After a slow and contentious winter, the 2018 MLB season is
finally upon us. Thank goodness. 14 games are on the schedule for
Opening Day on Thursday, with the Nationals-Reds postponed and pushed
back to Friday. The Cubs and the Marlins will get things started at
12:40 p.m. ET at Marlins Park.
If you are looking for the marquee pitching matchup of the day, check out Carlos Martinez and Noah Syndergaard at 1:10 p.m. ET, weather permitting. As things often go with Opening Day, there are plenty of other aces in action Thursday, including the likes Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, and Justin Verlander.
While real games are finally upon us, there were some notable developments around the league on Wednesday as teams made their final roster decisions.
Salvy Sidelined
Salvador Perez has been the most durable catcher in the majors over the past five seasons, but he’s going to get a late start on his 2018 campaign after suffering a Grade 2 MLC tear in his left knee.
According to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star, Perez injured the knee while carrying luggage in his house, of all things. He missed a step and felt a pop in his knee. Perez is slated to miss the first 4-6 weeks of the season due to the freak injury, which likely leaves him out of the mix until early May.
Perez, who turns 28 in May, has logged at least 129 games over the past five seasons. He established new career-highs with 27 homers and 80 RBI in 2017 while batting .268/.297/.495 over 129 games. He’s typically been the fourth or fifth catcher off the board in mixed fantasy leagues, but those who drafted him will now have to piece things together until he’s back to 100 percent. The catcher position was already thin, so it doesn't help that both Perez and J.T. Realmuto (back) will begin the year on the DL.
Drew Butera is expected to see most of the playing time behind the plate while Perez is sidelined, but we’re talking about a major step down from a fantasy perspective. The 34-year-old is a .203/.258/.299 hitter over 436 games in the majors.
Lineup Notes
Multiple teams posted their Opening Day lineups on Wednesday, with some potential interesting fantasy fallout to consider. We’ll start with the Yankees, who plan to use Brett Gardner out of the lead off spot against Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ. In turn, Aaron Judge will hit second while Aaron Hicks is slated to bat fifth.
Gardner hasn’t done much against left-handed pitching over the past two seasons, but he has had some success against Happ in the past. It’s unclear whether this factored into the decision to put him into the leadoff spot despite facing a lefty. It can be dangerous to put too much stock into BvP numbers, but we’ll know more the next time the Yankees face a southpaw. Either way, Hicks finds himself in a great spot in this lineup with Gardner, Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez in front of him. Not bad for someone who was available in the later rounds of most fantasy drafts.
While things look good for Hicks, the hype train for Twins outfielder Byron Buxton lost some fuel after it was announced Wednesday that he would be batting eighth on Opening Day against the Orioles. Buxton is no stranger to hitting the bottom of the order, as he made 22 starts out of the No. 8 spot last season and 47 starts out of the No. 9 spot. The Twins have a deep lineup, but one would think that Buxton will get an opportunity to move up in the order if he picks up from where he left off last season.
Buxton batted .300/.347/.546 with 11 homers and 13 steals over 57 games during the second half last year.
Closing Time
Rangers manager Jeff Banister hasn’t officially named a closer yet, but team beat writer Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has a pretty good guess. During a Q & A piece on Wednesday, Grant pegged Keone Kela as the favorite for the job and believes that he can “seize it from the start and hold it.”
Alex Claudio served as the primary closer down the stretch last year, but he’s a ground ball machine and could be used earlier in games with runners on base. He’s also capable of pitching multiple innings. Jake Diekman has also been mentioned as a possibility, though he’s left-handed and could be better-utilized in matchup situations.
Kela has been hyped as a potential closer for quite some time now, but he’s dealt with elbow and shoulder issues over the past two years. When healthy, the 24-year-old posted a 2.79 ERA and 51/17 K/BB ratio over 38 2/3 innings last season. He throws in the mid-90s with his fastball and gets a ton of whiffs on his curveball. Tim Lincecum could eventually have a say in things if all goes well with his comeback attempt, but Kela has the sort of stuff managers usually look for in a closer.
National League Quick Hits: Matt Ehalt of the Bergen Record reports that the Mets have discussed free agent closer Greg Holland … Brandon Nimmo is slated to bat lead-off and play center fielder for Thursday’s opener against the Cardinals … The Mets are also going with Kevin Plawecki over Travis d’Arnaud against right-hander Carlos Martinez … The Nationals signed reliever Carlos Torres to a minor league contract … The Cardinals officially placed Luke Gregerson (hamstring) on the 10-day disabled list while adding hard-throwing youngster Jordan Hicks to the late-innings mix … C. Trent Rosecrans believes that Amir Garrett will begin the season in the Reds’ rotation … Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Brewers are signing left-hander Dan Jennings to a one-year contract ...
American League Quick Hits: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that extension talks are “deader than a door-nail” between the Twins and second baseman Brian Dozier … The Athletics selected Boog Powell over Dustin Fowler for their starting center field job, with Fowler going back down to the minors , but he'll return, by July at the latest… Nathan Eovaldi will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow … Trey Mancini (hamstring) and Tim Beckham (groin) expect to be in the Orioles' starting lineup for Opening Day ... Ichiro Suzuki (calf) will be in the Mariners’ lineup for Opening Day … Tim Lincecum (finger) said Wednesday that his goal is to be ready to join the Rangers by the beginning of May … The Rays released veteran reliever Daniel Hudson …
If you are looking for the marquee pitching matchup of the day, check out Carlos Martinez and Noah Syndergaard at 1:10 p.m. ET, weather permitting. As things often go with Opening Day, there are plenty of other aces in action Thursday, including the likes Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, and Justin Verlander.
