Some guys became available around MLB. If I'm Dana Brown, I'm looking for pitching help. Let's take a look at that, and more? I guess.
*Hector Neris declined his $8.5m option for 2024. Neris threw 133.2IP for the Astros in 2022-23 with a 2.69 ERA / 1.03 WHIP with 10.5 K/9. If I'm Neris, I'm taking a picture of Rafael Montero with me to any meeting and saying, "Give me more than he got."
*Lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez has opted out of his contract with Detroit, leaving 3yrs/$49m on the table to go to free agency. Rodriguez has posted 3.0+ fWAR in three of the last four seasons.
*Marcus Stroman opted out of his deal with the Cubs, leaving 1yr/$21m on the table. Stroman has made 50 starts in the last two seasons, totaling 4.7 fWAR with Chicago.
*San Diego and Nick Martinez declined their respective options. Martinez was worth 1.4 fWAR in 2023, his Age 32 season, appearing in 63 games with nine starts.
*Seth Lugo opted out of his deal with San Diego. Lugo posted 2.8 fWAR in 26 starts. 2024 will be his Age 34 season.
*San Diego also declined the 2yr/$32m option on Michael Wacha. Wacha posted 2.6 fWAR in 24 starts for the Padres.
*Tampa placed reliever Jalen Beeks on waivers. Beeks had an ugly 5.95 ERA in 42.1IP but with a 3.82 FIP.
*Lefty reliever Joely Rodriguez only threw 11IP in 2023, but Boston declined his option for 2024.
*Cody Bellinger declined his option and is a free agent.
Bellinger, 2017-2019: .278/.369/.559, 111 HR/288 RBI
Bellinger, 2020-2022: .203/.272/.376, 41 HR/134 RBI
MAN. If only we knew about what happened between the 2019 and 2020 seasons that changed the way Bellinger, or any member on the Dodgers, really, approached the plate. Crazy to think that after three seasons that included a Rookie of the Year and an MVP award that someone would just forget how to hit. I wonder what might have changed. Nice that he remembered how to hit without getting any signals in 2023 though.
*Chicago declined their $14m option on shortstop Tim Anderson for 2024, who said in 2020 that he - and presumably the rest of the White Sox - were going to approach the Astros trying to "knock everybody's heads off - from the owner down to the trainer."
*Within his Sunday Links post, FanGraphs' David Laurilia tells us that Former Astros Great Marwin Gonzalez became just the fifth player in MLB history to homer in both the World Series and the Japan Series. The Japan Series was a tale of two fanbases.
*Thank you to the University of Oklahoma, who made sure I get to watch college football the rest of the season with no anxiety whatsoever.
*Fluminense beat Boca Juniors in dramatic fashion to win the Copa Libertadores.
*Eight things running and the creative process have in common.
*Happy First Day of Daylight Saving to all of us who love the darkness.
*A Musical Selection: