Boston Red Sox notebook: Hunter Renfroe homers; Hirokazu Sawamura shows really good slider in perfect outing; Nathan Eovaldi dominates masslive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from masslive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
MLB Trade Rumors
6:52pm CDT
Eugenio Suarez hasn’t gotten significant reps at shortstop since 2015, but the Reds may use him there this season. With Suarez having lost 15 pounds since last season, the team is considering him as an option at short, manager David Bell told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer and other reporters Monday. He’ll start there for the team in its game against the Rockies on Tuesday.
Suarez has been the Reds’ primary third baseman since 2016, but the team has a capable hot corner replacement in
Mike Moustakas, who has spent the majority of his career at the position. Moustakas was mostly a second baseman last season, and he’s penciled in as the Reds’ starter at the keystone this year. However, if Suarez shifts to short, it could open up second for
Can Tigers’ JaCoby Jones put it all together in 2021?
Updated Mar 10, 2021;
Posted Mar 10, 2021
JaCoby Jones on the field before a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., on March 2, 2021. (Photo courtesy Detroit Tigers)
Facebook Share
LAKELAND, Fla. In 2018, JaCoby Jones was by some measures the best defensive outfielder in all of baseball.
And yet it seems that Jones, who turns 29 in May, is once again coming to spring training with something to prove.
The same defensive metrics that touted Jones as an elite fielder in 2018 ranked him as one of the worst just a year later. His offensive revival seems very real, and yet his momentum has been interrupted by season-ending injuries in each of the last two seasons.
MLB Trade Rumors
9:40am CDT
The Yankees used the winter to re-sign an American League MVP finalist and gamble on a pair of former high-end starters returning to form.
Major League Signings
Brett Gardner, OF: Two years, $5.15MM (second season is a player option)
Justin Wilson, LHP: Two years, $5.15MM (second season is a player option)
Darren O’Day, RHP: Two years, $3.15MMM (second season is a player option)
Total spend: $114.45MM
Greg Allen (Allen was later outrighted to Triple-A)
Notable Minor League Signings
The biggest question the Yankees faced entering the offseason was whether they would bring back second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who thrived in their uniform from 2019-20 after they signed the ex-Cub and Rockie to a two-year, $24MM contract. LeMahieu turned into one of baseball’s premier players during that two-season stretch, even earning MVP consideration last year, so it was naturally going to cost the Yankees much more this time to keep him in the fold.
Originally posted on MLB Trade Rumors | By Steve Adams | Last updated 3/9/21
Although the team never made a formal announcement, the Braves agreed to a minor-league pact with infielder Ryan Goins, as noted Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle in his latest roundup of minor league transactions. Goins is in camp and has collected two hits in six early spring plate appearances.
Goins, 33, has seen MLB time in parts of eight seasons, mostly with the Blue Jays but also with the Royals in 2018 and the White Sox from 2019-20. He’s never been much of a threat at the plate, as evidenced by a career .228/.278/.333 batting line in 1,690 plate appearances at the MLB level, but Goins is a versatile defender with strong ratings at several positions. The bulk of his MLB work has come at second base (25 Defensive Runs Saved in 2,095 innings), but he’s also graded out well at shortstop (7 DRS in 1,460 innings) and at third base (average in 29