Cleveland Sports Forum

Don't think Denver Lou was around in 1908 but he keeps a pretty neat scorebook.

GOLD GLOVE CANDIDATES

AMERICAN LEAGUE

PITCHER

R.A. Dickey, Blue Jays
Dallas Keuchel, Astros
Justin Verlander, Tigers

CATCHER

James McCann, Tigers
Carlos Perez, Angels
Salvador Perez, Royals

FIRST BASE

Chris Davis, Orioles
Eric Hosmer, Royals
Mitch Moreland, Rangers

SECOND BASE

Robinson Cano, Mariners
Ian Kinsler, Tigers
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox

THIRD BASE

Adrian Beltre, Rangers
Manny Machado, Orioles
Kyle Seager, Mariners

SHORTSTOP

Jose Iglesias, Tigers
Francisco Lindor, Indians
Andrelton Simmons, Angels

LEFT FIELD

Brett Gardner, Yankees
Alex Gordon, Royals
Colby Rasmus, Astros

CENTER FIELD

Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox
Kevin Pillar, Blue Jays
Kevin Kiermaier, Rays

RIGHT FIELD

Mookie Betts, Red Sox
Adam Eaton, White Sox
George Springer, Astros

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PITCHER

Jake Arrieta, Cubs
Zack Greinke, D-backs
Adam Wainwright, Cardinals

CATCHER

Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers (traded to Rangers on Aug. 1)
Yadier Molina, Cardinals
Buster Posey, Giants

FIRST BASE

Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs
Wil Myers, Padres
Anthony Rizzo, Cubs

SECOND BASE

DJ LeMahieu, Rockies
Joe Panik, Giants
Jean Segura, D-backs

THIRD BASE

Nolan Arenado, Rockies
Anthony Rendon, Nationals
Justin Turner, Dodgers

SHORTSTOP

Brandon Crawford, Giants
Freddy Galvis, Phillies
Addison Russell, Cubs

LEFT FIELD

Adam Duvall, Reds
Starling Marte, Pirates
Christian Yelich, Marlins

CENTER FIELD

Billy Hamilton, Reds
Odubel Herrera, Phillies
Ender Inciarte, Braves

RIGHT FIELD

Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
Jason Heyward, Cubs
Nick Markakis, Braves

Autopsy report finds cocaine and alcohol in Jose Fernandez’s system
16 Comments
By Ashley Varela Oct 29, 2016, 3:35 PM EDT



Former Marlins’ pitcher Jose Fernandez was found to have cocaine and alcohol in his system prior to the fatal boat crash that occurred in September, per a report by the Miami Herald.

The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office released the toxicology report on Saturday, which revealed a blood-alcohol content level of 0.147, well above the legal limit of 0.08. All three men, including Fernandez’s friends Jesus Macias and Eduardo Rivero, were found with BAC above 0.044, but only Fernandez and Rivero were determined to also have cocaine in their systems. Per Tim Elfrink of the Miami New Times, Fernandez had 0.126 mg/L of cocaine in his system at the time of his death.

The Herald received the report after suing the Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday, contending that the pending investigation surrounding the incident could not result in any criminal charges due to the death of all involved parties. Any information identifying the driver of the boat has not been released, though Elfrink notes that prior information appears to rule out Rivero’s involvement.

Report:
Lourdes Gurriel signs with the Toronto Blue Jays

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -

Cuban Lourdes Gurriel, considered the sixth best prospect for MLBPipeline.com international has agreed a seven-year, $ 22 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to industry sources.

[ I THINK THE JAYS GOT A HUGE BARGAIN HERE. $3 MIL / YR. GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! ]

Gurriel, 23-year-old batted .321 with eight homers, 32 RBIs and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) o]f .924 for the Industriales of Havana when defecting in February with his older brother, Yulieski, after the Caribbean Series in the Dominican Republic.

Yulieski, 32, signed with the Astros in July for four and a half years and US $ 47.5 million and then hit .262 with a .292 OBP and .385 slugging percentage in 36 games for Houston. In 130 at-bats, hit three home runs and produced 15 runs.

