Jake Arrieta Accepts $20 Million Player Option to Stay with Philadelphia Phillies Next Season

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Jake Arrieta isn’t leaving The Keystone State…

The 33-year-old part-Puerto Rican Major League Baseball pitcher is staying with the Philadelphia Phillies, exercising a $20 million player option for 2020.

A right-hander, Arrieta was 8-8 with a 4.64 ERA in 24 starts this year. He didn’t pitch after August 11 because of surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.

Arrieta was the 2015 National League Cy Young Awardwinner with the Chicago Cubs. He made the MLB All-Starteam the following season and helped the Cubs win their first World Seriestitle since 1908.

He left as a free agent after the 2017 season and signed a deal with the Phillies that will wind up paying $75 million over three seasons.

Arrieta was 10-11 with a 3.96 ERA in 31 starts for Philadelphia in 2018.

Miami Marlins’ Rookie Isan Diaz Hits Homerun in MLB Debut as Family is Interviewed on TV

Posted on August 6, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Isan Diaz has smashed his father’s best MLB debut hopes out of the park…

The 23-year-old Puerto Rican Miami Marlins second baseman picked a perfect time to get his first big league hit in his MLB debut on Monday afternoon against the New York Mets.

Moments after his parents were asked if this was an emotional day for them on the Marlins broadcast, Diaz rocketed a 422-foot bomb off a Jacob deGrom fastball at Citi Field— prompting Diaz’s father, Raul, to loudly cheer his son as he trotted around the bases for the first time in the majors.

“Did we just homer off deGrom?” Raul asked in disbelief at the conclusion of the interview. “… He’s a Cy Young [Award winner]! We just homered against deGrom!”

https://twitter.com/Marlins/status/1158503795829223437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1158503795829223437&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthebiglead.com%2F2019%2F08%2F05%2Fisan-diaz-degrom-family-home-run-video%2F

Diaz was among four prospects acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in January 2018 for Christian Yelich.

Diaz finished the day 1-for-4, his lone hit a memorable solo home run.

Carlos Carrasco Finalizes $47 Million Deal with the Cleveland Indians

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a done deal for Carlos Carrasco…

The 31-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher has finalized his $47 million, four-year contract with the Cleveland Indians, dating back to December 6.

Carrasco’s $14 million club option for 2023 under his new deal with the team would become guaranteed if he pitches 170 or more innings in 2022 and is expected to be healthy for the following season.

Carrasco’s contract includes $37.25 million in new guaranteed money. It keeps his $9.75 million salary this year and calls for $10.25 million in 2020, which had been the option price of his previous deal. The agreement adds salaries of $12 million in 2021 and ’22 plus the new option year.

His 2020 salary would increase by $2 million for a Cy Young Awardthis year, $1 million for finishing second or third in the voting, $750,000 for fourth or fifth, and $500,000 for sixth through 10th, as long as he receives at least two votes.

For the remainder of the contract, salaries could escalate by up to $3 million using the same formula.

He would get a one-time assignment bonus if traded, $3 million if dealt before the end of this season and $1 million if traded after the season.

Carrasco won 35 games over the past two seasons and is a core member of one of baseball’s best rotations, which could change if the Indians trade either two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber or MLB All-Star Trevor Bauer.Carrasco went 17-10 with a 3.38 ERA in 30 starts last season for the AL Centralchampions, finishing with a career-high 231 strikeouts as the Indians became the first team to have four pitchers to fan 200 in the same season.

Jake Arrieta to Make Debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on April 8

Posted on March 25, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Jake Arrieta is ready to Philly the pitching void…

The 32-year-old part-Puerto Rican Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher is set to make his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies next month.

Arrieta is set to pitch before the home crowd in Philadelphia against the Miami Marlins on April 8, according tomanager Gabe Kapler announced Saturday.

Arrieta and the Phillies finalized a three-year, $75 million contract on March 12. He pitched his first spring training game for the Phillies on Thursday, striking out two, allowing three hits and walking none over two innings.

He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs. He has won the Cy Young Award and has been selected an All-Star.

Arrieta helped lead the Cubs to a World Series championship in 2016.

Bartolo Colon Agrees to Minor League Contract with the Texas Rangers

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Bartolo Colon is back in the game…

The Texas Rangers have signed the 44-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher to a minor league contract and invited the pitcher to big league spring training.

“Bartolo brings a track record of durability and success in the major leagues,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said in a statement. “He pounds the strike zone and provides quality competition for our rotation.”

