Tag Archive for: Dodgers

Marlins Trade for Dylan Floro

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Coming off a solid signing of Adam Duvall, the Marlins continue their recent activity by trading for RHP Dylan Floro from the defending champion LA Dodgers. They pitched LHP Alex Vesia and a prospect for Floro in an attempt to cement a floundering bullpen. With one of the few consistencies in the 2020 bullpen, Brandon Kintzler, signing with the Phillies, the Marlins hope Floro can fill a similar role. 

 

Floro had a 2.59 ERA last year over 24.1 innings with the Dodgers and also brings even more Postseason experience to a young roster. Statistically, Floro is an above average pitcher with a career FIP of 3.23. He most likely will not be the closer of this team, but Floro adds even more depth to a bullpen trending upwards.

 

Here’s a few things to like and dislike about this trade:

 

Floro is an elite groundball pitcher

 

Floro’s main success is rooted in his ability to get hitters to put the ball on the ground. He boasts a strong 52.7% groundball rate over his career and as baseball trends towards the fly ball, this style becomes more and more important. Groundball pitchers are often overlooked due to their low K/9 rate (in Floro’s case: 7.8 K/9); however, they provide under the radar stability to bullpens and starting rotations across the league due to their consistent nature: think Charlie Morton. If Floro’s style isn’t disrupted in favor of pushing up his K’s, he will provide value to this bullpen in a similar way that he did in Los Angeles.

 

Marlins can use Floro/Bass/Garcia in the 7th,8th, and 9th

 

The Marlins won a lot of close games in their 60 game run. Regardless of how poor the early bullpen was, they had consistency in the 8th and 9th with Yimi Garcia and Brandon Kintzler. This signing, along with Anthony Bass, will provide them with an electric 7th-9th. If the starters can average 6 innings per game, the pitching may be able to carry the Fish on most nights. Because we know the hitting won’t.

 

Marlins Front Office making confusing decisions

 

Throughout the start of this offseason, Kim Ng and Derek Jeter continually pointed to staying true to a longer plan. This means developing their top prospects to a point of contention. Trading Alex Vesia, who has low MLB experience but lots of success in the minors, seems premature, especially if the Marlins don’t believe they can win now. Floro is most likely going to be a Marlins for a few years at the minimum, but I don’t believe the younger guys will be ready in time.

 

Overall

 

The Marlins are acting like they are also in the middle of rebuilding and playoff chase at the same time. I understand making positive trades for the present moment, but if this team is to see long term success, they need to prioritize one plan. Maybe I am an extremist, but I’d prefer to see one or the other. The Floro trade, although positive for the present, leaves questions of the future to be answered.

How to Watch, Bet the 60-Game Baseball Season

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Since its inception in 1903, the Major League Baseball is the home to some of the best baseball players in the world. The last few seasons have been extremely interesting and the new season has some changes which are worth looking at since they might be confusing to some fans.

We are going to discuss this topic into detail and give you an insight into the shortened 60-game season, the biggest favorites, and share some interesting intel on betting. As you may know, many baseball fans are more than happy to place a bet or two and we are going to provide you with the best platform for betting. After all, sports and betting are separate industries that always went side by side.

Betting With Online Bookies

There are plenty of baseball betting lines that you should check out. The odds are great and you might end up with a nice prize. Even though some people prefer to place their bets in land-based bookies, a new and revolutionizing way has become popular in the last few years.

Online bookies are favored by millions of people around the world. The reason for that is that they have numerous advantages over the land-based bookies. They are available at any time and place, offer better odds and rewards, and most importantly – they are far more efficient.

We all know that in sports, placing bets fast, especially with live betting, is important. And since baseball is one of the sports where each second matters, placing bets at online bookies is a far greater option than walking to a land-based sportsbook. But, there are some rules that you need to know about sports betting, so make sure you check them out.

Now, let’s see what the shortened MLB season has to offer us.

When Does it Start and How Will it Work?

The MLB season starts on July 23 with a split Opening Day. The Yankees will face the Nationals, while the Dodgers will face the Dodgers. The rest of the schedule is still unknown, but there are some games scheduled on July 24.

Each team will play 60 games – 40 of them will be against their division rivals and 20 interleague games. The 2020 MLB All-Star Game is sadly cancelled, but the next game will take place at Truist Park in Atlanta (2021). 

Rosters will be different and some rule changes will be implemented. The new rule which allows position players to pitch in certain situations is abandoned. Games that are stopped due to rain before the fifth inning will be considered as suspended. The National League will have a designated hitter and extra innings will begin with a runner on the second base to reduce the chances of long games.

Even though the whole situation is new and it looks challenging, some quirks will come out. Teams won’t have to travel as much as before, the season ends with seven Interleague series, and some of the monotony will be lifted. Some of the games that were standard for over a century in the League will not take place. 

Many teams will have some benefits with the way this season is scheduled, which is why we are excited to see what the outcome will be.

 

The Biggest Favorites

Minnesota Twins are the biggest favorites to win the American League Central. The Yankees are the number 1 team in the American League East, while Houston Astros are considered as favorites in the American League West. 

As far as the World Series, The New York Yankees top the list of biggest favorites to win it. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros are ranked second and third. Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins conclude the top 5 list. But, there are some teams that are worth watching. One of those are the Miami Marlins.

Why Did The Deal Came So Late?

The reason why the solution for a shortened season came so late is that the MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association were unable to make an agreement in May and July. The MLB owners drafted the first plan in mid-May and it featured a schedule of 82 games with no fans in the attendance.

MLBPA countered with another proposal, which was unacceptable for the MLB and the negotiations went on and on. During the end of June, the 60-game plan was finally voted unanimously and players reported to training camps on July 1. The plan was released on July 6 and slight changes were implemented in order to cut costs on the teams.

All in all, we are in for a treat. Although the start of the season might be a bit slow and teams will need a bit time to adjust to the changes in the rules, we do not doubt that the level of excitement will be no less than the previous seasons.