Outside of the Padres, the New York Mets have been arguably the busiest team this offseason. That level of business has trickled into their reported interest in 2020 NL Cy Young winner, Trevor Bauer.

However, Bauer doesn’t make much sense for the New York Mets roster.

Why? Typically when you’re a team trying to capitalize on a championship window, you’d sign just about anyone that would be an upgrade over your currently-employed alternative. Following the season Bauer had, you’d have to figure he’s an upgrade over someone like David Peterson or even Seth Lugo.

While that opinion would be correct…

One of the most powerful positions in all sports is to be a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).

Not only do they get a say in who wins a particular award for the MLB season, but they also get to tend to the gates of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. That kind of power is the kind that’ll make any ordinary fan envious, and why wouldn’t it? Many of these players we grew up watching. Some are the reason we even got into baseball, to begin with. …

Entering play on Friday, Bobby Dalbec is slashing .224/.278/.358 with a wRC+ of 78 (eighth on the Red Sox).

At face value, you’d be quick to call the rookie corner infielder a “flash in the pan,” immediately devaluing his 2020 campaign because he’s only hit one big fly this year. There’s a good possibility that, from looking at the box score, you’d be quick to compare his career path to recently-ousted infielder Michael Chavis. The game will eventually speed up on him, and his flaws will get exposed regularly.

All of those things could be true if you were box-score…

On Tuesday, Garrett Richards did something he hasn’t since April of 2018: strike out 10 batters in a game.

Not only did he accomplish that, but he also allowed just one run while scattering seven hits and walking nobody across seven innings of work. Following an outing where he had to scratch and claw his way through 4.2 innings without getting shelled in his last start, this was the best response possible.

In his seven innings of work, he managed to drop his ERA from 6.48 to 4.94, and his peripherals ducked into the high-4s as well. …

Opening Day is just two days away, and the Boston Red Sox are a fascinating team to watch despite flaws on the roster.

The roster has been finalized, as Colten Brewer and Michael Chavis were optioned to Triple-A to make room for Phillips Valdez and Christian Arroyo. Eduardo Rodriguez has dead-arm; he’ll get skipped in the rotation for at least the opening series against Baltimore. Jarren Duran will open the season in the minors, meaning that Franchy Cordero is ready to roll for Opening Day.

Generally speaking, these shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anybody. But let’s look…

According to WEEI’s Rob Bradford, the Boston Red Sox have expressed interest in a reunion with former corner infielder Travis Shaw.

Shaw played 206 games in Boston between 2015 and 2016, slashing .251/.312/.442 with a wRC+ of 97. Then he was traded as part of the package to acquire Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers.

Milwaukee was where Shaw took off. Before an abysmal 2019 took place, the 30-year-old put up 7.7 rWAR, slashed .258/.347/.497, and had consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs. But struggles in 2019 and 2020 soon followed.

Now, a couple of weeks before pitchers and…

With Mookie Betts already gone and Jackie Bradley Jr. likely to follow, the only remaining member from the 2018 World Series outfield is Andrew Benintendi.

Benintendi flew through the minor leagues out of necessity, as the seventh overall pick in 2015’s draft was in the majors after only 151 games in professional baseball. There’s always a risk involved when a prospect gets the call without any experience past Double-A. However, Benintendi didn’t miss a beat when he got his cup of coffee. In 34 big-league games in 2016, he slashed .295/.359/.476 with a 121 wRC+ and 0.6 fWAR.

In the…

On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays kept up their busy offseason to this point; inked Marcus Semien to a one-year contract worth $18 million.

After a 2019 season that saw him as an AL MVP finalist, the 30-year-old shortstop came back down to earth in a shortened 2020 season. In 53 games, Semien slashed .223/.305/.374 with a .299 wOBA and a wRC+ of 92. He also saw a drastic decline defensively, as his defensive runs saved dropped from plus-12 in 2019 to negative-five in 2020.

An fWAR that was riding high at 7.6 in 2019 would’ve been just 3.7 …