Mariners Moose Tracks, 3/9/20: Justus Sheffield, Willie Calhoun, and Justin Verlander

The injury bug strikes again.

By Anders Jorstad@AndersJorstad Mar 9, 2020, 7:00am PDT

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Texas Rangers v Cincinnati Reds

Good morning and happy Monday! Let’s dive into today’s links.

In Mariners news...

Shannon Drayer thinks we should be paying more attention to Kyle Lewis as a key part of the Mariners’ future.
Justus continues to make improvements.

"From pitch one today, beginning in his bullpen, that was the best I ever caught from Justus Sheffield."

What has the #Mariners' No. 13 prospect added to the arsenal? More on the new offering and how it fared in today's #SpringTraining action: https://t.co/sWKas9MoJl pic.twitter.com/WoGTYb4qn8
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 9, 2020

Are all baseball players long drive champions?

Mariners prospect @JKelenic_1019 giving Mike Trout a run for his money at Braden Bishop’s #4Mom charity event. #MarinersST pic.twitter.com/6N57di1wVm
— Adam Gresch (@adamgresch) March 9, 2020

Around the league...

The MLB Players Association has filed a grievance against the Marlins and the Rays.
Andrew Baggerly at The Athletic wrote about Barry Bonds, and how he’s coming to terms with his legacy within the sport. ($)
Young Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun left a spring game with a fractured jaw after taking a pitch to the face.
Justin Verlander is also banged up.

Justin Verlander has right triceps soreness. Manager Dusty Baker said he was removed as a precaution. This is the same ailment that caused Verlander to miss the first two months of the 2015 season - https://t.co/HDJs6d4ATH
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 8, 2020

Well, that’s not exactly what you want to hear for Forrest Whitley either.

Fifteen games into Grapefruit League play of his second big league camp, the Astros' top pitching prospect has thrown 3.2 innings. He was "not ready to come into camp physically and compete for a position, for whatever reason"

It's Forrest Whitley's plan -https://t.co/Z1fPNUBnJQ
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) March 8, 2020

That’s a very humble statement from Ryan Braun, but is it true?

#Brewers Ryan Braun on Christian Yelich: “He’s one of the best players in the game. Obviously I’m not going to the Hall of Fame. He has a real chance to be the next Brewer to be a Hall of Famer.”
— Tom (@Haudricourt) March 8, 2020

Nippon Professional Baseball - the world’s second most prestigious baseball league - has announced they are postponing the beginning of their regular season in the wake of COVID-19 concerns.