After digesting as Ben Rortvedt will now join fellow former Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, an unregistered guestat the New York Mets spring training camp, here are some more baseball stories to start your week.
Roki Sasaki faced hitters including Hyeseong Kim on Sunday at Camelback Ranch as he begins preparing for his second year in the majors.
Sasaki was the most coveted side of the sport this past offseason as an amateur free agent, with artificial constraints limiting what MLB teams could pay him. But his first season in the United States was disappointing at best, or incomplete at bestsidelined for four months with shoulder impingement and trying to rework a broken fastball and improve his repertoire.
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From Alden González at ESPN:
“Looking back on my senior year, I felt like I tripped over my own responsibility in the sense that it wasn’t really about the level of Major League Baseball or the hitters,” Sasaki said. “It was just things that I could have controlled that I didn’t control. So this year, going into the year, my goal is to be able to pitch throughout the season. And I think that will allow me to be able to show what I need to work on in the big league.”
On Sunday, Sasaki spoke, among other things, about his new slider. From Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:
“The sliders I threw last year weren’t good. In terms of results, it wasn’t good either,” he said. “This year I want to focus more on the gyro slider. Today I didn’t launch the double-seamer, but that’s also in the works.”
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After Tommy John surgery last June, Evan Phillips could return in July or August or so, and spoke to reporters Sunday about his schedule, which could include bullpen sessions at some point during spring training.
“He feels really good, his throws look great, his body looks great,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. by Sonja Chen on MLB.com. “I think it’s just a matter of being mindful and looking at it almost as a trade deadline acquisition in one way or another.”
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Around spring camp on Sunday, a few players were asked about Dodgers spending, including San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado and Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper.
Said Machado, by Bob Nightengale of USA Today: “I (expletive) love it. I think every team should do it. They found a way to do it, and the (stuff) is (expletive) great for the game in all honesty. I think every team has the ability to do it. So I hope all 30 teams can learn from it.”
From Harper, by Katie Woo at The Athletic: “I like what the Dodgers are doing, obviously. They’re paying money, they’re spending money. I mean, they’re a great team. They understand how to run it. They run their team like a business, and they run it the right way. They understand where they should put their money.”
