Guardians Baseball Insider

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Top News

• Monday: Former Seattle Mariners CEO Kevin Mather resigned from the club due to comments he made detrimental to the team. During a speech at the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club on February 5, Mather discussed a number of different topics on video speech about player’s on the team, and the upcoming season. Among the comments, he spoke on former pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma and pitching prospect, Julio Rodriguez. He mentions that Rodriguez “ has a bigger personality than everybody in the room combined,” and that he had difficulty speaking English. Mather then took shots at Iwakuma mentioning how he grew tired of paying his interpreter $75K a year along with what they paid Iwakuma. He then said his English got better after he told him how much he was paying the interpreter. Mather went on to call infielder Kyle Seager “overpaid,” and referred to catcher Luis Torrens as Luis Torres. He then went on to talk about former player’s, and what prospects would and wouldn’t be coming up this season. He made a formal apology, but the damage had already been done.

• Tuesday: The Oakland Athletics signed veteran first baseman/DH Mitch Moreleand to a one-year, $2.25MM deal. He can earn another $250K worth of incentives. 

• Wednesday: The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired outfielder Dustin Fowler from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for cash considerations. 

• Thursday: The New York Mets have signed catcher Caleb Joseph to a split contract.          

• Friday: The Atlanta Braves extended the contract of skipper, Brian Snitker. The deal is for two years, and it comes with a club option for 2024. This makes the second spring in a row he’s gotten an extension from the club.

• Saturday: The San Francisco Giants have signed veteran lefty Scott Kazmir to a minor-league deal. If he makes the final roster, he could make $600K. He currently does not have an opt-out date. This is Kazmir’s first return back to the major’s in five years after pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

• Sunday: The Kansas City Royals agreed on a four-year,$25MM contract extension with infielder/outfielder, Hunter Dozier. If he reaches all available escalators, the contract could max out at $49MM. 

Indians News

• The Cleveland Indians claimed outfielder Harold Ramirez off waivers from the Miami Marlins. Righty Jordan Humphreys was DFA to make room.

News and Notes

• The Chicago Cubs have DFA righty Robert Stock. 

• According to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, San Diego Padres outfielder Tommy Pham said he’s at “80% strength” after getting stabbed in his lower back during an altercation in October. 

• Scott Mitchell of TSN reports that the Toronto Blue Jays have acquired lefty Travis Bergen from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations. 

• Evan Woodberry of MLive.com reports that the Detroit Tigers have signed righty Drew Hutchinson to a minor-league deal. 

• The Los Angeles Dodgers have hired former Cy Young Dontrelle Willis as a special assistant to the team. 

Starting this week, I will feature articles from IBI along with articles from bigger and local sites. This is a way to get to know the writers and see some important stories you might have missed. I will only include one this week. 

Featured Articles

2021 Player Previews: Logan Allen (Indians Baseball Insider) 

Check out the preview written by Spencer Carlson of IBI on lefty Logan Allen, and what he can bring as a reliever and/or starter to the club–as he has a chance to make the rotation out of Spring Training.