Opening Day is here and with it a newfound optimism for every major league team’s fan base. It has been a rough end to a spring training that was otherwise uneventful. Multiple injuries and COVID issues have been the star these past couple of days, but not anymore.
Today is Opening Day. Everything is reset to zero and every team has their ace on the mound trying to start their season off with a win. Granted, not every team has an “ace,” depending in your definition. However, every team has at least one reason to cheer. Everyone is in first place and undefeated. Let’s take a look at the latest news around the world of baseball while we wait for the games to start.
Francisco Lindor Signs 10-Year Extension With Mets
The New York Mets came to an agreement late Wednesday night with Francisco Lindor on a 10-year $341 million dollar extension. The deal was reported with less than an hour remaining before the star shortstop’s self-imposed deadline. Lindor will receive a $21 million signing bonus as part of the agreement with around $50 million in deferrals.[[ad:athena]]
It was looking like this was not going to happen. Open negotiations on social media over the past couple of days between Mets owner Steve Cohen and the Lindor camp illustrated a divide among final offers in both years and dollars. The final result ended being a compromise that both parties could live with and make Opening Day a much brighter day in Queens.
The 27-year-old is a four-time All-Star that was set to become a free agent next offseason among a stacked group of fellow shortstops that included Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Javier Baez, and Carlos Correa. Lindor met with Cohen this past Sunday for a dinner meeting in Florida that led to the Mets offering 10 years and $315 million, with no deferred money, which led to a counteroffer from Lindor’s camp at 12 years and $385 million. The jovial superstar is now locked into spending the rest of his playing career in Queens after being acquired in December from the Indians in a six-player trade along with Carlos Carrasco in exchange for Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, and two minor leaguers.
Lindor’s 138 home runs are the most among major-league shortstops since 2015 with a batting average of .285 with 99 stolen bases, two gold gloves, and two silver slugger awards. He is known just as much for his glove as his bat, ranking as the seventh most valuable player in baseball by WAR since 2015. Lindor carries a career Z-Contact rate (contact within the strike zone) of 91.1 percent which is 6.9 points higher than the league average. The power and speed threat should be a very valuable commodity in fantasy leagues at the top of a lethal Mets lineup that was first in the majors in wRC+ last season.
Adalberto Down: Mondesi Heads To The Injured List
The recent runaway train of late spring training injuries claimed one more major victim on Wednesday in the form of Adalberto Mondesi. The Royals, on the eve of Opening Day, placed their star shortstop on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. While the 10-day timeline may not seem like a major concern, oblique injuries have been known to linger over time, so this is not something that Kansas City should overlook.
The 25-year-old has a history of injuries during his short career, including a foot injury earlier in spring training and a shoulder injury in 2019 that required offseason surgery. In fact, Mondesi has yet to play in more than 110 games in a single season since 2013 in professional baseball.
This could be a major blow to both the Royals and fantasy shareholders given Mondesi’s ability to contribute league-altering statistics in a short period of time. After getting off to a horrendous start that caused many fantasy teams to cut Mondesi loose last summer, he ended the campaign batting .356/.408/.667 with six home runs and 16 stolen bases over his last 24 games.
To give you an idea of Mondesi’s ceiling, here is the 575 plate appearance pace for the star shortstop over the past three seasons:
2018 Pace over 575 PA: 27 HR, 93 R, 72 RBI, 63 SB
2019 Pace over 575 PA: 11 HR, 75 R, 80 RBI, 56 SB
2020 Pace over 575 PA: 14 HR, 81 R, 54 RBI, 59 SB
Kansas City recalled Nicky Lopez to replace Mondesi on the Opening Day roster, who will man the shortstop position for the time being. Lopez was a Gold Glove finalist at second base last season but conceded his spot to Whit Merrifield due to a lack of offensive punch. There is little to no fantasy appeal here unless in the deepest of formats.
Neris Tapped As Phillies Closer
Phillies manager Joe Girardi announced Wednesday that Hector Neris will open the season as the team’s primary closer. The competition was between Neris, Archie Bradley, and Jose Alvarado heading down the stretch but it was always expected that Girardi would designate specific bullpen roles rather than go with a committee. Bradley and Alvarado will operate as set-up men with Alvarado being the only left-handed arm in the Philadelphia bullpen.
