JeffH

Could also be that he wanted to remain a Yankee and they told him they wouldn't be involved in the bidding if he opted out.

All seems pretty reasonable, except: Unless, of course, you're talking about trading for Ed Archer, Chris' older, much less talented and successful brother.

The follow through looked a lot like Kris Bryant's.

I wonder if Niko accused Bobby of having eaten his Chuckles.

Russell?

Yes, you get the opportunity to pick a 25 man roster each round. Last year they took out a position player for another reliever for the NLCS, probably because of the 5 to 7 game series shift. They added the eighth reliever for last year's NLCS, but they didn't use him. I wouldn't be surprised if they stay 14/11 should they reach the NLCS this year.

He's hurt.

http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/56/5615/8NRVG00Z/posters/dennis-weaver-mccloud.jpg

Has Martin not yet been added to the roster?

Cubs 40-man roster appears to be at 41. What am I missing? Did they move someone to the 60-day DL that hasn't been announced? http://m.mlb.com/chc/roster/40-man

Three option years - 2018, 2019, 2020. At least six calendar years of control before he becomes a free agent.

With a name like Aramis, he has to be good. Is Ademan's new nickname "Smuckers"? Does he have a nagging cough?

Cubs-Reds today at 3 p.m. Central on DirecTV 665. LF Schwarber 1B Bryant C Montero CF Almora 3B La Stella 2B Happ RF Andreoli P Hendricks SS Young https://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/845690784640724995?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Enews%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

https://www.azspringtrainingexperience.com/

Houston Texans

Just FYI... The player link in the mlbtraderumors.com article points to the wrong Caleb Smith. The right guy (as correctly shown in the initial post in this thread): http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=smith-005cal

Craig, maybe Hatch is sitting in an automobile.

Thanks, Tom. Obviously they always list the top end. So probably a 93-94 guy will routinely be working 88-91. Still, it seems the reports have enough velocity to pitch with. It's usually going to location and movement that get guys out more than pure speed. And in all of the scouting stuff, it was much more for his control and pitching than his raw velocity that give Hatch his value. So, if his velocity is his weakest quality, and that's still 93-94, I think you've certainly got a guy with a chance to be a very effective pitcher. Will be fun to see how he does next season. I'll be disappointed if he doesn't have pretty good success at Myrtle. In terms of "best fastball", I think Brady Clark will certainly be faster, among the new selections. Faster is one thing; "better" is another. Will be fascinating to see how next season plays out for those two guys. With you, Tom, I'll be a little disappointed if Hatch doesn't start out at Myrtle, and have good success. For Clark, I'll be disappointed if he doesn't pitch well enough at South Bend to pitch his way up to Myrtle by some point during the season. I may be wrong on those, though. Cubs have seemed to avoid moving guys too much during their first full pro season. And have also sometimes surprised me by starting guys lower than I expected. Regardless, really hope both of those guys have the health, and velocity, and effectiveness next season so that twelve months from now both will look like guys who will have useful major-league careers. Bailey Clark. Brady Clark was the Chris Denorfia of his time.

It's going to cost some money to replace Arrieta and Lackey. We'll see what they do, but I'm going to be very surprised - pleasantly so - if they bring back Fowler.

I don't think Fowler's departure is because of the 2017 payroll, although that's getting up there. We're over $140 without any of our pending free agents or suitable veteran replacements. It's about 2018 and beyond. I don't see how you're going to be able to pay him $15+ when Bryant, Russell, and Hendricks start to get expensive.

I'm wondering if there is starting to be some realization that the concept of trading for a young, established, cost-controlled, top-half-of-the-rotation starting pitcher is not viable. Who is going to trade a guy like that for prospects, no matter how good they are? They may have to address starting pitching through free agency and by trading for other teams' not-yet-established starting pitching prospects or for major leaguers that haven't yet broken out (the Arrieta model - maybe Montgomery is one of those). If so, perhaps they have to be open to using their better prospects in a different way.

Donnie Dewees.

At least the Bears won't go 0-16. They've got a game against the Texans, the NFL's worst franchise.

Overall, the Texans are a terribly slow team. They need to get faster. They also need to get some more weapons for new QB Brock Osweiler so they don't set him up to fail. Texans select WR Corey Coleman, Baylor.

The very definition of professional suicide. On the other hand, he was pretty much dead already.