The actual process of cutting a major league baseball player on a guaranteed contract is easy enough in theory, but time-consuming in practice. The Mets designated Darin Ruf for assignment last Monday and had likely known he wouldn’t make the team for at least a couple weeks before that. But it wasn’t until this Monday that the 36-year-old former Creighton Blue Jay finally received his release. That ends the fifth act in Ruf’s career, one everyone would probably just as soon forget.

Ruf was one of several first base/DH types who passed through waivers just before the season, as teams weighed the potential for a bounceback against the downside of being on the hook for $3 million in his case, plus another $250,000 to buy out his club option in 2024 if things didn’t go well. Perhaps he’ll be more attractive at the league minimum or as depth in Triple-A if he accepts such an assignment, and we’ll see him in the majors again.

Even if this is the end of Ruf’s time as a major leaguer, he’s had a noteworthy career, spanning 561 games over parts of eight seasons across 10 years, on either side of a dominant three-year run in the KBO. I, for one, did not expect to be writing about Ruf in 2023, but he’s confounded my expectations and then some. Read the rest of this entry »

Coming into 2023, the biggest question concerning major league baseball was how the past offseason’s rule changes would impact style of play. For example, would bigger bases and restrictions on pickoff plays tilt the balance of the game in favor of basestealers? If so, by how much? And would offenses, coming off a period of historic league-wide reluctance to run, take advantage?

Enter the Orioles, who in the first weekend of the season came over all Pink Floyd and ran like hell. Baltimore stole 10 bases in the first two games of the season, and though the team settled down on Sunday and did not attempt a stolen base in the series finale, its runners had already done impressive damage: This was the first time in 10 years that any team had stolen 10 bases over two consecutive nine-inning games. The Orioles also became the first team to hit double figures in the first two games of a season; the previous record, nine, had been set by the 1976 Reds and 1983 Dodgers in the stimulants-and-Astroturf era of baseball, when stolen bases were commonplace.

So what got into the Orioles? And if they can go 10-for-10 on stolen bases in two games, why can’t everyone else? Read the rest of this entry »

Just 14 hours before the start of the MLB regular season, the league and the MLBPA reached a tentative agreement on the first collective bargaining agreement for minor league baseball players. They could have picked a day when the baseball headlines weren’t as crowded, but when it comes to making labor history, there’s no time like the present.

The headline figures include massive increases in the minimum salary across all levels and reforms in most of the areas that have made minor league baseball’s working conditions a target for criticism. All that just seven months after minor league ballplayers announced their intent to unionize. Read the rest of this entry »

Sean Hjelle has been turning heads this preseason and seems to have pitched his way into a major league job. Then again, Hjelle turns heads everywhere; the former Kentucky Wildcat is the tallest player in baseball, at 6-foot-11, leaving him tied with Jon Rauch as the tallest player in MLB history. Anytime a pitcher above 6-foot-6 or so gets extended major league run, there’s an assumption that with a big body comes big velocity. That might be entirely Randy Johnson’s fault; Rauch sat in the low 90s, and until the end of last season, Hjelle didn’t throw much harder.

But as as he told Alex Pavlovic of NBCSN Bay Area early in spring training, Hjelle had been able to tickle 96 or 97 for one adrenaline-fueled inning in his last appearance of the 2022 season. This winter, his goal was to hold that velocity deeper into games. How? Well, to quote legendary Giants fan Huey Lewis, by working out most every day and watching what he eats. And after almost two months of training camp, Hjelle can look back and see the fruits of his labor. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you want to see baseball’s brightest young talents get a chance on the biggest stage? Do you want teams to care more about winning now than saving a few bucks six years down the road? If so, you probably had a good weekend. Anthony Volpe, 21 years old and the no. 11 prospect on the FanGraphs Top 100, has made the Yankees out of camp. Jordan Walker, 20 years old and the no. 12 prospect in baseball, has likewise made the Cardinals and will figure into an intriguing outfield rotation. Let us rejoice and be glad.

Jeff Passan summed up the news from the weekend thusly: “Service-time manipulation still exists. But new CBA rules that incentivize teams to start the year with top prospects are working.”

Those rules, which came into force a year ago, reward teams that promote high-performing prospects early. The specific mechanism, which ties top-100 prospect lists and BBWAA award voting to cash bonuses for players and draft pick bonuses for teams, has its issues, but the intent is good. Service time manipulation is black-letter illegal under the CBA, but in practical terms it’s been practically impossible to prove — so much so that executives can talk openly about doing it without fear of repercussion. Read the rest of this entry »

This is my third post about Rockies pitchers in the past seven weeks. We at FanGraphs try to touch on every corner of the league, but why on Earth would one writer feel compelled to spend so much energy on what’s traditionally been the weak side of the ball for a team that’s probably going to finish last in its division?

