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Good morning everybody! We’ve got a decent number of stories for you today on this Thursday, so let’s get ‘em to you.
In Mariners news...
- It’s official!
New name, same great ballpark. Welcome to @TMobile Park! Announcing a new 25-year hometown partnership.
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) December 19, 2018
Read more: https://t.co/4OcA4KOeXF pic.twitter.com/QuSNsRJbH1
- I guess the rebuild is working so far.
New #Mariners acquisitions account for 8 of the 15 players on our ranking of prospects who have been traded this offseason, including Nos. 1-4: https://t.co/eyZRAi5Eet pic.twitter.com/K7diXZq9yq
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) December 19, 2018
Around the league...
- John Cronin at SABR explores the history of the designated hitter, which started earlier than you might think.
- Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports breaks down Troy Tulowitzki’s market.
- Oh my god.
We as a society don’t talk nearly enough anymore about that time Barry Bonds made Tim Salmon say, “That’s the furthest ball I’ve ever seen hit.” pic.twitter.com/jHWofCBPzP
— David Blattman (@davidblattman) December 18, 2018
- Well we can rule out one team for Curtis Granderson.
Granderson believes the moon landing was staged, and Van Wagenen’s father-in-law was Neil Armstrong so this might be a tough sell. https://t.co/441Oq8Jnwq
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) December 19, 2018
- I’m always going to be happy to see this guy continue to hang on in the big leagues.
The Giants are close to a deal with ambidextrous relief pitcher Pat Venditte, per source. They might have a switch-pitcher in their bullpen. Venditte broke through with A's in 2015 and had a 2.57 ERA in 15 appearances for Dodgers last season.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) December 19, 2018
- Yesterday, Major League Baseball and Cuba agreed to a deal that would make it much easier for Cuban players to come play in the United States.
- David Schoenfield wonders if it’s realistic to believe the Mets can be NL East champions this season.
- Melissa Reidy-Russell, the ex-wife of Cubs infielder Addison Russell, detailed more stories of the infielder’s abuse in a recent blog post.
Anders’ picks...
- This is so cool.
LeBron pumping up his son Bryce after a game is one of the best things we've ever heard ❤️
— SB Nation (@SBNation) December 19, 2018
: @KingJames pic.twitter.com/sVcyrIGjOu