Aaron Judge Signs $360 Million deal with Yankees

Aaron Judge Signs $360 Million deal with Yankees

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by | Dec 7, 2022 | Featured, MLB

The biggest question of baseball’s offseason has been answered. The reigning American League MVP and face of baseball, Aaron Judge, will remain in pinstripes after signing a massive nine-year, $360 million contract. MLB Network first reported that Judge would re-sign with the New York Yankees, while The Athletic first reported the terms of the agreement.

After turning down a shorter extension offer for only $213.5 million prior to the 2022 season, Judge recorded one of the best seasons in baseball history as he headed into free agency. He broke Roger Maris’ American League-record for home runs by bashing 62, leading baseball. Judge’s 121 RBIs led the American League as well while hitting .311/.425/.686. Turning down that extension is arguably going to be one of the best contract decisions in baseball history. A lot of people speculated Judge’s decision to decline the extension and test free agency, but it ended up working out in his favor as his MVP season has made him one of the most lucrative baseball players of all time, only behind Mike Trout and Mookie Betts for largest deal in terms of total dollars.

This is going to keep the irritable Yankees’ fan base, who have been chasing their first World Series ring 2009, content for the time being as Judge is a fan favorite. The team’s owner Hal Steinbrenner said that his goal was to make Aaron Judge a Yankee for life. Yankees’ General Manager Brian Cashman said the team’s priority in free agency was keeping Judge. The front office got it done for the Yanks.

“We’d love to have our player back,” Cashman said Monday. “We would love to continue to call him our player every step of the way as he follows what looks like — as long as nothing happens — a career path that will lead him to Cooperstown. I would like him to be in pinstripes every step of the way.”

Judge was deciding between staying with the New York Yankees or going the San Diego Padres or San Francisco Giants on the West coast.The 30-year-old outfielder, who was born in Linden, California, attended Linden High School and later Fresno State before being drafted by the Yankees with the 32nd overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft. His connection to California prolonged his decision and made it more difficult for him.  In the end, Judge decided to stay in the Bronx and continue pursuing a championship with the Yankees through the 2031 season.

 

Dec 7, 2022 No Comments
2021 MLB Awards Predictions

2021 MLB Awards Predictions

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by | Apr 12, 2021 | Featured, MLB

As we are about a week and a half into the 2021 MLB season, recapping the offseason.

The National League had a lot of movement this offseason. Nolan Arenado getting traded to the St. Louis Cardinals makes them strong contenders to win the division. The San Diego Padres continued their development by trading for two ace-quality pitchers, Blake Snell and  Yu Darvish. the New York Mets finally got a superstar after they traded for Francisco Lindor and extended him to a 10-year, $341 million contract, and acquiring  a solid starting pitcher in Carlos Carrasco as well. The Mets hope to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. We cannot forget about the reigning National League Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer joined Los Angeles Dodgers, the 2020 World Series champion.

In the American League, the Houston Astros lost their long-time outfielder George Springer after he signed a five-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto added shortstop Marcus Semien on a one-year deal The White Sox continued to bolster their pitching by trading for starter Lance Lynn and signing closer Liam Hendriks.

The league has been shaken up and this could have an effect on who wins the awards. Here are the predictions for the big awards in each league for the 2021 MLB Season.

Mookie Betts will join the great Frank Robinson as the only player to win the MVP in both leagues. Betts will lead the Dodgers to their ninth consecutive NL West Division title and win both a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove.

He is going to hit 30+ home runs and steal 30+ bases while contending for a batting title. He is a five-tool player and will put up very impressive numbers for Los Angeles. The reigning World Series champions are looking to repeat as champions and that is only going to happen if Betts performs like the MVP he is.

Mike Trout will win his fourth AL MVP. This year will be different though because the Angels will make the playoffs as a Wild Card team. This could be the year they finally put everything together and are able to be successful and win more games than usual.

Trout could lead the league in home runs and OPS easily. He is an on-base machine and will do much better with a full season of having another All-Star, Anthony Rendon, in the lineup. Trout’s numbers are going to be mind-boggling, and he will continue to add hardware to his collection.

Jacob deGrom might be the safest pick for this award, since he won in 2018 and 2019, finishing third in 2020. deGrom is the best pitcher in baseball and will have an ERA right around 2.00 this season while tossing 200+ innings and striking out over 200 batters.

His velocity is continuing to rise, and his team has continued to build and bring in more talent around him. He will bring home his third Cy Young in the last four seasons and continue his pursuit to Cooperstown.

The Chicago White Sox’s ace Lucas Giolito will win his first Cy Young this season. Giolito will be close to the lead for the most wins by a pitcher in the American League. He is beyond dominant and is capable of carrying a team and being able to go all the way and throw complete games, which is something fairly rare these days.

Giolito, 26,  will strike out 200 batters at minimum without an issue, but he is looking to make 2021 his first 200-inning MLB season. He will help the White Sox win the 2021 AL Central Division. There are other strong candidates throughout the AL, but Giolito is going to put it all together this season and become one of the better pitchers in baseball.

Apr 12, 2021 No Comments
MLB: Three Most Improved Teams Heading into 2021 Season

MLB: Three Most Improved Teams Heading into 2021 Season

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by | Feb 25, 2021 | Featured, MLB

Major League Baseball’s spring training took full effect last week as camps are now full with pitchers, catchers, and all position players. Spring training games will be beginning soon, which means we’re just a few, short rom the 2021 season. With the regular season around the corner, now is great time to speculate which teams improved the most heading into the 2021 season.

The offseason got off to a rather slow start, but teams kicked things into full gear as the calendar turned the last page of 2020. The league has seen some big signings and blockbuster trades Most of the league’s top free-agents have found places to call home.

Here are the three teams that improved the most prior to the 2021 season.

The New York Mets under New Ownership

Under the guidance of new principal owner Steve Cohen, the New York Mets completely changed their narrative this offseason. From lovable losers to a team that others should fear in free agency. Cohen and his staff made this clear with the offseason’s biggest blockbuster trade, acquiring superstar Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians

New York now has one of the deepest starting rotations in baseball on top of a young core of superstar talent. Lindor sits as the face of the franchise now while the Mets added some serious depth to the roster. The Mets may have missed out on Trevor Bauer and JT Realmuto, but this roster is drastically improved after bringing in names such as Trevor May, James McCann, Jonathan Villar, Albert Almora Jr., and Aaron Loup.

From a team that finished eight games under .500 and fourth in the NL East to a potential World Series candidate, the Mets are the most improved team heading into 2021.

The San Diego Padres are serious World Series contenders

The San Diego Padres began their serious aspirations for a World Series title back in 2019. Over the past two seasons, Fernando Tatis Jr. has emerged as a bonafide superstar while San Diego also brought in big names like Mike Clevinger and Manny Machado.

Despite the additional star power, the Padres fell short last season. San Diego finished six games back of the eventual-champion Dodgers. Instead of remaining with that roster construction, management went back to the drawing board. The Padres are now one of the biggest offseason spenders.

In December, San Diego brought in starting pitching help with Blake Snell and Yu Darvish. The team also solidified its bullpen with the addition of veteran Mark Melancon. Padres management didn’t shy away from improving its lineup and positional player depth. Japanese sensation Ha-Seong Kim was signed for depth behind Tatis Jr. and Machado while he’ll compete for a starting role at second base. Jurickson Profar was also re-signed.

San Diego’s biggest offseason splash came with the record-breaking 14-year, $340 million contract extension for Tatis Jr. The Padres now have a deep roster, from top to bottom, and will play meaningful baseball this October.

Toronto Blue Jays: inking their top target

The Toronto Blue Jays may have had greater aspirations heading into this offseason, but this team still earns a spot on this list. The Blue Jays signed their biggest free-agent target in George Springer. Adding Springer meant adding a superstar talent to rally the franchise around. Toronto also brought in Marcus Semien, another of the league’s top free agents, giving this franchise a number of different All-Star level talents.

Ken Giles did depart in free agency, however, the Blue Jays added a number of bullpen depth pieces in Kirby Yates, Tyler Chatwood, and David Phelps. While the franchise was unable to sure up its starting pitching behind Hyun-Jin Ryu, they did add Robbie Ray and Steven Matz. Both Ray and Matz could rally for successful seasons next year, as this pair both own at least one season with sub-3.50 ERAs.

Toronto’s improvement makes the AL East interesting behind both the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Boston Red Sox did not make this list, but they were also busy this offseason, and it should be a year of competitive baseball in the division.

Feb 25, 2021 No Comments
NBA: Blockbuster Trade Saves Caris LeVert’s Life

NBA: Blockbuster Trade Saves Caris LeVert’s Life

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by | Jan 27, 2021 | Featured, NBA

On January 14, 2021, Caris LeVert was shocked when he was no longer a member of the Brooklyn Nets after being involved in the four-team blockbuster James Harden trade. LeVert thought that getting traded to the Indiana Pacers would be the craziest thing that happened to him that week. Then, he had his physical.

The appointment, necessary to complete the trade, revealed that Caris LeVert had a small mass on his left kidney. Soon after finding out the life-altering news,  the former Nets guard had successful surgery earlier this week to treat kidney cancer, the Pacers announced Tuesday.

“No further treatment is needed,” the team said in a statement. “Caris is expected to make a full recovery and will be out indefinitely.”

The 26-year-old claimed to have been feeling healthy. He did not feel any symptoms from the cancer on his kidney, which could have spread or become deathly. If he was not included in this trade, who knows when LeVert’s health condition would have been discovered.

LeVert is blessed and happy to know that this trade exposed what was going on in his body. He admits that this trade was potentially lifesaving.The entire details of the trade are below. After LeVert’s physical held up the trade, the Nets ended up sending cash and an addition second-round pick (via Cleveland) to the Pacers to complete deal.

LeVert was traded to to Indiana (IND) from Brooklyn (BKN) as part of a 4-team trade: Cleveland (CLE) traded  Dante Exum to Houston (HOU); Cleveland (CLE) traded 2024 2nd round pick to Indiana (IND); Houston (HOU) traded 2023 2nd round pick to Indiana (IND); Houston (HOU) traded  James Harden to Brooklyn (BKN); Indiana (IND) traded  Victor Oladipo to Houston (HOU); Brooklyn (BKN) traded  Jarrett Allen,  Aleksandar Vezenkov and  Taurean Prince to Cleveland (CLE); Brooklyn (BKN) traded  Rodions Kurucs, 2022 1st round pick, 2026 1st round pick, 2024 1st round pick and 2022 1st round pick to Houston (HOU); Brooklyn (BKN) traded $2.6 million to Indiana (IND)

Everyone around the NBA is happy that LeVert’s cancer was caught early and did not spread. Many fans are in great anticipation to see the guard debut for the Pacers in the near future.

Jan 27, 2021 No Comments
Philadelphia Phillies Lock Up Best Catcher in Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies Lock Up Best Catcher in Baseball

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by | Jan 27, 2021 | Featured, MLB

The Philadelphia Phillies just locked up All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to a five-year, $115.5 million contract. The two-time All-Star will be returning to the city of brotherly love.

Realmuto’s average salary on this new deal is $23.1 million per year, which is the highest ever for a catcher in Major League Baseball history. He is the first catcher to sign a contract worth over $100 million in free agency.

There have been catchers that have signed larger extensions, like Joe Mauer  and his eight-year, $184 million extension with the Minnesota Twins in 2010, and Buster Posey nine-year, $167 million extension with the San Francisco Giants in 2013. Realmuto’s new deal surpassed Mauer’s previous record for highest average annual value at $23 million.

Realmuto, 29, has earned this deal. He patiently waited and he was paid handsomely, after declining the Phillies’ one-year qualifying offer. He is a two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and won a Gold Glove. He is one of the best all-around catchers in the majors.

2018 is when things changed for Realmuto. He had a monster season for the Marlins and then generated a ton of trade interest, which ended up with him being sent to Philadelphia. This was the year of his first All-Star game.

Since 2018, Realmuto leads all MLB catchers in WAR (10.1), RBIs (189) and stolen bases (16) and is second best in slugging percentage and OPS. He has hit 57 home runs during that span, which ranks third among MLB catchers during that span. All stats are from baseballreference.com.

On the defensive side of the ball, he has 11 runs saved since the start of the 2019 season. This ranks fourth among catchers who have played more than 1,000 innings during that span.

In 2019, Realmuto batted .275 with 25 homers and 83 RBIs while earning his second consecutive All-Star selection in 2019, when he led the National League catching 43 runners stealing.

Realmuto is passionate about the Phillies’ organization. “I love this organization,” he said. “They’ve been great to me and my family since I showed up. From top to bottom, they’re good people and they care about baseball. That’s important to me.”

Now that the Phillies have Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, and JT Realmuto signed for the next four seasons. A new winning culture is trying to be built in Philadelphia, slowly, but surely.

Realmuto is a career .278 hitter has had an OPS. of .825 since 2018. Realmuto is the best catcher is the majors and is now one of the richest catchers in the league. This was a huge move for the Phillies, and this keeps them competitive in the race for the NL East.

Jan 27, 2021 No Comments