Mariners Moose Tracks: 2/7/20: Domingo Santana, Mets sale, and Trident Deck

Where many of you are, it’s raining. Where I am, it’s supposed to snow a foot. Grab something warm to drink and cozy up to some links.

In Mariners news...

• The Mariners unfortunately lost LHP Ricardo Sánchez on waivers to the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday. Sánchez had been DFA to make space for RHP Yoshihisa Hirano.
• The Mariners announced this site’s namesake, the upper left field space known as Lookout Landing since Safeco Field’s inception, will be renamed the “Trident Deck”. It’s been real, I guess?
• Speaking of Seattle ballparks of yore...

• MLB Pipeline names Jonatan Clase the Mariners’ fastest prospect.
• Jake Mailhot of FanGraphs looked at the leverage index to measure how Houston’s cheating impacted their performance in various points of import, including a highlight on a memorable Mariners game from 2017.
• Evan White is getting ready, and is somewhere much sunnier than I am.

Around the league...

• Per Mark Feinsand, Twins ace Jose Berrios lost his arbitration case against the Twins. He’ll make $4.025 million instead of $4.4 million.
• Domingo Santana has reportedly signed with Cleveland. The deal was initially reported by Yancen Pujols, out of the Dominican Republic. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland dot com said the deal was dependent on a physical, but likely is around the $1 million range.
• Edwin Díaz believes a comeback is coming, and confidence is key, from the New York Post.
• Yoenis Cespedes believes his comeback is nigh.

• Baseball Prospectus unveiled their updated PECOTA projections for individual players yesterday, with a fantasy-focused element coming today. We’ll have a writeup on them later today, as well as their standings projections which will be unveiled on Monday.
• The hype is here for Orioles catching prospect Adley Rutschman.

• Hank Aaron thinks sign-stealers who use technology and illegal means to do so should be banned from the game.
• The Mookie Betts blockbuster is on hold as the teams re-negotiate, now that the Red Sox have viewed the medicals for Twins RHP Brusdar Graterol.

• At least one writer - Tom Keegan of the Boston Herald - thinks this is a chance for Boston to dodge a disaster and call off the deal entirely.
• That deal being held up has made for an odd situation in Joc Pederson’s arbitration hearings.

• With Pederson in limbo, the league will likely send a third party representative to present the Dodgers’ case.
• Meanwhile, the Dodgers locked up one of their player development successes, extending Max Muncy.

• Rob Manfred believes the deal to purchase the Mets led by minority owner Steve Cohen is officially dead.
• Manfred also addressed the frustrations that no players were punished as a result of their investigation, and noted the Red Sox should receive the results of their own investigation soon.

• Once that investigation concludes, the Red Sox are expected to name bench coach Ron Roenicke as their manager, reports Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe.
• While both parties are ostensibly subject to a non-disclosure agreement, the Mets are always good for some leaks. The New York Post’s Thornton McEnery notes all evidence points to Jeff Wilpon’s actions and demands scuttling the deal.
• Several new Hall of Fame ballots have been made public, including Steve Kornacki, who included J.J. Putz in his vote for the former closer’s lone checked box.
• Wes Jenkins at The Hardball Times makes a pitch for Minor League Baseball to push for more Bowl Games, adding spice and grandeur to the season.
• MLB hired several recent players, including former Mariners pitcher Chris Young.

• FanGraphs’ Justin Klugh writes on the journey for one fan, from a harrowing moment at Fenway half a century ago, to re-embracing the game that threatened their life.
• A.J. Hinch has a full interview on MLB Network airing tonight, including this questionable quote.

• Surprisingly, MLB continues to push the split-city plan as the best way forward for Tampa and Montreal. Marc Topkin has the full story.

John’s pick...

• Congratulations to Angie Mentink!