For his part, Lourdes was declared a free agent in August and in September puy on a demonstration for all major league teams in Panama. He is considered capable of playing both infield and outfield.

[ ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITE CUBANS BITES THE DUST ..... HE GONE! ]

I see 43 year old Fat Bart Colon is about to grab $12.5M from the Braves.

Sure would have been nice to have Jorge Soler and Lourdes Gourriel all wrapped up in a Cleveland uniform for the next 5 years at 3 mil / yr. I think we could have afforded that. Hell! I would have gone higher for each.

Braves cornering the market on 40 something starters with Dickey and Colon signed as free agents. Next target: ARod

Former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow's baseball career doesn’t quite measure up to NBA legend Michael Jordan's baseball résumé -- not yet, at least.

Tebow, who signed a minor-league contract with the New York Mets in September, completed the six-week Arizona Fall League season on Thursday with a .194 average (12-for-62).

Jordan, albeit already with a Double-A regular season under his belt at that point, hit .252 (31-for-123) in the Arizona Fall League in 1994 while dabbling in the sport after several standout years in the NBA.

Tebow produced three doubles, two RBIs and eight walks while striking out 20 times in 62 at-bats and stealing one base in three attempts. That was good for a .296 on-base percentage and .242 slugging percentage.

He also was hit by one pitch, which led Tigers prospect Spencer Turnbull to lightheartedly tweet Monday:

.194 in the AFL?

Hang 'em up, Timmy

MILWAUKEE --

Unable to find a trade partner for slugger Chris Carter, the Brewers on Friday took the expected, but nonetheless unprecedented, step of non-tendering a reigning league home run champion.

The Brewers had designated Carter for assignment earlier in the week after signing free agent Eric Thames, a player coming off three monster years in Korea who costs less than Carter and fills a need as a left-handed hitter. GM David Stearns spent the rest of the week trying to trade Carter before Friday's 7 p.m. CT deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.

NO DOUBT

After enjoying a historic 2015 season en route to capturing his first MVP in South Korean baseball, NC Dinos slugger Eric Thames has already set his sights on winning the highest individual honor for the second straight year.

"I want the MVP award (for 2016)," Thames said in a text message to Yonhap News Agency Thursday, when asked about his goal for the new season.

Thames posted the first 40-40 season in Korea Baseball Organization history last year with 47 home runs and 40 steals. He also won the batting title with a .381 average, while leading the league with a .497 on-base percentage, a .790 slugging percentage, 130 runs scored, 94 extra-base hits and 42 doubles.
Oh! By the way, his 2014 season wasn't too shabby either. Thames signed with the NC Dinos on December 9, 2013. In the 2014 season he batted .343 with 37 home runs, 121 runs batted in, and an OPS of 1.110.[14] During the 2015 season, Thames became the first player in KBO history to hit for the cycle twice in one season.

[ It was during the 2014 season that I started following Thames when I read a mid-season article on the success he was having. At the end of the season, I was wondering how Thames would look in Cleveland or even if the organization follows these guys. Anyway! These numbers are very hard to ignore. It will be interesting to see if Thames can come back to the major leagues and hit half as well as he did in Korea after a three year absence. ]

Report: Red Sox Acquire Chris Sale From Chicago White Sox
December 6, 2016 1:15 PM



BOSTON (CBS) — The Red Sox have acquired lefty Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox at the Winter Meetings, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Boston will send prospects Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Victor Diaz, and Luis Basabe to the White Sox as part of the deal.

Sale, 27, finished 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA in 2016, striking out 233 batters in 226.2 innings. He has 1,244 career strikeouts in 1,110 career innings. He’s made the American League All-Star team and finished no lower than sixth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in every season since 2012, when he became a full-time starter.

Sale joins a Red Sox rotation that already includes 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello and former Cy Young winner David Price. Perhaps most attractive about Sale is his contract, which will pay him $12 million in 2017. The Red Sox will almost certainly pick up Sale’s club options of $12.5 million in 2018 and $15 million in 2019.

Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez, Drew Pomeranz, and Steven Wright are likely to compete to round out the final two spots in the suddenly-formidable Red Sox rotation, barring future moves.

Moncada was listed No. 1 among Baseball America’s top midseason prospects during the 2016 season. Kopech was listed at No. 93. Diaz is a right-handed pitcher while Basabe is an outfielder; both played for Single-A Greenville.

ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted on Tuesday that the White Sox’s haul for Sale is a “step down” from what they asked for at the July trade deadline, which included AL MVP finalist Mookie Betts and outfielder Andrew Benintendi.

Just hours prior to making the trade, Red Sox president of baseball ops. Dave Dombrowski told Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald that the Red Sox “have the depth to make other trades.” They also acquired lefty reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Milwaukee Brewers for Travis Shaw and two others.

Good haul for both sides; Moncada is another of the Sox super prospects. I hope Sale is happy with the Red Sox shirts.

Yoan Moncada, if
Age: 21

Moncada has been a frontline presence as a prospect since the day he signed, when the Red Sox gave him a $31.5 million signing bonus out of Cuba in Feb. 2015. They had to pay a 100 percent tax on that bonus because it exceeded their bonus pool, making their total outlay for Moncada $63 million. He delivered on that enormous sum almost immediately, winning Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year Award for 2016 after hitting .294/.407/.511 with 15 homers and 45 stolen bases between high Class A and Double-A and reaching the majors. He also won the Futures Game MVP Award for good measure and was ranked the No. 1 prospect in the game at midseason. Moncada brings a tantalizing blend of physicality, power, speed and athleticism as a switch-hitter with defensive versatility, making him one of the most dynamic prospects in the game. He projects as a plus offensive force, a plus defender at either second base or third base, and a plus runner capable of wreaking havoc on the basepaths. The one big area of his game that needs improvement is his plate discipline, which was exposed after he struck out 12 times in 20 plate appearances with the Red Sox. Despite that poor showing, he demonstrated patience throughout the minors and has shown a propensity for making quick adjustments before. He could start 2017 in Triple-A, but very well could break camp with the White Sox and solidify himself as a starter from day one in his new organization.



Michael Kopech, rhp
Age: 20

Kopech is the latest in a long line of big, hard-throwing Texas righthanders, with a 98 mph fastball that routinely gets up to triple-digits and recently hit 102 in the Arizona Fall League. The 33rd overall pick in 2014 is more than just a thrower though, with an 87 mph power slider and 91 mph changeup that both made significant progress throughout the 2016 season and give him two quality offerings to confound batters even further. Taken on the surface, his raw stuff draws comparisons to Noah Syndergaard. Kopech does come with red flags, however. In 2015 he was suspended 50 games for amphetamine use and in spring training 2016 he broke his hand in an altercation with a teammate. If he can harness his talent without any more incidents, Kopech profiles as a possible No. 1 starter.


Luis Alexander Basabe, of
Age: 20

Basabe signed with the Red Sox along with his twin brother Luis Alejandro out of Venezuela when they were 16. They climbed the system together until this year, when Luis Alejandro was traded to the Diamondbacks midseason for Brad Ziegler. Now, Luis Alexander is on the move too after reaching high Class A as a 19-year old and solidifying himself as one of Boston’s top 10 prospects. He is a switch-hitter with the speed and athleticism to stick in center field, and his 25 stolen bases in 30 attempts last season are a testament to how his speed plays on the basepaths. Basabe is still very raw and refining his game, particularly his plate discipline and strike-zone judgement, but has shown the skill set to become a top of the order center fielder down the road.


Victor Diaz, rhp
Age: 22

Diaz is the only one of the four prospects traded who didn’t rank in the Red Sox’s Top 10, but emerged as a potentially valuable power bullpen arm at low Class A Greenville last season with 63 strikeouts in 60 innings and 10 saves as the Drive’s closer. He has a power fastball in the 96-100 mph range, an 87-90 mph slider that is his main secondary pitch, a riding two-seamer and a splitter in its nascent stages. Diaz is still learning how to harness his arsenal after issuing 41 walks in his first 90 career innings. If he does that, he becomes a bona fide closer prospect down the road.