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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 Rangers released Josh Hamilton, but it’s more than likely not the end of his tenure in Texas. The team is likely to re-sign Hamilton to a minor-league deal before the 2017 season begins.
Both Steven Matz and Neil Walker are out for the Mets, or just a normal Tuesday for the team and their fans.
Out of all the reliever candidates for AL Cy Young, Zach Britton may not be the best.
If the BBWAA really wants to present a reliever with the Cy Young award, this is the best year to do it, and WPA is the best argument for a voter who wants to pick Britton. However, a voter putting that much weight on WPA will almost certainly be contradicting how he or she normally evaluates pitchers, both in the past and going forward. In other words, it’s moving the goalposts just to satisfy a narrative. Let’s face it, if Britton wins the Cy Young award, it’ll be because of "teh savez," with maybe some WPA or other leverage stats thrown in.
The BBWAA has done a great job in being more progressive the past couple of years with awards voting. They did a great job in ignoring pitcher record when giving Cy Young awards to Zack Greinke and Félix Hernández several years ago. Unfortunately, awarding Britton the Cy Young would be a step backward for the BBWAA, not just because he’s a reliever, but because he’s not even the best reliever in his own division.
Here is a roundup of news from around the American League Central.
Just when it was fading into the background, TIm Tebow announced a time and place for his MLB showcase.
Oakland has made quite the discovery, by being able to take risks.
For the A’s, it’s been a horrible season. It’s also way too soon to declare that Andrew Triggs, at least, is a real starting pitcher. He hasn’t reached 90 pitches in a game yet, and he hasn’t proven himself over a number of months. As is always the case with these pitchers, there’s no substitute for time. But just look at where things are. It wasn’t expected that Triggs would be starting in the first place. Now that he is, he’s up to showing four pitches, three of which he’s trusted for a while now. He profiles like Justin Masterson, but like a Justin Masterson who could be better against opposite-handed bats. Justin Masterson without a huge platoon split is, what, a No. 2? I don’t know. But I know the A’s would love to find out.
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Today in Baseball History: In 1989, after weeks of legal stuff, Commissioner Bart Giamatti issues a permanent ban to Pete Rose.