Running to Atlanta

Finally, some significant free agent movement on Monday. And it came from an unexpected source, as the Braves signed 3rd baseman Josh Donaldson to a eye-catching contract.
Coming off an injury-plagued season where he played just 52 games, the 2015 American League MVP agreed on a one-year deal. A limited commitment for him and the Braves, who'll get a player eager to prove he's still one of the game's best hitters.
Heading into his age 33 season, Donaldson believes he can still play at the level that made him the 2015 AL MVP with the division winning Blue Jays. And while it's a hefty price tag for the Braves, there's not the risk involved with a long-term deal.
Donaldson, should things go as planned, will also serve as the savvy veteran alongside Freddie Freeman to help rising young stars Acuna, Albies and Enciarte make it deeper into October.
The Braves other Monday signing was a homecoming -- catcher Brian McCann spent the first nine years of his career with the Braves, before jumping to the Yankees as a free agent. After two seasons in Houston -- including a 2017 Championship, the Athens, Georgia native will share his position with the younger Tyler Flowers. He brings experience and Atlanta history, but the years always take a toll on catchers. The $2 million Alex Anthopoulos dropped on him might be even more of a gamble than the bigger check he wrote for Donaldson.

(My image of Donaldson is from a Blue Jays/Yankees game in the Bronx on May 24th, 2016;
McCann was playing for the Yankees against the Astros on August 20th, 2014.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Street and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two-year r
Read more

Another Yankee Trade

Image
Yankee fans: here's a last look at shortstop Trey Sweeney .  The 2021 first round draft choice was part of the three player trade with the Dodgers that brings reliever Victor Gonzalez and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas to New York. Now seeking to rebuild their pitching depth after dealing for Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, the Yanks deemed Sweeney expendable.  While the Louisville native showed promising power in his three seasons with the organization -- he batted only .248 to go with his 36 career homers -- Brian Cashman has committed to Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza as his young middle infielders.  So Sweeney became a trade chip. ( My images of Trey Sweeney are from the Somerset/Binghamton AA games on July 15th and September 19th, 2023. )
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore 00
Read more