Vehicles prominent in pay up, smash hit
2019, Anderson hit .245 last year, the second-lowest of his big-league career, ahead of his .240 average in 2018. Anderson had just one home run and 25 RBI over 123 games for Chicago last season. His RBI matched his total in 2022, when he played in just 79 games because of injuries. He dealt with a sprained left knee and right shoulder soreness last season. While speaking to reporters, Anderson acknowledged his knee issue took a toll on him last year. “I had nothing to hit up against,” Anderson said. “That led to a lot of ground balls. No excuses. I kept working. I feel good today. I feel healthy. I’m ready to go and I’m excited.” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker believes those 2023 struggles should give Anderson even more incentive this year. “I’ve said it before, anybody that’s motivated is dangerous at this level,” Schumacher said. “I’m not sure there’s many guys more motivated than that kid.”
Milwaukee Brewers: Talk about ultimate respect: Brewers veteran starting pitcher Wade Miley named his newborn son after his former manager with Arizona in 2011-2014, Kirk Gibson. The name: Trace Gibson Miley. “He was a huge impact on my career, definitely, and even my life,” Miley said. “How he carried himself and how he expected us to be. As hard-nosed as he came off as a player, which he was no doubt, the genuine care that he showed for us as players, especially when I was such a young player, it just stuck with me.” So what was Gibson’s reaction when Miley informed him? “He made a joke about why I didn’t name the first one [son] after him,” said Miley . ... Jake Bauers is ready for yet another opportunity. Playing for his seventh franchise in 11 seasons in professional baseball, it’s really become second nature for the 28-year-old, who this spring is seeking to cement a spot on the Brewers’ opening-day roster as, most likely, a left-handed bat with a little defensive versatility. “I think I learned that early on, and from there it’s just been a part of the journey, really,” the low-key Newport Beach, California, native said.
New York Mets: Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said right-hander Kodai Senga returned to New York to receive a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right shoulder last week after an MRI revealed a moderate posterior capsule strain. It is recommended Senga be shut down from throwing for at least three weeks. With a three-week shutdown and the appropriate six weeks of spring training buildup, the optimal timeline in Senga’s recovery would have him out until the very end of April. The team is privately anxious about how much time their ace could miss . ... A promise is a promise: infielder Jeff McNeil was home in San Luis Obispo, California, when he received a call from an automobile dealership. “The guy on the phone says, ‘Hey, your buddy bought you a car, we just need to know where to send it,’ ” McNeil told the New York Post. Yep, two years ago when teammate Francisco Lindor promised he would buy McNeil a car if he won the NL batting title in 2022, which he did hitting .326, Lindor finally delivered: a Ford Bronco Sport . ... The Mets are paying close attention to Astros ace Justin Verlander’s delayed start to the season. His contract will automatically vest for $35 million in 2025 if he pitches 140 innings. And if it does, the Mets will have to pick up half of it at $17.5 million.
Philadelphia Phillies: Phillies owner John Middleton after losing in the NL championship series to the Diamondbacks: “If you’re using the phrase, ‘Get over it,’ it’ll never happen,” Middleton told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I mean, ’09, ’10, and ’11 still hurt. You don’t get second chances to win that year. To be up 2-0 [in the series] and heading to a place [Arizona] where you took three out of four in August and lose two out of three, and then lose two at home . ... I’m angry. It’s a funny word to use, but when you lose like that, I get angry. And frankly, if people don’t get at least a little angry, I’m not sure you care enough.”
Pittsburgh Pirates: All-Star righthander Mitch Keller gets a $2,057,500 signing bonus as part of his $77 million, five-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 27-year-old receives a $5,442,500 salary this season, the same as under the one-year contract he agreed to last month. His new deal, announced last week, calls for salaries of $15 million in 2025, $16.5 million in 2026 , $18 million in 2027 and $20 million in 2028. Keller gets a hotel suite on road trips.
St. Louis Cardinals: Retired Cardinals All-Star pitcher Adam Wainwright has joined the MLB Network as an on-air analyst. Wainwright will make his debut on opening day, March 28, the network said. He will work the Cardinals game against San Francisco at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 20. Wainwright went 200-128 with a 3.53
ERA in 18 major league seasons, all with the Cardinals. The 42-year-old righthander got his 200th win in his final pitching appearance against Milwaukee on Sept. 18.
San Diego Padres: Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. believes that he can be one of the game’s greatest players once again this season now that his PED suspension and wrist and shoulder surgeries are behind him. “I feel way better than I did last year,” Tatis said. “Talent plus work ethic, it feels like this is gonna be special. … I really had a really good offseason. My confidence is through the roof, and I just want them to sit down and see what I’m going to do this season.” The Padres, who were impressed with the way he handled his suspension, owning up to his mistake, also are convinced that he’ll again be that same player who was given a 14-year, $340 million contract extension in 2021. Tatis won a Platinum Glove moving from shortstop to right field but hit just .257 with a .770 OPS, much lower than his career .293 batting average and .965 OPS . ... The Padres never gave Xander Bogaerts a heads up that he was switching from shortstop to second base until spring training for the simple reason they were trying to trade Ha-Seong Kim, who now moves to
shortstop. “I think I’m really at peace,” Bogaerts said. “I think that deep down in my heart I was actually cool with it. I didn’t expect to be cool with it. But what more can I accomplish in this game? You know, the only reason I came here was to win a World Series. So if this is the way that we’re going to get one, so be it.”
San Francisco Giants: Bruce Bochy, who managed Pablo Sandoval in San Francisco, on Sandoval’s return to the Giants as a 37-year-old non-roster invitee: “I knew he had the drive, the passion to get back in, so good for him. He worked hard. He has always loved the game and I can see, even when he’s done, he should stay in the game as a coach or whatever he wants to do, because the guy plays the game the way you love players to play. He has the joy and enthusiasm.” ... The Giants offered DH J.D. Martinez a one-year, $14 million contract, which he rejected, seeking a two-year deal. They then turned to Jorge Soler, signing him to a three-year, $42 million contract.
Washington Nationals: The Nationals were seeking $2.4 billion when the Lerner family took the team off the sale market.