Colon was a combined 7-14 with a 6.48 ERA in 28 starts for the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins last season. He was released by the Braves in July, then signed with the Twins and went 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA in 15 starts for the team.

Colon has 240 career victories in 20 seasons with 10 teams, including the Montreal Expos. The portly right-hander has posted 21 career wins against Texas, the most by any pitcher.

A four-time All-Star, he won the 2005 American League Cy Young Award with the Los Angeles Angels.

Texas was 78-84 last year. Rangers pitchers and catchers are set to hold their first spring workout on February 15 in Surprise, Arizona.

Arrieta Agrees to Lucrative One-Year Deal with the Chicago Cubs

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Jake Arrieta is staying in the Windy City…

The 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican baseball star and 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner have agreed to a one-year, $15.64 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, avoiding arbitration, according to ESPN.

FanRag Sports first reported the agreement.

“It’s nice to get that done so we don’t have to exchange numbers,” Cubs president Theo Epstein said. “I’m glad we were able to come to terms. We’ll see if other conversations take place, great.”

The right-hander is eligible for free agency in 2018.

“There is certainly a chance he could be here beyond next year, but we don’t have any ongoing talks or anything specific scheduled,” Epstein said. “I’m sure it will come up at some point.”

Arrieta made $10.7 million through arbitration in 2016. He went 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA during the 2016 regular season and then helped the Cubs win their long-awaited World Series championship.

Colon Agrees to One-Year, $12.5 Million Deal with the Atlanta Braves

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a Brave(s) new world for Bartolo Colon…

The 43-year-old Dominican MLB pitcher has agreed to a one-year, $12.5 million deal with the Atlanta Braves, pending a physical.

Bartolo Colon

Colon will be joined in Atlanta’s rotation by R.A. Dickey, who agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal on Thursday.

The Braves haven’t confirmed the agreement with Colon, who produced a 3.45 ERA over 33 starts for the New York Mets this past season.

When the Braves entered this offseason, they aimed to target free-agent pitchers who were willing to take short-term deals, because they did not want to block the path of their young starting-pitching prospects who may soon be deemed Major League Baseball ready. Dickey and Colon were immediately projected as top targets, primarily because they have recently been effective and were likely to take a short-term deal at this stage of their careers.

If all goes according to plan, Atlanta will become just the eighth team in Major League history to have two pitchers at least 42 years old to make at least one start in the same season.

The 1990 Texas Rangers (Charlie Hough and Nolan Ryan), the ’87 Cleveland Indians (Steve Carlton and Phil Niekro) and the ’81 Braves (Niekro and Gaylord Perry) are the only teams to have had two of these 42-plus pitchers make at least 10 starts in the same season.

Initially, it was thought Colon would have preferred to remain with the Mets, but the Braves were helped by their lucrative offer (Colon made $7.25 million this past season) and the longstanding relationship the entertaining pitcher shares with president of baseball operations John Hart dating back to their days with the Indians in the 1990s.

Colon also was not guaranteed a spot within the Mets’ rotation, and he is just 11 wins away from matching Juan Marichal‘s record for the most wins (243) by a Dominican-born pitcher.

With Colon and Dickey, the Braves have added a pair of former Cy Young Award winners with a combined 769 career starts and 85 years of age to their starting rotation.

Colon has produced a 3.94 ERA over 500 starts during a career that dates back to April 4, 1997, when he was backed by an Indians lineup that included Atlanta’s current hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and Julio Franco, who at that time (at the age of 37) was still capable of playing second base.

After winning the 2005 American League Cy Young Award with the Angels, Colon battled the lingering effects of a partially torn rotator cuff and produced a 5.18 ERA while totaling just 47 starts over the next five seasons (2006-10). He missed the ’10 campaign while undergoing a stem cell shoulder surgery that drew MLB‘s attention, and he received a 50-game suspension in ’12 after testing positive for a testosterone that was in violation of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Colon experienced a resurgence in 2013, when he posted a 2.65 ERA over 30 starts for the A’s at age 40. He signed with the Mets the following offseason and proceeded to produce a 3.90 ERA over the past three seasons.

Arrieta Undresses for ESPN The Magazine’s “The Body Issue”

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Jake Arrieta is baring it all…

The 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican baseball star appears in only his birthday suit in ESPN The Magazine‘s eighth annual The Body Issue.

The Chicago Cubs ace dropped trou for photographer Marcus Eriksson for the special issue, in which the world’s top athletes take off all their clothes and pose for photographs that help celebrate the athletic form.