While real games are finally upon us, there were some notable developments around the league on Wednesday as teams made their final roster decisions.
Salvy Sidelined
Salvador Perez has been the most durable catcher in the majors over the past five seasons, but he’s going to get a late start on his 2018 campaign after suffering a Grade 2 MLC tear in his left knee.
According to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star, Perez injured the knee while carrying luggage in his house, of all things. He missed a step and felt a pop in his knee. Perez is slated to miss the first 4-6 weeks of the season due to the freak injury, which likely leaves him out of the mix until early May.
Perez, who turns 28 in May, has logged at least 129 games over the past five seasons. He established new career-highs with 27 homers and 80 RBI in 2017 while batting .268/.297/.495 over 129 games. He’s typically been the fourth or fifth catcher off the board in mixed fantasy leagues, but those who drafted him will now have to piece things together until he’s back to 100 percent. The catcher position was already thin, so it doesn't help that both Perez and J.T. Realmuto (back) will begin the year on the DL.
Drew Butera is expected to see most of the playing time behind the plate while Perez is sidelined, but we’re talking about a major step down from a fantasy perspective. The 34-year-old is a .203/.258/.299 hitter over 436 games in the majors.
Lineup Notes
Multiple teams posted their Opening Day lineups on Wednesday, with some potential interesting fantasy fallout to consider. We’ll start with the Yankees, who plan to use Brett Gardner out of the lead off spot against Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ. In turn, Aaron Judge will hit second while Aaron Hicks is slated to bat fifth.
Gardner hasn’t done much against left-handed pitching over the past two seasons, but he has had some success against Happ in the past. It’s unclear whether this factored into the decision to put him into the leadoff spot despite facing a lefty. It can be dangerous to put too much stock into BvP numbers, but we’ll know more the next time the Yankees face a southpaw. Either way, Hicks finds himself in a great spot in this lineup with Gardner, Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez in front of him. Not bad for someone who was available in the later rounds of most fantasy drafts.
While things look good for Hicks, the hype train for Twins outfielder Byron Buxton lost some fuel after it was announced Wednesday that he would be batting eighth on Opening Day against the Orioles. Buxton is no stranger to hitting the bottom of the order, as he made 22 starts out of the No. 8 spot last season and 47 starts out of the No. 9 spot. The Twins have a deep lineup, but one would think that Buxton will get an opportunity to move up in the order if he picks up from where he left off last season.
Buxton batted .300/.347/.546 with 11 homers and 13 steals over 57 games during the second half last year.
Closing Time
Rangers manager Jeff Banister hasn’t officially named a closer yet, but team beat writer Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has a pretty good guess. During a Q & A piece on Wednesday, Grant pegged Keone Kela as the favorite for the job and believes that he can “seize it from the start and hold it.”
Alex Claudio served as the primary closer down the stretch last year, but he’s a ground ball machine and could be used earlier in games with runners on base. He’s also capable of pitching multiple innings. Jake Diekman has also been mentioned as a possibility, though he’s left-handed and could be better-utilized in matchup situations.
Kela has been hyped as a potential closer for quite some time now, but he’s dealt with elbow and shoulder issues over the past two years. When healthy, the 24-year-old posted a 2.79 ERA and 51/17 K/BB ratio over 38 2/3 innings last season. He throws in the mid-90s with his fastball and gets a ton of whiffs on his curveball. Tim Lincecum could eventually have a say in things if all goes well with his comeback attempt, but Kela has the sort of stuff managers usually look for in a closer.
National League Quick Hits: Matt Ehalt of the Bergen Record reports that the Mets have discussed free agent closer Greg Holland … Brandon Nimmo is slated to bat lead-off and play center fielder for Thursday’s opener against the Cardinals … The Mets are also going with Kevin Plawecki over Travis d’Arnaud against right-hander Carlos Martinez … The Nationals signed reliever Carlos Torres to a minor league contract … The Cardinals officially placed Luke Gregerson (hamstring) on the 10-day disabled list while adding hard-throwing youngster Jordan Hicks to the late-innings mix … C. Trent Rosecrans believes that Amir Garrett will begin the season in the Reds’ rotation … Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Brewers are signing left-hander Dan Jennings to a one-year contract ...
American League Quick Hits: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that extension talks are “deader than a door-nail” between the Twins and second baseman Brian Dozier … The Athletics selected Boog Powell over Dustin Fowler for their starting center field job, with Fowler going back down to the minors , but he'll return, by July at the latest… Nathan Eovaldi will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow … Trey Mancini (hamstring) and Tim Beckham (groin) expect to be in the Orioles' starting lineup for Opening Day ... Ichiro Suzuki (calf) will be in the Mariners’ lineup for Opening Day … Tim Lincecum (finger) said Wednesday that his goal is to be ready to join the Rangers by the beginning of May … The Rays released veteran reliever Daniel Hudson …
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