Mike Johrendt Articles - Page 19

The class of free agents that were free to choose their next teams in the offseason between the 2018 and 2019 MLB seasons was far and away one of the best crops of players that we had seen in a very long time. Heavy at the top with a large grouping of superstars looking to […]

Both small and large market teams love to cash in on their players early on in their careers, helping keep the costs low and the player control fruitful. But for MLB teams across the board, the move of extending their best prospects – even before they play a single inning on the MLB level – […]

By extending two core pieces of their youth movement, the Chicago White Sox are betting on the promise and upside of two of the best prospects to have been in the MLB in a long time, in Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. And while the team’s determination to field a competitive team this season, their […]

While pitchers become the hottest commodities during the winter months for all MLB franchises, position players become just as important during the off months. And while pitchers can become harder to acquire due to their higher price tags and beefier trade packages, position players seem to be the easier grouping of players to deal with, […]

As the cream of the crop for MLB free agents have pretty much all found their teams for the 2020 regular season and beyond, the focus for teams now shifts towards upgrading through the means of the trade market. While the highest amount of movement in terms of trades occurs at the trade deadline, which […]

With the market of free agents having settled down to only include a select few needle pushers, MLB teams now have to start to look at making trades to upgrade their rosters. As the Atlanta Braves have a lot of pieces in place to continue to keep their window of competition open, they are lacking […]

With all of the reported rumors circulating around the availability of Milwaukee Brewers’ star closer Josh Hader, for a small-market franchise, it is smart for them to at least look into what type of value the All-Star hurler could get this team. Money runs all professional sports, and that is very, very true in the […]

$188.9 million has been added to the payroll of the Chicago White Sox for the next four years, on top of their existing financial commitments – this team is ready to compete for a berth in the postseason. Yasmani Grandal – 4 years, $73 million Dallas Keuchel – 3 years, $55.5 million Gio Gonzalez – […]

For the Toronto Blue Jays, their penchant response to talks of what type of team they are going to be in 2020 have been centralized around building up their core, attempting to become a fringe competitor, but realizing that 2021 or even 2022 may be more in the cards. But with Hyun-Jin Ryu having just […]

There currently are 12 new players on the 40-man roster for the Milwaukee Brewers, signaling a major turnover only one year removed from winning a spot in the Wild Card round of the National League playoffs. While President of Baseball Operations David Stearns seems to always be relying on analytics and statistics to build his […]

With the market of top-tier free agents seemingly dwindling down, teams are going to be forced to go the extra mile to sign them, and it seems as though the Los Angeles Angels, among other teams, are finding that out first hand. While they have been included in most starting pitcher rumors the entirety of […]

A major piece in the trade market may finally be on the move. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Cleveland Indians have told teams that are interested in superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor to submit their final offers by this weekend so the front office can go through all of the offers on the […]

With the National League North division looking to be boasting a plethora of teams that could all be fighting for a postseason berth, it looks as though the Cincinnati Reds are trying to leapfrog some of their divisional counterparts, and use the trade market to their advantage. According to MLB insider Mark Feinsand, the Reds […]

Ichiro Suzuki. Hideo Nomo. Shohei Ohtani. Daisuke Matsuzaka. Masahiro Tanaka. Yu Darvish. Kwang-Hyun Kim. Jae-Hwan Kim. Yoshitomo Tsutsugo. Shun Yamaguchi. Ryosuke Kikuchi. Wei-Yin Chen. Tzu-Wei Lin. Jen-Ho Tseng. Wei-Chung Wang. These are just a few names of players that were either born in or played in the MLB from the countries of Japan, South Korea, […]

With the Los Angeles Angels having made one major splash in free agency with the signing of Anthony Rendon, their failed pursuit of a second, Gerrit Cole and Madison Bumgarner, has made them look a different direction. According to Jon Morosi, the Angels are highly motivated to make a move to upgrade their starting pitching, […]

Free agency can put players in a weird bind, setting them up to struggle to find the right place for them to continue their MLB careers. But for third baseman Josh Donaldson, he has been on a voyage full of hills and valleys throughout his professional career. Donaldson currently finds himself a free agent after […]

As the free agency period moves along, there are a few big names still available on the market, looking for the right team to make them an offer they cannot refuse. With the winter of 2019-20 looking a lot better financially for most players than the offseason of 2018, starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu is seeing […]

With the centerpiece of the franchise re-signing for what seems to be his final contract before retiring, the Los Angeles Angels have to be happy. They made it through countless years of struggling, stinking, and middling performances, and were still able to retain their best player, Mike Trout, for the long haul. But with the […]

In a way to help fill the void that Zack Wheeler left behind when he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets are bringing in former St. Louis Cardinals starter Michael Wacha on a one-year deal, according to Mets beat writer Tim Healey. The former Redbirds pitcher has $3 million guaranteed on this […]

Helping address their glut of left-handed-hitting outfielders, the Chicago White Sox acquired outfielder Nomar Mazara from the Texas Rangers for minor-league prospect Steele Walker, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. This move helps the Rangers clear out some of their lefty power hitters in the outfield, while the White Sox are able to pair Mazara […]

In an effort to help provide incumbent closer Kenley Jansen with some help late in games, the Los Angeles Dodgers scooped up former Oakland Athletics closer Blake Treinen on a one-year agreement, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The one-year agreement guarantees Treinen a payday of $10 million, and he will stay out in the […]

Deciding to go back to the market that netted them with slugging first baseman Eric Thames, the Milwaukee Brewers and starting pitcher Josh Lindblom have agreed to a three-year deal, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The three-year pact, which guarantees Lindblom $9.125 million, can balloon all the way up to $18 million in value, […]

With all of the hubbub at the 2019 MLB Winter Meetings centralized around the starting pitching market, it is fair that Madison Bumgarner wants to be included in that conversation. What remains to be seen, however, is if his reported price tag of nine figures will be a fair market value for the veteran left-hander. […]

Money talks and the New York Yankees are normally the team starting that conversation. With Gerrit Cole on the other end of that phone call, things are looking like they are about to get real serious for the best remaining starting pitcher on the open market. A trio of industry baseball writers, MLB Network insider […]

The National League Central division has had a very busy offseason up to this point so far, as the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates have all made personnel moves so far this offseason. But out of all five teams, it looks like the Brewers have been the busiest, […]

As is common with every single offseason for the sport of baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers are reported to have interest in signing some of the biggest and best free agents. And the 2019 offseason is no different, as reports have surfaced connecting the Dodgers and Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg, and Kevin Gausman. USA Today […]

With the Milwaukee Brewers looking to be cutting salary this offseason, their roster only has 10 returning players on it from its 25-man roster that they ended the 2019 season with. On top of that, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns has doubled down on that sentiment, all while wanting to keep the franchise competitive […]

With reports floating around everywhere that the Chicago Cubs are going to be one of the most active teams on the trade and player movement fronts this offseason, the question must be asked – why? Why are the Cubs, who just finished in third place in the National League Central division, fired incumbent manager Joe […]

Filled with tons of talent across all levels of the minor leagues, the American League should produce a ton of talented candidates for the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year award for this upcoming season. With a bunch of struggling teams looking to graduate top-flight prospects as they look to speed up the rebuild or […]

Seven-time All-Star, 346 saves, and 898 strikeouts does not seem to grow on trees anymore for MLB teams around the league. With the Chicago Cubs being lucky enough to have that one tree in their orchard in Craig Kimbrel, their back of bullpen worries should all be alleviated, even with how he performed in 2019. […]

What does a team that has everything but still cannot get out of its own way in the playoffs need? Why more talent, of course! The Los Angeles Dodgers, who look to be resembling the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Cowboys in terms of their yearly penchant of making it to the playoffs after a […]

Coming off five consecutive first-place finishes in the National League West divisional race, the Los Angeles Dodgers quietly extended their President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman recently, according to sources. Jon Heyman of MLB Network was on it first, as he noted that, per team protocol, there was no formal announcement of contract length, financial […]

Continuing their busy Nov. 27, the San Diego Padres agreed to a deal with starter/reliever Drew Pomeranz, according to a source. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com put together a write-up on the deal, which has not been confirmed by the team or player yet at this time. For Pomeranz, his four year, $34 million contract represents […]

The Arizona Diamondbacks now have a veteran presence to tie with their youthful backstop, as the team signed 35-year-old grizzled vet Stephen Vogt to a one year deal with a vesting option for 2021, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN and Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Coming off of a year that saw […]

After having served only as the team’s designated hitter in 2019, Los Angeles Angels’ two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani has been cleared to throw off of a pitching mound again, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Angels general manager Billy Eppler stated these thoughts on Tuesday to the media, which creates a bit of buzz surrounding […]

With manager Mike Shildt winning the National League Manager of the Year in 2019, Paul Goldschmidt earning his keep in the first year of his big-time contract extension, and the team as a whole exceeding expectations on its way to winning the NL Central divisional crown, the St. Louis Cardinals put together a pretty darn […]

How hard is it to replicate a World Series appearance and victory the following season? Just ask the 2019 Boston Red Sox, who went from being the best team in the league one season to completely having the bottom fall out from itself the next. A 24-game difference is what sets the 2018 version of […]

Welcome to what could become one of the best – or worst – teams that the New York Mets have put together in the past decade. Depending on what type of team decides to show up on the diamond each and every game, depending on their luck of missing serious injuries (looking directly at you, […]

As the New York Yankees go into free agency looking to make high-priced additions yet again just like every single year, is there an upgrade out there that would constitute a better use of their time? More importantly, could they decide to use the trade market to their advantage and save a little bit of […]