Steve DiMatteo Articles - Page 2

The Detroit Tigers made one of the earliest splashes in free agency this offseason, signing left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez to a five-year deal worth $77 million. It doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, because the Tigers are an up-and-coming young team looking to start contending earlier than originally anticipated. Five straight losing seasons […]

Carlos Correa is no doubt one of the best shortstops in baseball, and he is certainly going to command a huge contract as he enters free agency this offseason. But… should he? It seems insane to think, given that he just wrapped up yet another excellent season with a .279/.366/.485 line with 26 home runs, […]

The matchup for the 2021 World Series is set, and it has no shortage of compelling storylines for fans. While most of the baseball world will no doubt be rooting against the Houston Astros due to their scandalous past, there are so many reasons to be rooting for the Atlanta Braves — you know, besides […]

The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros will once again meet in the American League Championship Series, a rematch of their 2018 series in which the Red Sox defeated Houston 4-1 and would ultimately win the World Series. This is the fifth-straight ALCS trip for the Astros, who are no doubt on a revenge tour […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals played an incredible, white-knuckle NL wild-card game Wednesday night, but the most exciting thing to happen during the game didn’t even take place on the field. No, it was seeing Juan Soto sitting in the front row in a Trea Turner Washington Nationals jersey, cheering on his […]

We made it, everyone: the 2021 MLB Playoffs are finally here. Everywhere you look, there are great storylines waiting to unfold, and when it comes to predicting a World Series champion, the field feels as open as ever. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to make some rock-solid predictions anyway. With the Wild Card […]

As the 2021 season nears its final weekend, much of the baseball world is focused on the five-team AL wild-card race, and for good reason. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals are putting together an incredibly impressive winning streak that has vaulted them into the second NL wild-card spot and turned them into a legitimate contender. […]

The Major League Baseball season is in its final few weeks, and both the AL and NL wild card races are providing the excitement and suspense baseball fans need, because the divisions themselves are mostly wrapped up at this point. In the American League, five teams still have a shot at either of the two […]

This baseball season has been taken over by young talent, with players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., and, most recently, Wander Franco and the 20-year-old rookie’s eye-popping on-base streak dominating much of the discussion. But there are, of course, so many great young players throughout the game. In the midst of what has […]

With Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire after this season, there are sure to be plenty of changes in the game by the time the 2022 season roll around (when the season rolls around is another story if things really get contentious). Already there have been leaks to the media over ideas […]

Is it safe to say — to New York Yankees fans and everyone else — that the AL Cy Young Award is Gerrit Cole’s to lose in the 2021 MLB season’s final weeks? The answer is probably yes, but there are still a few pitchers out there who could pull off the upset. On the […]

Francisco Lindor could not be having a worse start to his New York Mets career, which is all a way of saying he is having a very New York Mets way of starting his time with the team. Aside from his struggles at the plate, Lindor is now embroiled in a war with the fans, which […]

Tampa Bay Rays rookie Wander Franco has been one of the most hyped prospects in recent baseball history, and he’s already proving why just 50 games into his major-league career. Franco, 20, hit the ground running in his first-ever game for the Rays, hitting a three-run homer against the Red Sox on June 22. But […]

Even in the era of the launch angle and obscene exit velocity, hitting 500 career home runs in the MLB is still an impressive, rare feat, and watching Miguel Cabrera finally reach that milestone this week was a special treat. Cabrera is just the 28th player to ever cross the 500 home run threshold, doing […]

With a four-game winning streak under their belts, the Cincinnati Reds have leapfrogged the Padres for the second wild card spot in the National League, and now lead San Diego by a game. This recent development may come as a shock to some, but the thing is, the Reds have been playing solid baseball for […]

At this point, the race for the 2021 AL MVP crown is down to two players: Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels. Though, depending on who you ask, the race has been wrapped up in Ohtani’s favor for a while now. Like a lot of other years, voters will have to […]

The American League East (AL East) is officially a three-team race, as the New York Yankees are now tied for the wild-card lead following a doubleheader sweep of the Boston Red Sox Tuesday. The Yankees have been riding high in August, going 13-4 to close the gap not only in the wild card, but in […]

The New York Mets are in a three-way fight for the NL East crown, but there’s no denying they are in some serious trouble, as they now sit 3.5 games behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves. The Mets have fallen into a deep funk at one of the worst possible times, as they capped off an […]

The Field of Dreams Game on Thursday night was everything Major League Baseball and its fans wanted it to be. From Kevin Costner’s tear-jerker of an introduction to a bunch of mashed taters landing into a giant cornfield, baseball in Iowa should be here to stay. In Chicago’s 9-8 victory over the New York Yankees, […]

The MLB season is entering its stretch run and things are heating up all over the place, thanks in large part to one of the most exciting trade deadlines of all time. Teams are surging, others are collapsing, and most of the divisions are still in play, aside from the dumpster fire that is the […]

The Philadelphia Phillies and MVP candidate Bryce Harper have ripped off eight wins in a row to surge past the New York Mets and take control of the National League East standings. They are now six games over .500 even with a negative run differential, but hey, why complain when you’re in first, especially after […]

Many people in Major League Baseball think the Los Angeles Angels are going to completely waste Mike Trout’s career. Trout, about to be 30 years old, has been out since May 17 with a right calf injury. The timeline for his return continues to be pushed back to the point where it’s worth wondering if […]

Now that the New York Yankees have acquired Joey Gallo, the left-handed power hitter they’ve been trying to get into their lineup for so long, one has to assume they’ll be looking to lock him up to a long-term contract as early as this offseason. And it’s not inconceivable to envision the Yankees re-signing Anthony […]

The San Diego Padres might have to make a postseason run without NL MVP frontrunner Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis was placed on the 10-day IL over the weekend after partially dislocating his left shoulder for the third time this season. To put it in context, Tatis was hitting .292/.373/.651 with 31 home runs, 70 RBI, […]

The New York Yankees are going all-in on offense at the trade deadline, having dealt for both outfielder Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers and first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs. These are two massive moves that turn a middling Yankees lineup into a true monster. New York wanted more left-handed bats in […]

As you might expect, a whole lot of teams are interested in acquiring Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer before the MLB trade deadline, which is rapidly approaching. Even with a recent triceps issue and the competitive balance tax implications for some teams, that hasn’t stopped numerous organizations from foaming at the mouth at the possibility […]

The Washington Nationals, eight games out of the NL East and 11 games behind in the NL Wild Card race, have officially let teams know they will be selling at the trade deadline this year. While all eyes are on impending free agent and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer and where he will be […]

The Trevor Story era with the Colorado Rockies is coming to an end one way or another after this season, and plenty of teams are interested in his services before this month’s MLB trade deadline. But what’s the best fit? Story is currently having one of his worst years at the plate, hitting .243/.316/.423 with […]