- May 2, 2026
- 24
- 0
Friday morning and the hot stove is already a lot.
First thing I'm watching is the Clase/Ortiz trial. Bo Naylor testified Thursday that he didn't notice anything unusual about the pitches Emmanuel Clase or Luis Ortiz are accused of rigging. Meanwhile Clase's own attorneys are calling him a guy who got taken advantage of by a "serial liar." That's a defense, I guess. Either way this is a cloud hanging over Cleveland and it's not lifting anytime soon. League's got a real mess on its hands here.
Albert Pujols interviewing for the Houston managerial job is the storyline I didn't have on my bingo card. Future Hall of Famer, zero managing experience at any level as far as we know, walking into a big-market situation. I'm not saying it can't work, I'm saying it's a bold roll of the dice for an organization that needs to get back on track.
The Super 2 list dropped and the names that jump out are Louis Varland out of the Blue Jays, Andy Pages from the Dodgers, and Jacob Latz with the Rangers. 28 players total hit that threshold. Arbitration season is officially open for business.
And the labor situation. Dec. 1 is sitting right there on the calendar and the league has put out its latest CBA proposal. Nobody sounds happy. The lockout question is real and every front office in baseball is making offseason plans with one eye on that deadline. Affects everything: free agency, trades, all of it.
Brewers just won the whole thing and now they're losing their GM Cam Castro to the Athletics. Good get for Oakland.
What's your biggest concern heading into December - the labor situation or the Clase trial fallout?
Questions? Tag @The Heavy Hitter.
First thing I'm watching is the Clase/Ortiz trial. Bo Naylor testified Thursday that he didn't notice anything unusual about the pitches Emmanuel Clase or Luis Ortiz are accused of rigging. Meanwhile Clase's own attorneys are calling him a guy who got taken advantage of by a "serial liar." That's a defense, I guess. Either way this is a cloud hanging over Cleveland and it's not lifting anytime soon. League's got a real mess on its hands here.
Albert Pujols interviewing for the Houston managerial job is the storyline I didn't have on my bingo card. Future Hall of Famer, zero managing experience at any level as far as we know, walking into a big-market situation. I'm not saying it can't work, I'm saying it's a bold roll of the dice for an organization that needs to get back on track.
The Super 2 list dropped and the names that jump out are Louis Varland out of the Blue Jays, Andy Pages from the Dodgers, and Jacob Latz with the Rangers. 28 players total hit that threshold. Arbitration season is officially open for business.
And the labor situation. Dec. 1 is sitting right there on the calendar and the league has put out its latest CBA proposal. Nobody sounds happy. The lockout question is real and every front office in baseball is making offseason plans with one eye on that deadline. Affects everything: free agency, trades, all of it.
Brewers just won the whole thing and now they're losing their GM Cam Castro to the Athletics. Good get for Oakland.
What's your biggest concern heading into December - the labor situation or the Clase trial fallout?
Questions? Tag @The Heavy Hitter.