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1 week ago | 
kansascity.com | Tom Verducci |Will Laws
This piece is part of our Hot Stove Takes series, where staff members give quick reactions to the latest notable MLB transactions. Tom Verducci: The Red Sox traded Rafael Devers under duress and paid down none of his contract, which limited his value. So why trade him? When you sign someone to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract, that's the kind of commitment to consider the player "the face of the franchise." And your face of the franchise should set a culture that young players can emulate.
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3 weeks ago | 
charlotteobserver.com | Tom Verducci |Stephanie Apstein |Nick Selbe |Ryan Phillips
Fan voting for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game-the 95th in history!-opened Wednesday. This date on the calendar can sneak up on you. Wait, wasn't Opening Day yesterday? Now we're voting for All-Stars? Well, if you have some research to do for your ballot, we're here to help. Our five-member staff roundtable covers some of the more difficult decisions on the ballot as well as an early look at the favorites to start on the mound.
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3 weeks ago | 
miamiherald.com | Tom Verducci
Sal Frelick of the Milwaukee Brewers is the kind of player the Launch Angle Revolution squeezed out of the game. He is a full-time right fielder on pace to hit eight home runs and slug less than .400. In the five full seasons from 2018–23, there were no Frelicks-no qualified right fielders with such low slugging numbers. Teams chased a thirst for power- for more Joey Gallos-while excusing the swing-and-miss. Then the rules changed. Shifts were outlawed. Stolen bases were made easier.
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4 weeks ago | 
si.com | Tom Verducci
“I always have on my mind the thought that next year I must do something greater, something more wonderful.”- Harry HoudiniShohei Ohtani is baseball’s Houdini. Somehow, he finds a way to continue to amaze us. The first player with 200 home runs as a hitter and 600 strikeouts as a pitcher. The first player to start an All-Star Game as a pitcher and designated hitter. The first 50–50 player. The first athlete in major North American sports to win three MVPs unanimously.
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1 month ago | 
si.com | Tom Verducci
Cada partido de beisbol, cada noche, incluye una serie de lanzamientos que no habíamos visto antes. El lanzador promedio de las Grandes Ligas lanza más fuerte que nunca (un promedio de 94.0 mph en rectas de dos y cuatro costuras, igualando el récord del año pasado), pero lanza menos rectas que nunca. La tasa de rectas ha bajado al 47.3%. Hace tan solo 10 años, un bateador podía esperar ver un 56.8% de rectas..
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1 month ago | 
si.com | Tom Verducci
Every baseball game every night includes pitch sorcery like nothing we have seen before. The average major league pitcher throws harder than ever (an average of 94.0 mph on two- and four-seam fastballs, matching the record of last year) but throws fewer fastballs than ever. The rate of fastballs is down to 47.3%. Just 10 years ago a hitter could expect to see 56.8% fastballs. All those lost fastballs have been replaced with a confounding web of lab-grown pitches that dart every which way.
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1 month ago | 
si.com | Tom Verducci
What in the world is going on with Juan Soto? The New York Mets outfielder is getting beat by fastballs, he is rightfully getting crushed for not hustling on at least two instances, he has lost bat speed and is in the midst of his first-ever 10-game span with no extra base hits and 12 strikeouts. It’s a tribute to his ability to draw walks that Soto still posted a .815 OPS and 134 OPS+ in his first 48 games with the Mets. But he is not being paid $756 million over 15 years to scratch out walks.
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1 month ago | 
si.com | Tom Verducci
There are many ways to lose a baseball game. The Baltimore Orioles, who have been losing them at an astounding clip for nearly a year, invented a new way Friday night. They became the first team to lose a nine-inning game with 20 baserunners but only three runs and 15 left on base. “Kind of disbelief, honestly,” was the reaction of manager Brandon Hyde. Orioles ownership had a more visceral reaction. It fired Hyde.
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1 month ago | 
si.com | Tom Verducci
Ocho meses después de la muerte de Pete Rose, el camino para su entronización al Salón de la Fama se abrirá por primera vez desde que se bloqueó hace 34 años. El comisionado de beisbol Rob Manfred, actuando en una petición de la familia de Rose, eliminó a la leyenda de los Reds de la lista de no elegibles el martes. La decisión del comisionado está separada de los procedimientos de votación, pero hace que sea elegible para la consideración de Cooperstown tan pronto como en diciembre de 2027.
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1 month ago | 
theolympian.com | Tom Verducci
Eight months after the death of Pete Rose, the path for Rose to enter the Hall of Fame will open for the first time since it was blocked 34 years ago. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, acting on a petition by Rose's family, removed Rose from the ineligible list Tuesday. The decision by the commissioner is separate from Hall of Fame voting procedures, but it does make Rose eligible for Hall of Fame consideration as soon as December 2027.
