Tag: derek jeter

Marlins one of several teams engaged with Red Sox regarding potential Andrew Benintendi trade, per report

The Miami Marlins are one of the teams that have been engaged with the Red Sox in trade talks involving outfielder Andrew Benintendi, according to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden.

The two sides have not been able to reach an agreement to this point, though, and other teams have also been involved.

Bowden was the first to report on Saturday that the Red Sox “have been in serious trade talks with multiple teams” regarding Benintendi, citing that Boston was “looking for prospect(s) type return with [an] emphasis on pitchers and outfielders.”

Benintendi, who is coming off a disastrous 2020 season (.442 OPS over 52 PAs) in which he was limited to just 14 games due to a right rib cage strain, is under team control for two more years and can become eligible for free agency at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

The 26-year-old is slated to earn $6.6 million in the second year of a two-year, $10 million extension he signed with Boston last February. 2022 would serve as his third and final season of arbitration eligibility.

The Marlins, meanwhile, are coming off a year in which their outfielders ranked 12th in the National League in wRC+ (86) and 14th in fWAR (0.3), so it would appear that they are attempting to upgrade their outfield corps.

On that note, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported earlier this month that Miami is looking for a “corner outfielder, preferably a right fielder and left-handed hitter.”

Though Heyman did not specify if the Marlins were looking for this particular player via trade or free agency, Benintendi certainly fits that mold seeing how he is a corner outfielder who hits from the left side of the plate.

Of course, the former first-round draft pick has never played an inning in right field as a professional, but he did log some time there during his freshman season at the University of Arkansas.

As for who the Marlins would give up in this potential trade, that much is unclear, and it’s likely to remain that way seeing how Boston and Miami “have not been able to agree on a return” yet.

Given the knowledge we have of this ongoing situation, the Sox and Fish could just be in the opening stages of trade talks here.

As a matter of fact, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier wrote on Sunday that “[one] major league source characterized the Red Sox’ conversations about Benintendi as ‘due diligence’ and ‘nothing out of the ordinary,’ at a time when teams often gauge the value of virtually all of their players.”

That much is understandable, especially at a point in time where Benintendi’s trade value is presumably at an all-time low on account of how much he has underperformed these past two seasons.

2021 could prove to be a ‘revenge tour’ of sorts for the Cincinnati native, so the Red Sox may want to hold on to Benintendi for a little longer at the risk of dealing him and potentially seeing him thrive with a new organization given his track record.

At the moment, per Speier, Benintendi has been working out in Nashville, and he was scheduled to meet with Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers on Monday.

(Picture of Andrew Benintendi: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Advertisement

National Baseball Hall of Fame Cancels 2020 Induction Ceremony Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

While there is optimism that Major League Baseball could return in July, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Wednesday announced that its annual Hall of Fame Induction weekend has been cancelled due the COVID-19 pandemic.

Per a release, the Hall’s board of directors voted ‘unanimously’ to cancel all induction-related activities in Cooperstown during the final weekend of July, when the ceremonies were originally scheduled to take place.

Instead, this year’s inductees — Larry Walker, Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, and Ted Simmons — will be honored next year along with whoever is inducted into the Class of 2021.

“Induction Weekend is a celebration of our National Pastime and its greatest legends,” said National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum chairman Jane Forbes Clark. “And while we are disappointed to cancel this incredibly special event, the Board of Directors’ overriding concern is the health and well-being of our new inductees, our Hall of Fame members, our wonderful fans and the hundreds of staff it takes to present the weekend’s events in all of its many facets. We care deeply about every single person who visits Cooperstown.”

This news means that for the first since 1961, an induction ceremony will not be held in Cooperstown this summer, while the 2021 ceremony will mark the first time since 1949 that multiple Hall of Fame classes will be honored simultaneously.

As things stand right now, next year’s induction ceremony is scheduled to kick off on July 23rd.

Former Red Sox right-hander Curt Schilling, who received 278 of a possible 397 votes this past January, could very well finally get into the Hall of Fame in his ninth year on the ballot in 2021. Him and Jeter potentially being part of the same induction ceremony next year would be something to see.

Former Red Sox Pitcher Curt Schilling Misses out on Baseball Hall of Fame by 20 Votes

Former Red Sox right-hander Curt Schilling was once again denied enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night, as Yankees legend Derek Jeter and Rockies legend Larry Walker were the only two players elected into this year’s class.

Of the 397 votes cast by ‘select 10-year members’ of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Jeter, in his first year on the ballot, received 396 (99.7%), while Walker, in his 10th and final year on the ballot, received 304 (76.6%) to just sneak past the 75% threshold.

As for Schilling, the three-time World Series champion received 278 of the 397 votes, or 70%, meaning he fell short by 20 votes.

Schilling remains one of the only two non-active pitchers with at least 3,000 career strikeouts to not be in the Hall of Fame. The other is another former Sox hurler in Roger Clemens.

Since his name first appeared on the ballot back in 2013, here’s how the 53-year-old has fared with the voters:

2013: 38.8%

2014: 29.2%

2015: 39.2%

2016: 52.3%

2017: 45%

2018: 51.2%

2019: 60.9%

2020: 70%

As you can see, Schilling’s time on the Hall of Fame ballot has been a bit of a roller coaster with a more steady rise towards the latter half of his eligibility.

With eight years on the ballot down, Schilling has but two years of eligibility remaining before he is taken off the list.

Putting the character clause aside and talking strictly about what he did on the field, it is clear, at least in my mind, that Schilling should get in within the next two years.