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The MLB Daily Dish is a daily feature we're running here at MLBDD and rounds up roster-impacting news, rumors, and analysis. Have feedback or have something that should be shared? Hit us at @mlbdailydish on Twitter.
Good morning baseball fans!
Bovada's over/under win totals were released yesterday. You can see how your favorite team ranks here.
The Royals are working on a potential extension for Salvador Perez.
Could expansion be on the way? Apparently the answer is yes, and we could see two new teams within the next five to six years.
Because of these factors, Montreal would likely be the first choice of MLB to get one of their two new franchises (although this would technically be the resurrection of a former franchise). As for the rest of Morosi's list, he has Austin, Texas; Vancouver, Canada; and Mexico City, or another Latin American location. Each has its merits, although it's nearly impossible to imagine that Vancouver would have a shot unless Montreal couldn't be worked out. Morosi also notes that Charlotte and Nashville could be interesting destinations given their "strong population growth and favorable business climates" but that each would be "hampered by the fact that they recently opened new Triple-A stadiums."
Expansion, while seemingly a pipe dream just a few years ago, appears to be a real goal for Manfred, and Major League Baseball. As of now, we're at the infancy of this idea, and we likely won't see any significant process for a couple years. However once the wheels get moving, and specific cities are being talked about, we'll have a clearer idea of how this would change MLB, and what the timeline for expansion would be.
The Red Sox signed David Murphy to a minor-league deal.
Ian Desmond's signing has made it so that the 2016 MLB draft order is now set.
Houston has combined their efforts, looking toward the future, while going all in for the present.
Jen Mac Ramos of Beyond the Box Score explains why Jeff Francoeur the pitcher is important.
And Eno Sarris of FanGraphs asks if we can solve baseball's other catcher concussion problem.
That may mean fewer passed balls. And while the former umpire thought that was a great thing — "this was definitely a huge bonus, an unintended bonus at that" — it’s possible a current backup catcher may see things differently. After all, they may get some of their on-field value from the ability to drop on that deflected ball. If balls don’t deflect any more… Kurt Suzuki loses some of his defensive value.
Probably not a big deal. Lump that in with the fact that the mask may be four to six ounces heavier, plus the actual dollars spent, as the price tag of being healthy. In comparison to past fixes, this one seems easy. You may shrug at two concussions removed from the game, but once you multiply that two by all the games played in the minor leagues, college, high school and more, you realize that this is a real problem. And an easy solution could be at hand.
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Today in Baseball History: In 1969, after 2,415 hits and 536 home runs, Mickey Mantle retires.