Mariners Moose Tracks, 3/4/20: Christian Yelich, Chris Sale, and baby Trout

Hoping you’re all healthy and well. Drink that tea and enjoy some links!

In Mariners news...

• Taijuan Walker has been handled cautiously by the Mariners, but he’ll get a start in a “B” game today.
• Seattle re-signed reliever Chasen Bradford to a minor league deal, as the righty recovers from Tommy John surgery, per Baseball America.
• Apparently all baseball players can really drive a golf ball, even Dee Gordon? Right-handed?

• For anyone near Little Rock or thinking of taking a trip through, the AA-Travelers released their promotional schedule.
• Kiley McDaniel of ESPN+ ($) released his Top-100 prospect list, ranking Julio Rodriguez 9th, notably one spot ahead of Jo Adell.

Around the league...

• Cubs general manager Theo Epstein said the organization will have to be “brutally honest” come July as to whether they’re a World Series contender in the next year or two.
• Jeff Passan’s weekly MLB round up for ESPN included the note that several pitching coaches feel it’s been emphasized heavily that players and coaches will be subject to harsh discipline if foreign substances are uncovered on pitchers.
• Passan also acquired a memo from MLB, detailing the league’s approach to the threat of coronavirus, with a task force to monitor and address the threat, but no plan to cancel games or play in empty stadiums - yet. Autograph seekers, however, may be SOL this year.
• Some teams, like the Pirates, are taking the time to sanitize their entire facilities.
• Initially reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Christian Yelich is expected to sign a nine-year deal (essentially a seven year extension) with $215 million in guarantees. The 28 year old will be signed through the 2028 season with a mutual option for the 2029 season.

• Scott Miller of Bleacher Report spoke with a handful of pitchers who felt their careers were temporarily or permanently altered by the Astros’ cheating. The piece includes quotes from former Mariners Anthony Bass and Sam Gaviglio.
• Congratulations to Mike Trout and his wife Jessica on their upcoming child.
• Twins slugger Nelson Cruz has no intentions of retiring after this season. If Nellie can maintain his recent brilliance, in 2-3 years he could join the 500 home run club, sitting at 401 right now.
• Alex Rodriguez has little sympathy for the Astros, citing the lack of remorse they’ve shown, noting his own suspension was well-deserved in hindsight but that he handled himself poorly.

• The state of Texas has convened a grand jury to investigate the July 1 death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, which allegedly came via an opioid overdose supplied by a team employee.
• Red Sox ace Chris Sale had an MRI yesterday after soreness in his elbow cropped up, with results to be sent to Dr. James Andrews. The results of the MRI should be revealed this morning, but it doesn’t sound great.
• Young Giants pitcher Tyler Beede left his start early with elbow soreness as well.

• Another promising lefty, A.J. Puk of the Athletics, has been sidelined at least short-term with a shoulder strain.
• Yordan Alvarez has been slowed with knee soreness, but the Astros don’t believe it will be a long-term issue.
• The same is true for Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, who both are sick and looking to keep from spreading their sickness.
• If you’re into the business side of things, Google has knocked off Amazon Web Services (AWS) in lieu of Google Cloud to handle MLB’s data and analytics, including Statcast.
• This is Yapson Gomez, and he’s certainly got some style.

• Dallas Keuchel will not have to shave his beard, with the blessing of ownership, despite brushing up against White Sox team policy.

John’s pick...

• Gonna need some more info about bat retrieval school.