Team News
D-backs to Play Most Games with ABS Challenge System in MLB
Diamondbacks optimistic Pavin Smith can fill platoon role after 2024 improvements
“I think Pavin raked against righties last year. I would like to see Pavin strangle that spot,” Hazen said of the DH role last week. “I think there’s every indication he should go out and hit righties. He controls the strike zone as well as anybody we have on our team. He clearly has the power that he’s moving into a little bit here. I don’t think that’s who he is as a baseball player. I think he’s a really good hitter and gets on base and espouses a lot of the qualities we believe in that lead to offensive production.”
https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/pavin-smith/3573850/
Perdomo’s extension kept secret by tight-lipped Suárez
“Geno kept coming over and saying, ‘Where’s Perdomo? Where’s Perdomo?’” Hazen said. “And I felt like he was going to keep doing that.”
If he did, it would almost certainly attract media attention. So Hazen pulled Suárez aside.
“Can I trust you with a secret?” Hazen asked Suárez, because at this point only the team’s top executives knew about the deal.
https://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/geraldo-perdomo-contract-secret-kept-by-eugenio-suarez
D-backs Manager Gives Updates on Health, Defense and More
MLBPA director Tony Clark credits Diamondbacks’ offseason amid league-wide spending gap
“There are a few teams that seem to be getting the headlines, but there are a number of teams, including this one here in Arizona, that went out and improved their club. And we tip our hat to clubs that are interested and willing to do that,” Clark told Arizona Sports ahead of Tuesday’s Players Trust Playmakers Classic, an event to raise funds for youth sports.
https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/tony-clark/3574198/
‘Never give up’: D-backs prospect nearing dream of representing Chinese Taipei in MLB
Other Baseball
Work stoppage ahead for MLB? Union exec: Everyone should act like Dodgers, Mets
Rob Manfred thinks Dodgers’ spending is ‘a great thing’ as payroll hovers around $400 million
‘Never bad for baseball’: Rivals OK with high-ticket Dodgers
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43933023/never-bad-baseball-rivals-ok-high-ticket-dodgers
Alex Bregman dispels Rafael Devers-3B drama: ‘I’ll play wherever’
“I’m super excited to just be [Devers’] teammate,” Bregman told reporters Tuesday. “He’s a great player. I think everybody in this clubhouse is worried about winning, and whatever it takes to help the team win — that’s all I’m focused on. I’ll play wherever [manager Alex Cora] tells me to play.”
Anything Goes
This day in history:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/day/march-20
This day in baseball:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/February_20
Over 93,000 liters of beer are lost in facial hair in the UK.
Guinness reveals that over 92,370 people have long thick beards in the UK. The Irish Brew estimated that over 162,719 pints of beer are lost each year in facial hair.
Nebraskan drivers had the flashiest traffic situation back then.
In 1912 a Nebraska law stated that night drivers must do the following: stopping every 150 yards, sending up a skyrocket, then waiting eight minutes for the road to clear before proceeding – while blowing their horns and shooting off flares.