Arrieta, a Cy Young Award winner who has pitched two no-hitters, is considered one of the best pitchers in baseball, appears on the cover of this year’s Body Issue.

“The offseason is where I really put my body to the test. I try and push the boundary as far as I can while still getting a decent amount of recovery time,” says Arrieta of his workout regime. “The days where I really want to tax myself and replicate late-inning situations where your legs are heavy, I’ll do about an hour of cardio beforehand, usually on a StairMaster. So I can replicate situations late in games, late in the season, where that nervous energy is at a heightened point and you have to control your emotions knowing your body is not completely where you need it. That’s where the mental mindset comes in most.

Arrieta, who trains with Pilates in the offseason and in-season on a daily basis, believes his flexibility is his No. 1 asset.

“Three years ago, the splits was something I told myself I was going to be able to do by the end of that offseason; it took me two years to actually do it,” says Arrieta. “Hamstring flexibility and hip mobility for me are the two most important factors on the field. Obviously we need to have a strong shoulder, strong scap, strong lats and a durable elbow to have longevity as a pitcher, but being durable and being mobile in the hips and flexible in the hamstrings take so much pressure and stress off of my arm. My flexibility is a huge asset.”

But Arrieta is also fit mentally, especially when he’s on the field.

“The way that you present yourself on the mound is so tremendously important. That was one of the biggest takeaways for me as a young kid from Nolan Ryan, from Roger Clemens, from Randy Johnson,” says Arrieta. “The look in their eyes that they had, whether they were a nice guy or not, they looked like they wanted to tear your head off when they took the mound. That’s the way I like to be. I expect to win, I expect to beat everybody I play. It’s kind of that quiet confidence that I have inside that I try to present to the opponent without getting too overboard. Because there are times when I seem composed but inside I’m losing my mind.”

Arrieta to Bare All in ESPN the Magazine’s annual The Body Issue

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

He may play for the Chicago Cubs, but that doesn’t mean Jake Arrieta isn’t afraid to show he’s also a Chicago Bare…

ESPN has released the starting lineup for ESPN the Magazine’s annual The Body Issue, in which the world’s top athletes take off all their clothes and pose for photographs that help celebrate the athletic form.

And the 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican baseball star, the MLB wins leader in 2015, has made the cut, along with UFC fighter Conor McGregor, U.S. women’s national soccer team member Christen Press, Super Bowl MVP Von Miller and Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade.

Arrieta, who is following up his 2015 Cy Young Award-winning season with an impressive 2016 campaign, is a well-known fitness fanatic. He’s lauded the use of Pilates as part of his remarkable comeback story. He currently has an 11-1 record with a sparkling 1.74 ERA for the Cubs in 14 starts this season.

The Body issue will also feature the first transgender athlete to appear in its pages, American duathlete Chris Mosier. Retired diver Greg Louganis — at age 56 — is the issue’s oldest.

“HIV taught me that I’m a lot stronger than I ever believed I was,” Louganis said. “I didn’t think I would see 30, and here I am at 56.”

ESPN hasn’t released the full listyet, but has said the issue will include ten men and nine women.

Arrieta is the latest Latino athlete to be featured in ESPN the Magazine’s The Body Issue, including Major League Soccer star Omar Gonzalez, Miami Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton and futbolista Carlos Bocanegra.

Martinez Opts for Boston Red Sox Logo on His Hall of Fame Plaque

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Pedro Martinez will be seeing red when he received his Hall of Fame plaque…

The 43-year-old Dominican-American baseball pitcher, who played for five teams during his18 seasons in Major League Baseball, has opted to have the logo of the Boston Red Sox prominently displayed.

“I cannot be any prouder to take Red Sox Nation to the Hall of Fame with the logo on my plaque,” said Martinez, an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion. “I am extremely proud to represent Boston and all of New England with my Hall of Fame career. I’m grateful to all of the teams for which I played, and especially fans, for making this amazing honor come true.”

Martinez, who was a first-ballot induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, was 219-100, struck out 3,154, led the major leagues in ERA five times, and in 2004 helped the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years.

“The Museum staff works with each inductee by suggesting an appropriate logo option, or no logo at all,” Hall president Jeff Idelson said in a statement. “For those whose most compelling contributions clearly took place with one team, a logo makes sense. For those whose careers were built significantly among multiple teams, not having a team logo is equally acceptable.”

The Class of 2015 will be formally inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26 in Cooperstown, New York.

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