Mariners Moose Tracks, 4/9/21: James Paxton, Dee Strange-Gordon, and Trevor Bauer

Hello folks. It’s a sad morning in Mariners-land after yesterday’s James Paxton news, which I’ll just get right to here in case you missed it.

Yeah. Just such a huge bummer for a dude who seemed so happy to be back and pitch in front of a packed Maple Grove later this summer. Ugh. I really hope he’s able to somehow avoid the surgery, or that he is able to come back and be dominant after it. It just totally sucks. Anyway, here’s what else is going on in baseball.

Around the league...

• Matt Monagan tells the story of minor league catcher Dave Bresnahan, whose prank in the 80s got him cut.
• Jeffrey Paternostro at Baseball Prospectus gives some analysis on how recent top prospects have performed in the first week. ($)
• Our very own Matthew Roberson wrote about his feelings on watching baseball this April over at Fangraphs.
• Not going to lie, I’m pleasantly surprised that we keep seeing teams report this.

• This is...concerning.

• Congrats to Dee for landing a new contract!

• Why don’t we see more funny rundowns in baseball?

• In an absolutely shocking turn of events, Trevor Bauer is being investigated by Major League Baseball for doctoring the baseballs. Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic has the report. ($)
• Tony Wolfe at Fangraphs wonders if the A’s can dig themselves out of the early hole they find themselves in.