It’s because I’m… you know what, obsessed is too strong a word. It’s a little pointed. Let’s say “fascinated” instead. I’m fascinated by the 30-year conundrum that is building a winning pitching staff on a team that plays in a unique environment.

Being a mile above sea level doesn’t affect all sports in the same way; for instance, for speed skating, thinner air makes for less wind resistance and better ice conditions, which is why 20 of the 21 senior long-track world records recognized by the ISU were set on one of two high-altitude ovals. But a pitcher needs air resistance not only to slow fly balls down before they leave the yard, but to generate movement on breaking pitches. (Of course, pitchers make more money than speed skaters, and also don’t have to wear those terribly unflattering full-body spandex suits on TV, so it’s kind of a wash.) Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier today, Dan Szymborski examined the state of left field. Now we turn our attention to those who roam center.

So much of evaluating and utilizing center fielders comes down to what you want. It’s easy to forget sometimes that this is an up-the-middle, premium defensive position, like shortstop and catcher. Even if the defensive demands aren’t quite as extreme, there’s a limited number of ballplayers who can hold their own in center, and a huge premium on those who can play it well. And if you’re looking for players who can field the position competently and hit? Well, that’s an even smaller pool still.

Such scarcity makes the two clear best center fielders in baseball — Mike Trout and Julio Rodríguez — supremely valuable. As interesting as those two superstars are to discuss, most of the other 28 teams are engaged in an even more fascinating puzzle: How to maximize value at this position in the aggregate. For some, that involves building an up-and-coming potential star, like Michael Harris II or Luis Robert Jr., into the best version of himself that he can be. Other teams, like the Brewers and Tigers, are auditioning even less developed players in the hope that they’ll turn into something special. Read the rest of this entry »

The cradle of major league baseball in the spring is in the Phoenix metro area, where every February the league rises from the ashes of the previous season like, well, you know. Unlike their Grapefruit League counterparts, the Cactus League teams are fairly closely concentrated in the suburbs of Phoenix; a motivated fan could go to two spring training games a day without breaking a sweat.

The Athletics and Angels are spring training neighbors, with their training camps about 10 miles apart in Mesa and Tempe, respectively. And while these division rivals are on different trajectories — the Angels are desperately trying to get back to the playoffs before Mike Trout gets old and Shohei Ohtani peaces out; the A’s are in year two of an indefinite rebuild — “break in the young catcher” is near the top of both teams’ to-do list.

Logan O’Hoppe and Shea Langeliers were both traded to California from NL East teams in the past 13 months. Both got their first taste of big league action in 2022 and showed the potential to be that preciously rare species of ballplayer: a genuine two-way threat at catcher. O’Hoppe was the no. 51 prospect on the FanGraphs Top 100; Langeliers was no. 70 last offseason before he graduated out of prospect status. Read the rest of this entry »

In April 2016, a 23-year-old part-time plumber from Oklahoma showed up in Detroit, learned a changeup, and immediately became one of the best pitchers in the American League. In the previous two seasons, the Tigers had lost David Price, Max Scherzer, and Rick Porcello, and were in dire need of a no. 2 starter.

Michael Fulmer was that good, winning AL Rookie of the Year and making the All-Star team in 2017, before injuries — shoulder bursitis, a torn meniscus, and a series of escalating elbow injuries that culminated in Tommy John surgery — intervened. The torn UCL cost him all of 2019 and led into a 2020 season he would’ve been better off missing as well: 10 starts, just 27 2/3 innings pitched, and more earned runs allowed (27) than strikeouts (20).

Three years later, he’s preparing for his first season as a Chicago Cub. He turned 30 this week, and the tuft of black hair that used to stick out from under his cap is gone, as Fulmer’s opted for a Price-like shaved head-and-beard look. And rather than a potential ace, he’s now a potential closer. Read the rest of this entry »

PHOENIX – It was a nervy affair from start to finish, but Team USA is through to the knockout stage of the World Baseball Classic. Short on big league pitchers and star power, Colombia nevertheless hung in against the U.S. thanks to excellent defense and shrewd plate discipline. But American stars Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, whose quiet tournament-opening weekend had been the source of some consternation, showed up in force when the tournament was on the line, leading the way in a 3–2 victory.

The U.S. advances as the no. 2 seed in Pool C and will face Venezuela on Friday in the quarterfinals in Miami. Colombia, who upset Julio Urías and group winner Mexico in the first game of pool play, could not make good on its early promise after losses to Canada and Great Britain. After entering Thursday with a realistic chance of advancing, Colombia not only goes home early but also finished last in the pool and will be relegated to the qualification tournament for the next WBC. Read the rest of this entry »