Baseball’s Opening Day is right around the corner, with teams scrambling to make their final roster moves before the season kicks off in about a month. Here’s what’s happening in the MLB world today:
Nolan Arenado isn’t buying into the trade buzz with the Yankees. The Cardinals’ star third baseman faced New York in spring training Wednesday, but he quickly shot down any suggestion that the game was meant to showcase his talents.
“I didn’t come here for that,” Arenado said after the game. “Day 3 of spring training. That wouldn’t be a good day to showcase myself. I’m not ready for that.”
The game didn’t exactly go his way – he went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts.
Arenado’s had a tough time lately. Last year was one of his worst seasons, and while he’s still got three years and $74 million left on his contract, there’s been talk that the Cardinals might eat some of that money to trade him. Of course, he’s got the power to block any deal he doesn’t like.
Meanwhile, the Mets are trying to patch up their pitching problems. They’ve just picked up veteran right-hander José Ureña on a minor-league contract. He’s been around for 10 years and while his career numbers aren’t spectacular (4.76 ERA), he did pretty well last year with the Rangers, bouncing between starting and relief duties.
The Mets really needed this depth. They’re already dealing with some tough breaks:
– Frankie Montas is out with a lat strain (probably missing a month or two)
– Sean Manaea’s got an oblique issue that might keep him from starting the season
If everything goes smoothly from here (fingers crossed), the Mets’ starting rotation will likely feature Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Paul Blackburn, and Griffin Canning. But in baseball, things rarely go exactly as planned.
