Tampa Bay Times: Rays, Kiermaier nearing $50 million extension
One of the more valuable players in Major League Baseball, Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier is deciding to stay in Tampa Bay for awhile. According to Marc Topkin, both parties will complete a six-year, $50 million dollar extension once Kiermaier completes his physical.
Kiermaier wasn’t arb eligible until 2018, and wouldn’t hit free agency until 2021. A backloaded deal would allow the Rays to save money if they had an interest in keeping Kiermaier four years from now.
Since 2014, Kiermaier has been worth 16.4 wins above replacement according to baseball-reference.com. That’s better than two players White Sox fans often dream about: Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado.
Chicago Tribune: Lucas Giolito struggles, but it’s part of the learning curve
Lucas Giolito struggled with his fastball command, again, yesterday and he paid dearly for it with an ugly line: ⅔ IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.
Re-watching on the DVR, Giolito could not hit his targets with the fastball, and they found themselves over the plate. The bright side to yesterday’s poor outing is Giolito’s aware of the issue.
"I didn't execute. It started with the first batter, get ahead 0-2 and try and throw a fastball. I threw it right down the middle, and from there not feeling my pitches. Throwing a lot of stuff in the dirt. Just one of those days where you go out there and don't compete to the best of your ability."
At just 22 years old, there are going to be more days like this from Giolito. However, his two previous starts were superb. It’s just a matter of finding consistency, and that is the reason why he’ll begin the year in Charlotte.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago aldermen shouldn't take free White Sox tickets, ethics official says
Last October when the Chicago Cubs were making their World Series run, several city aldermen were upset that the Ethics Board barred any city officials accepting tickets because the value exceeded the $50 limit.
Now the alderman’s that are White Sox fans are facing the same issue.
"This game is not sold out and is not a 'high-demand' game to which the average person would expect to pay more than $50 over face of tickets," the letter reads. "However, the offer from the White Sox that was extended last week is prohibited by the city's governmental ethics ordinance because it is worth more than $50 to a single recipient."
The team released a statement saying it's up to politicians to decide whether they want to accept the free tickets.
"The White Sox have had a long-standing tradition of extending Opening Day invitations to a diverse group of VIPS and politicians," the statement said. "We leave it up to each individual to decide if they can or would like to accept our offer. We have never disclosed who receives invitations or who accepts."
Crazy Spring Training Stats
- Tyler Saladino’s OPS is 1.278.
- Matt Davidson has struck out 17 times out of his 40 plate appearances. That’s a whopping 42.5 K%.
- Adam Engel has twice as many walks (6) as hits (3).
- The Garcia’s, Avisail and Leury, lead the team in hits with 13.
- Possible fill-in starters this upcoming season are not performing well:
Chris Beck: 7.1 IP, 13 H, 9 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
Dylan Covey: 7 IP, 12 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Cory Luebke could pitch himself into the bullpen as the second lefty: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K.