Mariners Moose Tracks, 1/27/22: Mike Shildt, Kenta Maeda, and Megan Rapinoe

Hello everybody and happy Thursday! Here’s what’s happening in baseball.

In Mariners news...

• The Mariners continue to fill out their 2021 IFA class.

• Julio’s brand released some new swag yesterday. Go get some so you can say you were in on it first!

Around the league...

• The Padres have reportedly hired former Cardinals manager Mike Shildt as a player development coach. Shildt will continue his work in the commissioner’s office while working for the Padres, which is somehow not a conflict of interest.
• Jarrett Seidler at Baseball Prospectus broke down why the league’s proposal to use top prospect lists as a means of service time manipulation solution makes him uncomfortable. For my money, I would be absolutely stunned if this gets anywhere close to being passed. ($)
• If you or someone you know would be good for this, go sign up!

• Twins starter Kenta Maeda, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, should be ready to pitch again in September.
• Our own Jake Mailhot wrote a piece at Fangraphs about a different Twins starter, explaining why Bailey Ober has the tools to break out in 2022.
• The independent Frontier League, which is an official partner league of Major League Baseball, has announced that it will try out a “sudden death” rule in extra innings that will prevent games from going deep into extras.

Anders’ picks...

• Sue Bird is back with the Storm, so Megan Rapinoe decided to join her fiancé in the return-to-Seattle parade.