In Mariners News...
- Anyone else miss Ichiro at-bats? He and Mike Cameron participated in the Mariners’ simulation game yesterday in front of a large audience of teammates taking in the excitement, facing Marco Gonzales and Kenyon Middleton.
You never know what you might see in a sim game. pic.twitter.com/m57S8JPHwL
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 8, 2021
- Shannon Drayer recaps Logan Gilberts promising start in the Mariners’ 2-6 loss against the Angels yesterday, highlighting his strikeouts of Mike Trout, David Fletcher, and more.
Around The League...
- Ian Kinsler, who recently attainted Israeli citizenship last year, is preparing to play for Team Israel in the Tokyo Olympics:
Ian Kinsler told me today he’s preparing to play for Israel at the @Tokyo2020 @Olympics. Kinsler, 4-time @MLB All-Star with @Rangers and @Tigers, may play independent ball as a way to prepare for the tournament, which starts July 28. @ILBaseball @WBSC @MLBNetwork @IsraelinUSA
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 7, 2021
- Cubs reliever Pedro Strop is being held out of camp for violating the team’s COVID-19 protocols. Strop was on a mission to make it back to the majors after re-signing with Chicago on a minor-league deal, but will now have to wait until MLB decides when he’s allowed to rejoin the team.
- The Nationals have released reliever Jeremy Jeffress, and the team wouldn’t expand further other than stating “personnel reasons” for his release. Jeffress expressed frustration with how the team handled the situation, raising many questions about the decision.
- The Pirates have acquired Duane Underwood Jr. in exchange for first base prospect Shendrik Apostel. In a corresponding move, Pirates’ RHP Carson Fulmer has been DFA’d to create room on the roster.