American League notes
BALTIMORE: Corbin Burnes will be the opening-day starter, as expected, after the All-Star right-hander was acquired from Milwaukee in a trade last month. It’s the third consecutive opening-day start for the 29-year-old Burnes, who got the nod the past two seasons with the Brewers. “It’s not something to be taken for granted,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s a really cool moment for anybody to be able to have that honor. I know he’s very appreciative.”
BOSTON: Pitcher Lucas Giolito was set to have right elbow surgery at press time, potentially ending his first season with the team before it begins. The decision comes after Giolito traveled to Alabama last week to get a second opinion from Dr. Jeffrey R. Dugas. Giolito, who signed a $38.5 million, two-year deal with the Red Sox, made two starts in spring training. He tossed a pair of scoreless innings in his first outing before reporting discomfort in the elbow after getting tagged for four runs and three walks in 21⁄3 innings against Minnesota on March 1. This will be the second major right elbow surgery for the 29-year-old Giolito. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery on Aug. 31, 2012, less that two months after Washington made him the top overall pick in the 2012 draft.
CHICAGO: The White Sox never came close to receiving an offer for ace Dylan Cease that tempted them to trade him, despite extensive talks with the Yankees. They now plan to likely keep him until the July 30 trade deadline . ... Can you believe the White Sox have a whopping 17 former players and front office executives from the Royals?
CLEVELAND: Most impressive feat of spring training: Guardians media relations director Bart Swain rode his bicycle 37 miles from Goodyear to Mesa in Arizona for their spring training game, a 2-hour, 15-minute trip.
DETROIT: There were a lot of strikeouts and a couple of weak pop-ups from hitters against left-hander Tarik Skubal in a March 10 simulated game in Lakeland, Florida. Skubal was lined up to start the day’s game against the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie. But instead of traveling, Skubal stayed back in Lakeland for a simulated game, where he threw 60 pitches. “He took it pretty seriously,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “There were no issues.” Skubal, 27, is the team’s opening-day starter for March 28 at the White Sox. The Tigers play the Mets in the second series of the regular season, from April 1-3. Skubal is expected to pitch in that series, as well, so the
Tigers didn’t want to give the Mets an opportunity to prepare for him in a spring training game.
HOUSTON: Ace Justin Verlander will open the season on the injured list after dealing with right shoulder inflammation during the offseason, which could jeopardize his conditional $35 million option for 2025. Astros manager Joe Espada said last week the 41-year-old hasn’t suffered any setbacks but needs more time to become game ready. “He’s doing very well, but we’re just running out of days here, and we won’t be able to build him up enough to start the season,” Espada told reporters.
KANSAS CITY: The team’s closer situation was still up in the air as the season approached. While James McArthur appeared the favorite, at least two others, including Will Smith and John McMillon, were in the mix. McArthur, 27, had four saves last season in his MLB debut season of 2023 and has looked sharp this spring. McMillon, 26, also saw limited action in his 2023 debut. Smith, 34, has 113 career saves. He had 22 for the Rangers last season with a 4.40 ERA.
MINNESOTA: Carlos Santana and Alex Kirilloff could share time at first base, according to MLB.com. DoHyoung Park writes that manager Rocco Baldelli said Kirilloff could start getting more outfield reps.
LOS ANGELES: The Angels continue to be the favorite to land free agent starter Blake Snell, who’s willing to sign a short-term contract with opt outs. Angels owner Arte Moreno had yet to sign off on a big free agent purchase after being burned in past years.
NEW YORK: Manager Aaron Boone told reporters March 11 that ace Gerrit Cole has had trouble recovering from his starts this spring and will need to get an MRI on his pitching elbow. Many pitchers will go through what’s called a “dead arm” period during spring training, which is typically a result of ramping up the process of regaining stamina to get ready for the regular season. However, Boone’s comments seem to indicate there might be more to Cole’s situation.
OAKLAND: While significant hurdles remain to be vaulted before the Athletics play a game in Las Vegas, the club announced last week it was partnering with a Danish design firm to build its proposed 33,000-seat ballpark on the Strip. The Athletics released long-delayed renderings for a ballpark designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, an audacious design for a cozy 9-acre parcel. While it vaguely resembles the Sydney Opera House, the
club has dubbed its hoped-for addition to the Vegas scene “a spherical armadillo.” The team’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas was approved by Major League Baseball owners in November, and the club has secured $380 million in state and Clark County funds toward the development of its proposed ballpark, to be constructed on the current site of the Tropicana Las Vegas Casino Resort. A Nevada teachers union is mounting a second challenge to the Athletics’ state funding, suing to question the legality of the bill. A’s owner John Fisher has also not specified how he will fund the remaining $1.1 billion or so to construct the stadium; he suggested the club would welcome additional investors to raise capital.
SEATTLE: Catcher Mike Zunino has retired. Zunino, 32, was the Mariners’ first-round pick and winner of the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate player at the University of Florida. He also played for the Rays and Guardians.
TAMPA BAY: Rays infielder Brandon Lowe is healthy and working to put the previous two injury-marred seasons behind him. After hitting 39 homers and driving in 99 runs in 2021, Lowe was limited to 65 games in 2022 and 109 last year due to back and knee injuries. “Don’t worry about results for a little while, and go out here and try to make sure to take your at-bats, get your timing down,” Lowe said. “Try to put yourself in as many situations as you can to emulate the season and make sure that you’re healthy.” Manager Kevin Cash said Lowe looks good and is motivated. “I like the fact that he’s able to do everything,”
Cash said. “He had to pull back on some of his routine, some of the amount of ground balls that he could take last year even before he got banged up because we were managing the workload on his back and then he fouled the ball off the knee and couldn’t do anything.”
TEXAS: World Series MVP Corey Seager has missed spring training action after surgery in January for a left sports hernia repair. The All-Star shortstop was set to take light swings at press time, according to Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com.
TORONTO: Joey Votto, the potential Hall of Famer and Cincinnati Reds icon who took to social media lamenting his unemployability, is poised for a kind of homecoming. He has agreed to a minor league contract with the Blue Jays, leaving his forever baseball home behind but landing with a club in his home province of Ontario. Votto, who turned 40 in September, was on the market for the first time since signing a 10-year, $225 million extension with the Reds in 2012. He’d hoped for a Cincy reunion after that deal expired, but his exit was more or less ensured when the club signed infielder Jeimer Candelario to a three-year, $45 million deal. Votto is expected to open the season at Class AAA Buffalo. The Blue Jays currently don’t have a natural opening with Vladimir Guerrero at first base and Justin Turner as the everyday DH. Votto will earn a prorated $2 million once he’s called up and likely be used as a pinch-hitter and spot starter at first or DH.