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With pitchers and catchers reporting today and workouts starting tomorrow, here’s some stuff you need to know.
The Rays made a couple deals before things get underway. First, Oliver Drake is back on a major league deal.
#Rays in agreement with RHP Oliver Drake on major-league deal. Sidelined during ALDS w/flexor strain, expected to be ready around middle of this season. Was with #Rays in 2019-20.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) February 17, 2021
And second, John Curtiss was dealt to the Marlins.
#Rays have traded RHP John Curtiss to #Marlins
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) February 17, 2021
#Rays return for Curtiss is minor-league 1B Evan Edwards, a 2019 draftee by #Marlins
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) February 17, 2021
Andrea at Scout Girl Report (who is a great follow) dives into why Ryan Yarbrough lost his arb case.
Why Did #Rays Ryan Yarbrough Lose his Arbitration Case? Watch/Read here: https://t.co/30qiW9o75G
— Andrea (@scoutgirlreport) February 16, 2021
And here she is in video. We hope to see more stuff like this on the site.
Why #Rays Ryan Yarbrough Lost his Arbitration Case- full process walkthrough pic.twitter.com/0vIDM2gsfB
— Andrea (@scoutgirlreport) February 16, 2021
After signing with the Rays, Chris Archer made it clear that he was ditching his two-seam fastball. But as Justin Choi writes, don’t expect this to fix everything. An interesting piece on Chris Archer’s four-seamer.
Chris Archer has a four-seamer problem: https://t.co/LCImiIKcQg
— Justin Choi (@justinochoi) February 15, 2021
Baseball America on Taylor Walls’ versatility.
The Rays have a full rotation...for now.
Topper on ten Rays we’re curious about heading into Spring Training.
Fangraph’s took some heat for their 2021 predictions. So they made some tweaks to the formula. Oh, Baltimore...
Okay everyone, we’ve heard your feedback on our playoff odds and decided to make some tweaks to the math that should leave everybody happy pic.twitter.com/bBKgKJUd6N
— FanGraphs Baseball (@fangraphs) February 16, 2021
Old friend Robinson Chirinos gets a minor league deal with the Yankees.
C Robinson Chirinos has agreed to a Minor League deal with the Yankees, per source. @Ken_Rosenthal was first with the news.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 16, 2021
Old friend C.J. Cron signs a minor league deal with the Rockies.
#Rockies have signed 1B C.J. Cron to a minor league contract.
— MiLB-Transactions (@tombaseball29) February 15, 2021
Kevin Pillar lands with the Mets.
Pillar Mets deal: Creative contract that guarantees $5M over 1 year, and potentially goes up to $10M over 2.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 16, 2021
Bartolo Colon is still playing.
RHP Bartolo Colon reached a one-year deal with @AcererosOficial in @LigaMexBeis, per @Beisbolpuro.@z101digital @ZDeportes pic.twitter.com/zXdP5OnjNs
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) February 16, 2021
A video from Jon Bois features fun with counting!
Allana Rizzo writes about unwelcome advances she endured from several former Dodgers.
Baseball has made some changes in response to these and other recent allegations this offseason.
MLB's new harassment-and-discrimination protocol, first reported by @lindseyadler, includes ...
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) February 10, 2021
* an anonymous hotline
* required, yearly education by senior leadership
* a promise that "all MLB and Club personnel will be held accountable"https://t.co/pdVXTacdp3
Eric Nusbaum on what we’ve lost with the minor league realignment and consolidation.
Sadly, The Tampa Bay sports community mourned the loss of Vincent Jackson on Monday. He was 38.
Rest in peace, Vincent Jackson. pic.twitter.com/ik3GYZjQDr
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 15, 2021
RJ McDaniel writes about what “support mental health” looks like.
I wrote about Drew Robinson, birds, suffering in silence, and what it truly means to "support mental health"; about trying to live, even when you don't believe you should be alive. And, of course, about baseball. https://t.co/7F2sOwSkrg
— RJ McDaniel (@rumhamlet) February 16, 2021
Lastly, here’s some doggos.
I hope you're h*ckin ready... we're featuring adoptable dogs all day tomorrow pic.twitter.com/YXI4v8M63w
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) February 17, 2021