harmony

The Tampa Bay Rays also have righthander Jose DeLeon, who entered the 2017 season as a Baseball America Top 30 prospect but who also is out this year following Tommy John surgery in March.

The Tampa Bay Rays have played in the less competitive division so far this year. The AL East has a cumulative record of 212-198 (.517) while the AL West has a cumulative record of 235-186 (.545). The AL East has a 53-58 (.477) record this year in head-to-head competition against the AL West. The disparity is magnified by the fact the AL West clubs have played 27 games against the Red Sox, 22 games against the Yankees, 24 games against the Rays and 23 against the Blue Jays, but only 15 games so far against the woeful Orioles, who to date are winless* in 15 tries against AL West teams. The Rays and A's indeed have good clubs but face formidable tasks to advance to the postseason. In race for the second Wild Card slot, the Mariners are seven games up on the Athletics, 10 games up on the Angels and 11 games up on the Rays. In fact the Mariners trail the Astros by only 1-1/2 games, the Yankees by two games and the Red Sox by three games. FanGraphs currently gives the Mariners an 83.4 percent, the Athletics a 9.4 percent and the Rays a 0.7 percent chance of advancing to the postseason: https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds FiveThirtyEight has Seattle at 77 percent, Oakland at 7 percent and Tampa Bay at 12 percent: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-mlb-predictions/ Of course anything can happen with nearly half the season remaining. * the Orioles lead the Angels 8-1 in the seventh inning as I write.

Blake Swihart has not hit an MLB home run since stroking five in 2015: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/swihabl01.shtml

Or both: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=farK_CyDefU

Boston Globe columnist Nick Cafardo reports that the Red Sox and Houston Astros are interested in Cincinnati reliever Raisel Iglesias: https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/06/30/alex-rodriguez-talks-red-sox-yankees-david-price-wild-card-format-and-more/XjAlTKyAuxoaVtEuLce50M/story.html?p1=Team_LeadArticle https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/06/red-sox-notes-iglesias-deadline-lind-chavis.html I can't imagine the Reds would be willing to pay any of 2018 salary of $5.214 million of Iglesias, who remains under team contract through 2020 at a total cost of about $12.5 million (although Iglesias reportedly can opt into arbitration after this season). As a result, Iglesias would likely have serious luxury tax implications.

Even before Tommy John surgery, 19-year-old Jay Groome was a long ways off with a 5.37 ERA and 4.9 BB/9 ratio in 17 starts in the low minor leagues. Even before TJS, Groome's prospect stock had dropped significantly from 2017 to 2018. Other teams might have limited interest but the left-hander probably does not offer great trade value.

Mike Trout has hit 20 home runs in 66 games at Safeco Field in Seattle (easily to most of any away park).

The Red Sox have signed second baseman Brandon Phillips to a minor league contract: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/06/red-sox-sign-brandon-phillips.html

I have my two offspring home together for an eight-day stretch for perhaps the last time as one just graduated from college and the other just finished her freshman year. The younger one leaves Friday for five weeks in Africa while the other moves to Washington D.C. next month for her first post-college job. It's bittersweet ... but good.

The Seattle Mariners had only one year of team control left with Drew Smyly, a year that was jeopardized by the lefthander's Tommy John surgery. The Mariners did not want to pay Smyly upwards of $7 million for a single season in which Smyly might not pitch. Seattle reportedly tried to match the two-year, $10 million contract signed with the Chicago Cubs last December. Smyly might pitch in relief later this year ... or not: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-drew-smyly-20180608-story.html

Only three American League teams have lower opponent batting averages: the Astros (.205), Yankees (.216) and Rays (.223). https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=al&qual=0&type=1&season=2018&month=0&season1=2018&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=9,a

I also question whether the Cubs would entertain offers for Javier Baez but Eduardo Rodriguez offers an interesting trade match. Baez, who is four months older than Rodriguez, has posted 5.8 fWAR and 8.0 bWAR in his career, entering this season with two years and 89 days of MLB service. Rodriguez has posted 6.4 fWAR and 6.7 bWAR in his career, entering this season with two years and 130 days of MLB service as a Super Two in the first of four arbitration years. ZiPS. Steamer and FanGraphs Depth Charts project rest-of-season WAR of 0.9, 1.1 and 1.1 for Baez and 1.3, 1.1 and 1.2 for Rodriguez.

