Mariners Moose Tracks, 2/8/23: Bo Bichette, MLB Realignment, and LeBron James

Starting off your Wednesday with some news from around baseball (and other sports).

By Anders Jorstad@AndersJorstad Feb 8, 2023, 7:00am PST

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Boston Red Sox v Toronto Blue Jays

Hello everyone! Here’s what’s happening in baseball right now...

In Mariners news...

In his latest mailbag, Corey Brock at The Athletic answered questions on Mariners All-Stars, offseason regrets, likely roster cuts, and more. ($)

Around the league...

Bo Bichette has spent this offseason helping out with an after-school program in his hometown.
Speaking of Bichette, he has reportedly settled on a deal with the Jays to cover his arb years.

Per sources, #BlueJays have now avoided arb with Bo Bichette on a multi-year deal.

Terms still unclear but sources said a three-year term was under active discussion this week.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) February 8, 2023

Alex Eisert at Fangraphs wonders what would happen if every pitcher tried throwing from a sidearm release.
This sparked a good deal of conversation online yesterday. Partially because it’s totally unhinged (New York, Boston, and Philly fans would riot) but also, I would give up a small fortune to make this a reality for Seattle.

When MLB expands to 32 teams, it should forget the AL and NL.

Embrace a dramatic geographic realignment.

Here's one way @JimBowdenGM thinks it could look ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/ipYj7C4ouZ
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 7, 2023

Mark Feinsand at MLB polled front office executives for their thoughts on how the offseason went.

Anders’ picks...

In NBA news...

38,388 POINTS

LeBron James hits the fadeaway jumper to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer! #ScoringKing pic.twitter.com/P5LyTZAZn3
— NBA (@NBA) February 8, 2023