2/18 Spring Training News & Analysis
Injury news, free agent signings, team drama, and more! We react to the recent news with an eye on 2025 fantasy baseball draft strategy.
Here is another edition of me pretending to be a very serious news reporter and analyst. I hope it changes your life
Brandon Nimmo Has A Foot
There are some dirty words in the world of baseball injuries. And this is a two-worder that is not easy to spell.
Plantar fasciitis bro. That injury can be a real bitch. My great-grandfather once had plantar fasciitis, and now he’s dead.
It’s also hilarious that he said he’s at 91% running. Although, you can actually say stuff like that now since every movement these guys take is measured with a $150,000 camera.
I had a lot of good things to say about Nimmo when I first looking at him, but this does make him a tougher name to click on.
I would think this makes him a little cheaper, but not everybody in a given league follows the news, so you’ll probably have somebody take him pretty close to where that ADP has been set. I’m not doing that. Nimmo is not one of those game-breaking types. He’s more of a guy you’re just fine with, and now we know that he’s still dealing with an injury that could derail his season.
O’Hoppe To The Bench More Often
This one isn’t “news”, but it is confirmation of what we figured when the Angels signed d’Arnaud. They’d like to give him more days off this year. And like I said after the Soler signing, there aren’t many DH reps available either.
At the beginning of draft season, O’Hoppe looked like a guy who could combine for 140 games between catching and DH. Now, that looks more like 110-120 games played.
Chris Martin Could Close
It’s been a while since Coldplay was a big name headliner in the US. But I just checked, and they still are doing shows. These old band dudes never know when to quit.
On the baseball side of this joke, this is another one we’ve been figuring on for awhile now. And the team didn’t outright say he’s the closer. Bochy gave your usual word salad about guys being in the mix and how they’re all awesome and capable and that everything will be fantastic no matter what and how we should all just love each other and bring about world peace. You know how it goes.
The Rangers will probably win more games than they lose this year. And somebody has to close 40-60 of those. Here’s how it breaks down on the 2025 Bullpen Data sheet:
Martin and Robert Garcia make the most sense to me. And they’re both pretty cheap in drafts right now.
I’m happy to take Martin at the discount, but I’d rather not be relying on him for 20+ saves.
Matt Shaw with an Oblique
Is there any such thing as a “positive injury update” in the first week of camp? A few days ago, we assumed the guy was totally healthy! Even a positive update about an oblique is a pretty negative thing.
This morning, it also came out that the Cubs are about to sign Justin Turner. Turner played just six games at third last year. He should be viewed as a first baseman, but the timing is certainly interesting. Could this have been a security move just in case Shaw is obliqued out of the lineup?
There’s always risk with guys who have not seen Major League action yet, and this adds more risk to the mix. It moves me off of Shaw in redraft leagues at the current price.
And apparently, he hurt his oblique in the offseason. That’s kind of annoying, right? I suppose you’re still putting a good amount of strain on your obliques while taking batting practice all winter and working on stuff. These guys aren’t lounging around on the couch until February hits, or at least not the young guys at least!
To be honest, I didn’t even know exactly where your obliques were until now. But now I know. The good news is that my obliques are feeling great, and I’m 100% ready to go for men’s league this year.
Frankie Montas Shut Down
There will be at least a handful of starting pitchers who hit the 60-Day IL this spring. If you’ve done early drafts, you’re just trying to dodge bullets. Braxton Garrett was the first, and now Montas joins him.
He won’t throw for 6-8 weeks, and there’s no way you should draft him. And I did draft him just two days ago in a 50s draft. Shout out to me.
What I did this morning in that same draft was reach a bit for Tylor Megill. I’m a fan of him, and he’s got a pretty clear path to a rotation spot now.
It also could accelerate the arrival of Brandon Sproat. He’s their top pitching prospect. I don’t think he’s a guy who can come up and dominate right away, but maybe he can hold his own.
Neither Megill nor Sproat is someone you should consider in your standard league draft, but this Mets rotation is certainly one to monitor this spring.
Rafael Devers Drama
I don’t think there’s anything actionable here for drafts. He’s mad that they’re talking about moving him off of third base. But yeah, maybe he should have thought of that while he was burning everybody’s clam chowder at the hot corner for the last seven years.
Maybe he’ll win the war of attrition, and Alex Bregman will actually be the second baseman. That would be nice for Bregman’s eligibility, obviously, and it would be pretty rough for Kristian Campbell.
My prediction is that Devers resigns himself to being the DH and maybe even buys a first baseman’s glove. The 2025 team is clearly better with Bregman at third, Devers at DH, Yoshida on the bench, and Campbell at least having a shot to become a regular this year. At the end of the day, the team is in charge. What’s he gonna do, refuse to play? And look, time heals all wounds.
“That clock on the wall will cure it all even though that ain’t how it seems” - Luke Combs
Devers will DH grumpily for a few weeks and then he’ll be fine. He’ll hit a couple of cock rockets off of Gerrit Cole and not have to get made fun of for being a terrible defender, and the Red Sox will win the division crown.
And that’s my brilliant analysis of the news for today. Lots more to come.
Definitely brilliant! I unloaded all my Nimmo shares after hearing about the foot issue, lingering injury from what i've seen. And the Devers drama, 😆 it's a team effort!