Mariners Moose Tracks, 2/13/17: Spring Training, Andrew McCutchen, and Brandon Phillips

Good morning and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. We have finally passed the final weekend before spring training begins. Some teams report today. The Mariners report tomorrow. Soon we’ll have tons of news, videos, and analysis to present you guys for the 2017 season. “Next season” will officially become “this season.”

Anyway, here are some stories to get you through the day.

In Mariners news...

• Apparently Mariners prospect Braden Bishop is not a fan of batting average.

Around the league...

• MLB historian John Thorn thinks the art of the duel may have something to do with how far away a pitching mound is from home plate.
• Tyler Kepner at the New York Times takes a look at the state of each team’s competitive “window.”
• Even though spring training starts in just a few days, the Pirates are still listening to trade offers on Andrew McCutchen. I can’t remember the last time there was a major trade during spring training.
• The Braves have acquired second baseman Brandon Phillips.
• The Rays are reportedly close to a contract with starter Nathan Eovaldi.
• Major league ballparks are becoming more similar to one another, writes John LaRue at The Hardball Times.

Anders’ picks...

• After the NBA mandated that teams aren’t allowed to trash talk each other on Twitter anymore, a couple of NHL teams took to the social media site to make fun of the ruling.