Can deGrom be even better? Brett Lawrie resurfaces
Miami Marlins Martin Prado’s
career has come full circle.
To make room for Brian Anderson at third base, Prado will be a reserve infielder. The 35year-old will primarily back up the corners in the final season of his three-year, $40-million contract
“This is how I came up,” said Prado, entering his 14th season. “I was a utility guy with the Braves. I’m familiar with this.”
Prado has been limited to 91 games over the last two seasons by leg and abdominal injuries.
❚ Center fielder Lewis Brinson hit three home runs in his first six Grapefruit League game. Last year, as a rookie, he hit just .199 with 11 homers in 109 games.
Milwaukee Brewers
Brett Lawrie is trying to make a comeback after the 29year-old infielder sat out the last two seasons.
Released by the Chicago White Sox during spring training in 2017, Lawrie is in camp as a non-roster invitee but will begin the season in the minor leagues. He played six seasons in the majors.
He is a .261 career hitter with 71 homers and 253 RBI in 588 games over six seasons with Toronto, Oakland and Chicago.
“The ultimate opportunity for me,” he said.
❚ Utility player Cory Spangenberg made a good early impression by hitting two home runs in his first five games. He was signed as a free agent in the offseason after not being tendered a contract by the San Diego Padres.
New York Mets
It would be difficult for Jacob deGrom to have a better year than 2018. The right-hander won the NL Cy Young Award while going 10-9 with a 1.70 ERA in 32 starts.
However, deGrom says he would like to improve his concentration.
“I want to try and eliminate those starts that got out of hand,” deGrom said. “It’s a little bit easier said than done. I’m trying to keep the focus on the pitch I’m about to throw, not the pitch I’ve just thrown that was a homer or whatever happened,”
❚ Righty Noah Syndergaard walked five Houston Astros in 22⁄3 innings on March 2. He has averaged just 2.3 walks per nine innings during his four-year career.
Philadelphia Phillies
The free agent signing of Bryce Harper to a record 13year, $330 million contract leaves only one opening left in the outfield.
Odubel Herrera is the favorite to retain the center-field job and join Andrew McCutchen and Harper in the outfield. However, Aaron Altherr, Roman Quinn and Nick Williams remain in contention.
Herrera was told he had to win his spot in the lineup back after hitting .255 with 22 home runs in 148 games last season. He reported to spring training in much better shape.
❚ Harper also has many performance bonuses in his contract, including $500,000 for being named league MVP. He won the award with in 2015 while playing for the Washington Nationals.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Jordan Lyles entered spring training as the early favorite to be the fifth starter after the right-hander signed a one-year, $2.05 million contract as a free agent.
Lyles gave up four runs in his first five innings but isn’t getting caught up in results.
He is competing with lefthander Steven Brault and right-handers Rookie Davis and Nick Kingham.
St. Louis Cardinals
It took Matt Wieters until the final day of February to find a home.
The Cardinals signed Wieters to a minor league contract after the four-time All-Star batted .238 with eight home runs in 76 games for the Nationals last season. His playing time could be limited while backing up Yadier Molina, the durable ninetime All-Star.
“I’ve watched him for a long as I can remember,” said Wieters, entering his 11th season. “There aren’t many catchers in this league I watched before I was playing in this league.”
❚ The Cardinals are targeting March 14 for Molina to make his Grapefruit League debut. He is recovering from knee surgery.
San Diego Padres
Manny Machado can now get down to playing baseball.
The third baseman made his Cactus League debut March 2 and went 0-for-1 with a walk against the San Francisco Giants. That came a little more than a week after Machado signed a 10-year, $300-million contract as a free agent.
“Finally got to play some baseball,” Machado said. “It’s been good, getting to know my teammates and just getting my feet under me. It’s been a nice week, getting to know players a lot more. I finally got out there and played some baseball — makes it a lot better.”
❚ Veteran right-hander Adam Warren was signed to bolster the bullpen for one year and $2.5 million.
San Francisco Giants
JEFF ROBERSON/AP
Jeff Samardzija is healthy again after having his 2018 season ruined by a shoulder injury.
The right-hander was 1-5 with a 6.25 ERA in 10 starts. He made only one start after the All-Star break.
“I think everybody saw last year that I was hurt,” Samardzija said. “For a lot of the year, I thought I could muscle through it. What I learned is the arm needs to be 95-100 percent to get done what you need to get done.”
❚ CEO Larry Baer is taking a leave of absence from the team after video surfaced of a physical incident with his wife last week. In a statement posted on social media by the Giants, the team’s board of directors wrote that it is “closely monitoring the matter” and cooperating with Major League Baseball as it investigates what occurred.
Washington Nationals
Ryan Zimmerman is changing his spring training approach and playing more major league exhibition games.
Last year, the first baseman opted to play almost entirely in minor league camp games. He then hit .264 with 13 home runs in 85 games as he dealt with a variety of injuries,.
“Two years ago, I played a good amount (in spring), and that’s what I want to do,” Zimmerman said.
❚ Right fielder Adam Eaton went 3-for-8 with four walks in his first five games. He played in a combined 118 the previous two seasons because of injuries.