MLB Bullets is fed up

Another day, another day without free agent signings.

• Jon Heyman reports that there is no end in sight to the standoff this winter.
• However, agent Scott Boras says the slow winter doesn’t surprise him and that he believes that the big-name free agents will sign before the season starts.
• But one Boras’ client, J.D Martinez, says he’s “fed up” with the inflexibility of the Red Sox and is willing to sit out the beginning of the season if he doesn’t get the contract he wants. I will say, I don’t understand why Martinez thinks the Red Sox should bid against themselves.
• However, the Diamondbacks are still interested in bringing Martinez back, but it is believed that the D-Backs are only offering short-term deals.
• Should Martinez chose to sign with a team other than Boston, the Red Sox reportedly plan to make an offer for free agent Logan Morrison.
• In the meantime, the Players’ Association will have their own Spring Training for unsigned free agents.
• However, Boras’ clients will not participate in the MLBPA camp. Boras says his agency’s own facilities will serve his clients better. Craig Calcaterra suspects that other big-name agencies will follow suit, leaving the MLBPA camp filled with fringe players.
• Then there is Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, whose representation by the Wasserman Agency was terminated by his agents. It’s being reported that Puig was let go by his agents for misbehavior, but what he did is unknown and it reportedly won’t result in any discipline by the Dodgers or MLB. So now everyone is guessing what in the world Puig could have done in the Wasserman Agency conference room.
• Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka explained why he didn’t opt out of his contract this winter. He says it’s because he didn’t want to leave the Yankees, but it sure worked out well for him not having to try to find a job in this market.
• One of the biggest stories this winter has been the fire sale that the new management of the Marlins has undertaken, although I hesitate to call it a “fire sale” because it’s more like dynamiting the place for insurance money. Marlins team president and former MLB golden boy Derek Jeter has taken most of the criticism for this, so Tom Verducci gives Jeter a chance to defend himself. It’s a puff piece (the kind that Jeter got often during his playing career) and Verducci never comes close to challenging what Jeter says, but if you want Jeter’s side of the story, here it is.
• Jeter also said that he expects the new Miami Beckhams (or whatever they end up being called) of MLS to win a title before the Marlins because the Marlins are in a deeper hole. The David Beckham-run expansion team doesn’t start play until 2020 and currently has no players under contract.
• There was one free agent signing as the Blue Jays signed reliever John Axford. Of course, Axford’s been a free agent since the Athletics released him in August. So he had a three-month head start.
• This could go in the Daily Darvish, but Craig Edwards explains why the Twins really, really need to sign Yu Darvish.
• Here’s a round-up of rumors about free agent pitcher Lance Lynn.
• The Giants are still looking for bullpen help and they may be interested in signing Huston Street.
• Jon Heyman has a list of 14 postseason contenders who still need to make a move this winter. Gee, I wonder if the Cubs are on the list?
• Scary news as the mother of Pirates backup catcher Elias Diaz has been kidnapped in Venezuela.
• Jeff Sullivan believes that the Reds have found a future ace in starter Luis Castillo, and that you can cross out the word “future.”
• Sullivan also notes that American League DHs had their worst season ever at the plate in 2017. In fact, they were outhit by National League DHs.
• Joe Posnanski has another story about “unbreakable records” and this is one that Albert Pujols wishes he didn’t have. Posnanski believes no one will ever break Pujols record for the most career grounded into double plays.
• Sam Miller explains why no one will ever hit .400 again.
• Mike Petriello has ten players at 6’4” or more who are still pretty fast. There’s a Cub on the list.
• Travis Sawchik notes that with the new 10-day disabled list, trips to the DL went way up in 2017.
• The Rays are expected to announce today where in Tampa they intend to build their new stadium. Ybor? It sounds like a character in Young Frankenstein.
• The Rays will also be the Devil Rays four times this year to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary.
• I didn’t get this because I’ve never seen the movie, but fans of the film Coming to America went nuts because the Fresno Grizzlies are going to play a game as the Zamunda Lions for the 30th anniversary of the movie. I wonder how they got permission from the late Art Buchwald for this.
• Ten years ago yesterday, the Orioles traded away their best pitcher for a struggling young outfielder in Adam Jones, and it turned the fortunes of the franchise around.
• This should go in Cub Tracks, but I found it and I’m using it. Notorious bank robber John Dillinger was a die-hard Cubs fan. Literally. Author Frank Jackson speculates that had the Cubs been playing a home game on July 22, 1934, Dillinger could have been gunned down leaving Wrigley Field instead of the Biograph Theater.
• What was the first thing that new Mariners center fielder Dee Gordon did when he found out he’d been traded to Seattle and that he was going to be a center fielder? He went out to Dick’s Sporting Goods and bought a outfielder glove.
• And finally, Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda played a practical joke on his translator while pretending to perform a magic trick. I showed it to my wife and she called it the “best magic trick ever.”

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