract and is trying to rebound after hitting .245. “It was a difficult year last year for him and then obviously the offseason probably didn’t go as planned, you know, signing so late,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Never being a free agent before and never having gone to a different organization before, it was challenging for him. We’re fortunate to get him. There’s some work to do that we have hopefully identified to