Neris had a strong spring striking out 14 batters over 9 2/3 innings in Grapefruit League play without issuing a walk. The right-hander will look to bounce back from a disappointing showing last season that saw him post a 4.57 ERA despite a 2.50 FIP and 11.22 K/9 over 21 ⅔ innings.
The 31-year-old carried a stellar 17.6 percent swinging-strike rate in 2020 with an impressive 76 percent Z-Contact rate (percentage of contact in the strike zone). The league average for those statistics is 11.3 percent (swinging strike) and 84.2 percent (Z-Swing).
Neris accomplishes this by generating a lot of swings up in the zone with his four-seam fastball (chart below) while getting hitters to chase his splitter low. In fact, his split-finger carried a stellar 23.4 percent swinging-strike rate and 43 percent O-Swing (swings generated out of the strike zone).
It would not be a surprise to see a solid bounce-back season from Neris, who could keep the closer’s job all year despite stiff competition behind him.
Nationals Outbreak
Nationals manager Mike Rizzo announced on Tuesday that a player tested positive for COVID-19 and that it will “certainly” impact the opening day roster. Rizzo stated that one player four players, in addition to the one who tested positive, have been quarantined after contact tracing. The five players, whose identities were not disclosed, will miss Thursday’s opener vs the Mets.
“We’re still in the process of finding out exactly what their status is,” Rizzo told reporters via Justin Tasch of the New York Post, “They’re certainly out for tomorrow’s game.” The positive COVID test was conducted on Monday before the Nationals team flight from Florida to Washington D.C., but the result was not known until after the flight. It was confirmed that Opening Day starting pitcher Max Scherzer was not on the plane having traveled separately with his family.
At the time this article was published the Nationals had already called up infielder Luis Garcia, outfielder Yadiel Hernandez, left-handed reliever Sam Clay, and catcher Tres Barrera. Take that information for what it’s worth if you feel compelled to play the guessing game.
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National League Quick Hits: Marlins optioned Sixto Sanchez and Isan Diaz to Triple-A Jacksonville. … Giants manager Gabe Kapler stated Mike Yastrzemski (hand) and Tommy La Stella (knee) are expected to play on Opening Day. … Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said that he is very confident the team will be able to reach an extension with Anthony Rizzo after reportedly offering just five years and $70 million. … Braves placed Mike Soroka (Achilles) on the 10-day injured list but should be ready to rejoin the club soon after throwing two innings in his spring debut this past Tuesday. … Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that the Mets were never close to an extension with Michael Conforto and were in different realms in terms of dollars. … Dee Strange-Gordon has turned down several minor league offers since being released by the Reds in hopes of landing a guaranteed deal. … Reds first baseman Joey Votto’s (COVID) status is still unknown for Opening Day. … Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson stated that expects Sonny Gray (back) to be ready for game action by mid-April. … Michael Loreznen had a minor setback with his right shoulder strain but no timetable was given for a return. … Cubs signed catcher Tony Wolters to a one-year contract as the primary backup to Willson Contreras. … Dodgers signed OF Steven Souza to a minor league contract.
American League Quick Hits: Yankees officially placed Luke Voit (knee), Justin Wilson (shoulder), and Miguel Andujar (wrist) on the 10-day injured list while adding Zack Britton (elbow) to the 60-day injured list. … Yankees manager Aaron Boone stated that Aaron Judge (illness/allergies) will be ready to play on Opening Day. … Blue Jays officially placed Robbie Ray (elbow bruise) and George Springer (oblique) on the 10-day injured list. … Royals top prospect OF Kyle Isbel will start in right field on Opening Day vs the Rangers after impressing in spring training. ... Mariners placed Kyle Lewis (knee) and Shed Long (shin) on the 10-day injured list while transferring Ken Giles to the 60-day injured list while he recovers from Tommy John surgery. … Jordan Luplow will be the starting centerfielder for the Indians on Opening Day vs lefty Matthew Boyd. … Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday and is expected to miss four to five weeks. … Rays and Randy Arozarena have had recent discussion about a contract extension according to Robert Murray of FanSided. … Anthony Santander (oblique) will be ready to play and is “good to go” and that Maikel Franco has a good chance to make the Opening Day roster according to Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. … Andrew Vaughn will not be in the White Sox Opening Day lineup according to manager Tony La Russa.