????? Two offseasons ago Tampa Bay traded Drew Smyly to Seattle, which non-tendered the lefthander after he underwent Tommy John surgery without pitching a single game for the Mariners. In December 2017 the Chicago Cubs signed Smyly to a two-year contract in anticipation that Smyly will return to action in 2019.

My apologies. I responded to the wrong post and have now deleted my errant reply to you.

Suspects get stopped all the time and point the finger at someone else. It's not news in a metropolitan area. We can debate whether it's news when the suspect points the finger at a former MLB All Star (and later apparently recants).

You've written on this thread that "There is a lot of irresponsible news reporting that is improperly sourced and unverified." https://www.talksox.com/forum/threads/18666-Hanley-DFA%E2%80%99d?p=1155707#post1155707 Was the report that Hanley Ramirez is not under federal investigation properly sourced and verified? I've read that a DEA affidavit stated that the suspect said Hanley Ramirez was not involved with the drugs. So we have the reported word of a suspected drug dealer. I've read a report that the suspect's defense attorney said that Ramirez is not under federal investigation. So we have the reported word of a defense attorney who presumably is not directly involved in the law enforcement investigation. Is the conclusion that Ramirez is not under federal investigation properly sourced and verified? Ramirez deserves the presumption of innocence but I've read scant information -- incriminating or exculpatory -- from credible sources. Regardless, I wish Ramirez well.

A reputable source, Reuters, reports that a Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit indicated that the suspect told police that Hanley Ramirez had no involvement with the drugs: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-baseball-mlb-bos-hanleyramirez/court-documents-authorities-arent-investigating-hanley-ramirez-idUSKBN1JL0WY

Don't fall into the trap of adopting only the reports that support your desired narrative. I presume Hanley Ramirez to be innocent but remain skeptical of all media reports from the McPhee tweet to the defense attorney’s refutation.

Boston Globe columnist Nick Cafardo suggests that the Red Sox and Mariners could meet again in October: https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/06/24/early-for-wild-card-talk-but-red-sox-could-see-seattle-again/jlG9fNJqLvCz2nrEc5WxeP/story.html?event=event12 Unfortunately, I can't access the Cafardo column.

;)

Of course I was the first on this thread to disclose that the Boston Globe had reported that Hanley Ramirez was not under federal investigation: https://www.talksox.com/forum/threads/18666-Hanley-DFA%E2%80%99d?p=1155575#post1155575 I've linked multiple sides of this story. Objectivity is a heavy cross to bear.

MassLive presents many developing sides of the Hanley Ramirez story: https://www.masslive.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/06/9ba17785cc6148/hanley_ramirez_rumors_what_we.html

Or course I've written nothing of the sort. Most stories have many sides. I simply provided another perspective without an endorsement. We all need to be critical media consumers and not latch on to what we want to believe is the truth. I presume Hanley Ramirez is innocent but expect law enforcement to do its job.

Boston Globe reporter Michele McPhee reportedly claims that Hanley Ramirez was "cleared" only by an unidentified defense attorney: https://weei.radio.com/blogs/alex-reimer/michele-mcphee-kc-defends-her-reporting-hanley-ramirez-boston-globe-backs-exactly

The Boston Globe reports that Hanley Ramirez is not under federal investigation: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/06/24/hanley-ramirez-not-under-federal-investigation-friend-dropped-his-name-hoping-avoid-arrest/liGQyW4VpCxdbtmmA25BpK/story.html?event=event25 His agent responds: