Scott Boras; CC by License 2.0 This MLB offseason was one of the most dragged out in the sport’s recent history. The signings and trades were seemingly all dependent on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yammamoto’s decisions. Once they signed, fans expected the rest of the high-profile players to sign in the following weeks. This was far from the truth. Scott Boras, the agent representing the four of the top free agents of the 2023-2024 offseason, was on a mission to get his guys the best deals possible, even if this meant waiting until the regular season started in one player’s case.  Boras ..read more

The year was 2016. The Chicago Cubs just beat the Cleveland Indians in one of the best World Series of all time, and those two teams looked poised to be powerhouses for the next few years. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the leaderboard, just barely above the 59-103 Minnesota Twins, sat the 68-93 Atlanta Braves. They had just finished their last game in the infamous Turner Field and had parted ways with their manager, Fredi Gonzalez, midseason, replacing him with longtime organizational coaching staff member Brian Snitker. Just two years later in 2018, the Braves won their division for the first ..read more

Jackson Holliday playing for the Baltimore Orioles Florida Complex Leage; CC by License 2.0 After the implementation of the Prospect Promotion Incentive as a part of the 2022 CBA, we’ve seen an increasing number of top prospects crack MLB opening day rosters. This is a quick look at some blue-chip prospects that can make an impact at the big league level this year. I’ll be taking a look at what they need to do to earn a roster spot in the show and how they will impact their ballclub at the next level. Jackson Holliday: IF, Baltimore Orioles By far the most abysmal roster decision this year ..read more

Ronald Acuna playing for the Atlanta Braves; CC by License 2.0 Everyone knows the saying about Spring Training: these games don’t matter. What is the reasoning behind this saying? Well, the games really do not matter. There is no trophy to win or bragging rights to earn. In fact, it is common to see the weakest regular-season teams perform the best in spring training games.  The time spent in Arizona or Florida before the season is for clubs to lock in, preparing for the marathon that is the MLB regular season. There are some incentives for superstars across the league to try in spring tr ..read more

If you are reading this, there is a decent chance you play MLB the Show. The new edition is coming out soon, and in one of the trailers, they revealed a new legend of the game: Marcenia Lyle, better known as Toni Stone, the first woman to play professional baseball. Now if you are like me, you have no idea who this person is, which is crazy because you think that a woman playing professional baseball would be talked about more often. Now, Negro League players have an ambiguous history because different sources give many different, and sometimes unreliable, accounts of their careers. However ..read more

MJ Melendez hitting for the Kansas City Royals; CC by License 2.0 Every season players come out of nowhere and break onto the scene, and every offseason the media tries to predict who these breakout players will be. These players often can make or break a team's season and can have a big impact on the season as a whole. A couple of examples from the 2023 season are Jonah Heim, George Kirby, Orlando Arcia, and Justin Steele. I attempted to do this last year and had mixed results picking: Christian Yelich, Bryan De La Cruz, Garrett Whitlock, and Aaron Ashby. So today we are going to use stats a ..read more

,,Hunter Pence played baseball like a freak. Watching any highlight of his will leave you shocked at how he manages to even get the bat on the ball. Despite his unorthodox play style, Pence was a 4-time All-Star and earned MVP votes four times in his 17-year major-league career. It was not always easy, as he battled through rough injuries in the back half of his time in the majors. Pence is a beloved player by fans of all the teams he played for, but his time with the San Francisco Giants will be forever special. Pence established himself as an elite vibes guy when he was traded to the G ..read more

Josh Hader pitching for the San Diego Padres ;CC by license 2.0 The Houston Astros rang in the new year with what could end up being one of the biggest free-agent signings in the club’s history if all goes to plan. Astros GM Dana Brown finally made some noise in what had been an uncharacteristically quiet offseason, especially for a team who finished just 1 win shy of making their 3rd straight fall classic, by bringing back star reliever Josh Hader. Wait, what? Bringing back? Well, sort of. While it won’t get you any squares on the immaculate grid, it is interesting to note that Hader was, at ..read more

In the 2021 offseason, all of the contenders were out signing big free agents to massive contracts. Freddie Freeman signed with the Dodgers for a 6-year deal, Marcus Semien inked a 7-year deal with the Rangers, Steve Cohen and Co. brought Max Scherzer to the Mets with a 3-year deal, etc. There was one free agent, however, whose offseason was unusually quiet that winter: Kris Bryant. At this point, Kris Bryant was a 4-time All-Star, ROTY, and, most importantly, an MVP. Although people were not certain where he would land, there was a consensus on the most likely possibilities. The Giants, Mets ..read more

Finding value in major league players independently has been heavily researched by the public and major league clubs, providing a vast number of advanced statistics used to place value upon players. However, one avenue that has yet to be researched in full is where the monetary value is located positionally in Major League Baseball. One trend that has become increasingly evident in the majors is the practice of moving players around to alternate defensive positions different from their true position.   Baseball has eight defensive positions: catcher, first base, second base, sh ..read more