Matt Martell

1 week ago | blogs.fangraphs.com | Matt Martell

By most measures, the Rafael Devers trade happened suddenly. It came without advance notice of his availability, and the Red Sox reportedly weren’t shopping him around. Immediately, it drew comparisons to the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade in the NBA, because hardly ever in our scoops-driven media landscape, where even the tiniest rumor is treated as currency, does a transaction involving a superstar catch us by surprise.

2 weeks ago | blogs.fangraphs.com | Matt Martell

It was a beautiful night here in Brooklyn on Wednesday, and although I couldn’t make it to Citi Field in time for Mets-Nationals, I decided to go for a long walk and then stop at a local sports bar to read and watch some baseball. Naturally, the Mets were on one of the TVs behind the bar, while the other was reserved for the Yankees, who were set to play the Royals a little while later. That was a bummer for the two Red Sox fans sitting next to me, Mike and Kathleen, but they were resourceful.

3 weeks ago | blogs.fangraphs.com | Matt Martell

Happy Saturday, everyone, and welcome to the first edition of the FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag! We’ve got a lot to cover today, including how to fix the Braves, how the Orioles might fare if they sell at the deadline, the most fun plays to lead off games, and so much more. But before we get there, I’d like to remind all of you that while anyone can submit a question, this mailbag is exclusive to FanGraphs Members.

3 weeks ago | blogs.fangraphs.com | Matt Martell

Hello, all of you FanGraphs readers! Are you a FanGraphs Member? Are you looking for something fresh to read on Saturday mornings? Do you have any burning baseball questions for us, but don’t quite know where to ask them? Well, then we’ve got great news for you. FanGraphs is launching a weekly mailbag, curated by me, that will run on the website every Saturday morning. Anyone can submit a question, but the piece answering them will only be available to FanGraphs Members. So how is this going to work?

Mar 13, 2025 | blogs.fangraphs.com | Matt Martell

I called Jonathan Lucroy in the early afternoon of July 29, 2023. I was on deadline for a story I was writing for The New York Times, about why catchers are rarely traded during the season, and I had a few follow-up questions for him. When we had spoken three days earlier, Lucroy described himself as a “redneck psychiatrist” for his pitchers, someone who knew exactly what to say to earn their trust and coax them through the toughest big league lineups.