November 30, 2021
1. The stove stays hot: Corey Seager signs a ten-year deal with the Rangers
You’ve probably seen it by now (the news announced yesterday evening just after the newsletter went up), and so an era-ending time for the Dodgers begins — first Seager leaves town, and next might come many more names from this historically great group they’ve had over the past decade.
Ten years, $325 million.
2. Javier Baez signs a six-year, $140 million deal with the Tigers
The stove is still red hot this morning.
The good news, for any fellow Cub fans here: he’ll be playing almost ten times each year on the south side of Chicago (and even a little road trip to Detroit won’t be too far away).
3. And this guy will be eating a shoe
Tweet dated from March 12th of this year.
4. The anonymous source of the day: An Instagram account that had Javy Baez deal “predicted” spot on
This might just be the future. No more Ken Rosenthal, no more Jon Morosi. No more Heyman or Passan or Nightengale. Just BASEBALLFAN420 announcing on a TikTok Live hours before it’s official: “BAEZ 2 TIGERS, $140MIL!”🚨🚨🚨
5. More signings, from around the league
Here comes another bountiful news dump:
6. Ichiro Suzuki impressed high school kids in Tokyo with a batting practice session yesterday
From the baseball Reddit page:
“He’ll be coaching at three high schools this winter. This school, Kokugakuin, he chose because the graduating seniors wrote him a moving letter, asking him to come coach their team. None of the students knew he was coming until he showed up.”
7. Updates on the current state of the MLB and MLBPA negotiations
Boring, but important.
8. MLB proposes a 14-team expanded playoff system
From CBS Sports:
The link to the full article here:
9. An update from Ronald Acuna Jr.’s rehab work
10. Aaron Hicks goes deep in the Dominican winter league
And a very nice catch to end the game, days earlier:
11. Marcell Ozuna officially receives a 20-game suspension from MLB
Which, technically, he already served earlier this season (while sidelined during a domestic violence investigation), so now oddly enough, he’s free to play.
Here’s what he’s been up to lately, playing in the Dominican Republic:
12. More signing rumors from around the league
Full expect the stove to stay as hot as it’s been, at least for one more day.
13. A dominant closer from Venezuela, who’s only pitched in Japan, may be coming to MLB next season
Posting a 1.16 ERA last season, with 42 saves in the NPB.
14. Updates from the Taiwan Series
MLB is done. NPB is done (not that any of us watched).
This is all we have left, people.
15. And lastly, Buffalo’s Sahlen Field is named “Professional Baseball Field of the Year”
When you impromptu host the Blue Jays for several months, including the entirety of the 2020 season, you get special kudos.
