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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!
The Tampa Bay Rays played a baseball in Cuba, in front of a crowd of 55,000 and that's a big deal.
Andre Ethier will have to miss 10-14 weeks, after he fractured his right tibia.
The Giants and first baseman Brandon Belt have begun talks about a new contract.
Indians pitcher Cody Anderson has a repertoire that looks a lot like Matt Harvey's, says Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs.
This goes beyond the heaters. See, Harvey also throws a slider, a curve and a changeup. Anderson throws a cutter, a curve and a changeup. Anderson’s cutter flies as quickly as Harvey’s slider, and the shapes of the pitches are almost identical. There are further similarities in the other two pitches, and though Anderson’s curve is something of a work in progress, he has faith in his change. He had faith in his change last year, and now it’s more powerful. I’m really not exaggerating anything. When you break it down pitch to pitch, Anderson’s arsenal now looks like Harvey’s. Unlike Harvey, what Anderson hasn’t done is prove he can succeed with all four pitches in the majors, but it’s within his reach. Anderson’s ceiling has gotten higher. Anderson’s ceiling might rival that of any other 25-year-old.
The Phillies have actually not offered Maikel Franco an extension, from our own Chris Cotillo.
Here is the latest news surround the National League Central.
Joseph Werner of Beyond the Box Score tried to put a value on Jose Bautista's future.
So in the end, that $150 million figure reportedly floated (and quickly denied) by Bautista and his representatives isn’t that far out of the realm of possibility if he was to be paid that amount between 2016 and 2021. Assuming the Blue Jays’ front office only looks to extend the slugger after the upcoming season, then something in the neighborhood of five years and $110 million seems reasonably fair – though let’s not forget that Toronto’s dealing with the opportunity cost of extending their window of contention and the fact that Bautista’s become as iconic as the Maple Leaf.
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Today in Baseball History: In 1951, the Brooklyn Dodgers sign a 21-year lease to make Vero Beach their spring training home.