MLB Bullets starts spreading the news

Congratulations to Atlanta United and the Portland Timbers on reaching the MLS Cup final. It’s an especially poignant moment for Atlanta fans, who have been waiting an unbelievable 18 months for their team to finally make their first MLS Cup final. Talk about curses.

• The hot rumor from Wednesday looks accurate now as reports are now that the Mariners and Mets are close to a deal that would send second baseman Robinson Cano and reliever Edwin Diaz to the Mets. The deal may be done by the time you read this as the teams are still going over the medicals and asking Cano to waive his no-trade clause, which is expected to be a formality as Cano reportedly is eager to return to New York.
• Ryan Divish looks at why the Mariners are looking to trade Cano and what they can expect to get back in return.
• Matt Ehalt looks at the pros and cons of the deal from the Mets viewpoint.
• David Schoenfield looks at what kind of production the Mets can expect out of Cano over the next five seasons.
• The other big news of the past two days is that the Oakland Athletics unveiled their plans for a new stadium in the Howard Terminal area of Oakland. They hope to open the new stadium in 2023.
• Grant Brisbee lives 15 minutes from the proposed location (two hours with traffic) and has some thoughts. He thinks it’s a fantastic and ambitious stadium proposal but he’s concerned that the team may not be able to pull it off. Specifically, Brisbee is worried about transportation to the park, the weather (described as “Candlestick-like” although Brisbee writes that the weather at Howard Terminal is more like Norway than Candlestick, which is an improvement) and where the money is coming from.
• Several ballplayers expressed their opinion of the plan on social media. Obviously everyone loves it.
• There were a lot of questions about the new stadium so the A’s released a frequently-asked-questions guide. Yes, there will be hobbits.
• The independent league St. Paul Saints noticed something really familiar about the A’s infield in the released artist renderings. In any case, the Saints said that they are glad to share their stadium with the Athletics.
• There was a free agent signing a pitcher Garrett Richards has signed a two-year deal with the Padres for $15 million. Richards is expected to miss most or all of 2019 after Tommy John surgery.
• Mark Townsend explains why the Padres would take a risk on Richards.
• The top pitching free agent, Patrick Corbin, has had talks with the Yankees, Phillies and Nationals.
• R.J. Anderson explains how Corbin’s risky decision to throw breaking pitches nearly 50% of the time in 2018 paid off and made him the top pitcher on the free agent market.
• It’s clear which team Corbin’s family wants him to sign with. His younger brother took time during a speech at a wedding to urge Corbin to sign with the Yankees. Corbin is originally from the Syracuse, NY area.
• More rumors. Jon Paul Morosi reports that the Indians and Dodgers are discussing a deal that would send Corey Kluber to LA for Yasiel Puig. There’s no indication whether or not the deal is close and Morosi adds that the Dodgers would have to send more than just Puig.
• Jon Heyman says the Dodgers, Yankees and Astros are all interested in making a deal for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto.
• Heyman also writes that the Reds are “all over” free agent pitcher Dallas Keuchel. It doesn’t sound like the feeling is mutual at this point, but money changes everything.
• Craig Edwards argues that the Cardinals need to trade for Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and sign free agent Bryce Harper or start a rebuild. Basically, go big or go home.
• The deadline for teams to offer contracts to players not eligible for free agency is today and I’m sure we’ll have some Cubs news on this front later this afternoon. Manny Randhawa has a list of players who could get non-tendered.
• Jon Heyman thinks the trend of trading “franchise icon” ballplayers such as Goldschmidt and the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner is bad for the sport.
• David Schoenfield looks ahead to the potential free agents next winter.
• For ballplayers, the offseason is a different time than the regular season. Doug Glanville talks about what went through his mind during his time between seasons, including the time when he was a free agent for the first time.
• Tom Verducci looks at the new trends in major league batting coaches and notes that many teams (including the Cubs) are turning to younger hitting gurus without any major league playing experience.
• Earlier this month, commissioner Rob Manfred was given a contract extension that will take him through the next collective bargaining talks. Now the MLB Players Association has followed suit and given a contract extension to executive director Tony Clark.
• Speaking of Manfred, the commissioner revealed that MLB is at least considering making a bid for the former Fox regional sports networks that are up for sale after the Fox/Disney merger.
• Braves color broadcaster Joe Simpson, who made a few controversial comments over the past few seasons, had his TV schedule severely cut back by Fox Sports South. The majority of Braves broadcasts will now see Jeff Francoeur on the microphone. Simpson will continue to work the games on the radio.
• If you’re thinking about going to see the Red Sox and Yankees play in London this summer, be aware that the ticket prices are really, really high.
• Michael Clair thinks the Twins are going to win the AL Central in 2019.
• Bartolo Colon’s pitching stint in the Dominican Winter League didn’t go very well, but Big Sexy got a standing ovation anyway.
• Maybe the way to up the popularity of baseball is with a celebrity feud. If so, Trevor Bauer and Alex Bregman already have one started.
• Mike Petriello has some thoughts about where free agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen might sign.
• And finally, maybe McCutchen should consider signing with Sony Pictures or Disney? America’s greatest short filmmaker released another masterpiece with McCutchen’s piece about the (limited) power of dreadlocks.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.