Perhaps in the shadow of Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner is still a very hot property on the MLB free agent market. The San Francisco Giants legend has already been linked to a number of teams that desperately need starting pitching to solidify their rotation.
Stephen Strasburg put himself in a position to opt out of the four years $100 million remaining on his seven-year $175 million contract by having a fully healthy and productive season. After averaging only 145 innings per year between 2015 and 2018, he pitched 209 innings and won World Series MVP, setting him up for another huge payday.
The 2019 MLB free agent class will go down in history with a great deal of star pitching and many teams with obvious needs on the mound. Most eyes are on Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg and Madison Bumgarner – two World Series MVPs and a total of three generational aces.
Yasmani Grandal declined a $16 million mutual option with the Milwaukee Brewers to re-enter free agency after a frustrating offseason in 2018/19.
After the Washington Nationals won its first ever World Series championship in 2019, it’ll be all smiles for now, which the long-suffering franchise deserves at last. However, soon it will be time for free agency and GM Mike Rizzo’s task to remain among the MLB’s elite could prove more difficult than expected.
Look out, AL teams. There’s a new dynasty in town in the Houston Astros. They’re playing in the World Series for the second time in the last three years after finishing with league-high 108 regular-season wins and are widely regarded the favorites to win it all against the Washington Nationals.
Washington DC has a World Series team for the first time in 86 years. Having not won a playoff series since their move from Montreal in 2004, the Nationals have managed to win two after sweeping the Cardinals. They will play either the Yankees or the Astros to win their first title.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals will meet in the National League Championship Series.
The NL Wildcard Washington Nationals have battled all the way to a deciding fifth game of the NLDS against the two-straight National League champions Los Angeles Dodgers. One of the biggest contributors on a very dangerous team so far has been starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg.
St Louis Cardinals ace-turned-closer Carlos Martinez took a dislike to Ronald Acuna’s home run celebrations in the ninth inning of Thursday night’s Division Series opener.
The Chicago Cubs announced that Joe Maddon will not be managing the team next year. The announcement was made just before the final game of the season, after the Cubs missed out on a playoff spot.
The Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics will get the American League side of the 2019 MLB postseason underway in just two days as for a second consecutive year a team with 95+ wins will find itself out of contention just one game in. That’s the beauty of the Wildcard games.
Sadly, the time has come to face the ending moments of a very competitive 2019 season in Major League Baseball. But while much of the playoff picture has already been determined, a few crucial battles are yet to conclude.
Tonight, on the evening of September 26th, Seattle will witness the probable end of a Mariners career which fits that description perhaps better than anyone. Felix Hernandez will forever be an idol in the eyes of Mariners fans, yet perhaps it is common that people forget the extent of his dominance early in his career as a consequence of his struggles over recent seasons.
The American League was thought to have four superteams at the start of 2019, you could have just played the playoffs then with the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Astros. One of these is eliminated and the Indians are still competing for a place with a week to go in the season.
