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Kendall Graveman is surrounded by new fa - panxing18 - 04-10-2019
MESA http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , Ariz. (AP) —ces while he travels a tedious road back to the majors.Graveman signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs in December after his 2018 season with Oakland was cut short by reconstructive elbow surgery. It’s a chance to use major league facilities to rehab a major injury under the care of a top-notch medical staff, but it’s also potentially awkward trying to get to know a new group of teammates without taking the field with them right away.The 28-year-old Graveman is attacking the problem with an entrepreneurial spirit, enriching himself while he bonds with the rest of Chicago’s pitching staff.“I’ve sat down and had a couple of conversations with Kyle Hendricks about the way he pitches,” Graveman said. “Been able to watch some bullpens of Cole Hamels and (Yu) Darvish and some of these guys. So I’m really in a learning process. … I’m trying to just be a sponge and soak up everything.“To get close to these guys by talking pitching and then also working hard and letting those guys know that whenever I come back and pitch I want to help this team win,” he said. “I think that means a lot and goes a long way.”Tommy John surgery is a common procedure throughout the major leagues, but working through the rehab process with a new team is unusual. Drew Smyly was in the same situation last year with the Cubs, but Trevor Rosenthal chose a different direction before signing with the Washington Nationals.It’s a chance for a patient team to bring in a potential bargain. Graveman, who started for the A’s on opening day last season, signed a $575,000, one-year contract in December that includes a $3 million club option for the 2020 season. Graveman’s 2019 salary increases to $2 million if he spends one day on Chicago’s active major league roster, and he can earn performance bonuses based on total starts.But it’s also a tricky prospect in some ways.“The makeup factor is significant when buying low on an injured player because it takes the proper work ethic, self-motivation, and mindset to execute a long drawn-out rehab away from the bright lights of the major league team Walt Weiss Jersey ,” Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said.Smyly has been a member of three different organizations since his last major league pitch in 2016 with Tampa Bay. He was traded to Seattle in Jan. 2017, but got hurt in spring training. After the Mariners declined to offer him a contract, he signed a $10 million, two-year contract with the Cubs.The 29-year-old Smyly had Tommy John surgery on July 6, 2017. The left-hander struck out the side in a rehab appearance in August, but the contending Cubs ran out of time to get him into a game. He was traded to Texas in November.“It’s weird going from team to team, especially when you’re injured,” Smyly said. “It’s no fun being the injured guy in the locker room, especially when you’re trying to make friends and get familiar with the team. Everything happens for a reason. And now here I am.”Smyly never considered finishing his rehab on his own.“That was a reason I signed with the Cubs, because they seemed very eager to sign me, even though they traded me before I pitched for them,” he said. “But they have amazing resources over there and I knew it was a good spot for me.”Rosenthal made the All-Star team when he had a career-high 48 saves for St. Louis in 2015. But the 28-year-old right-hander had Tommy John surgery late in the 2017 season and was released by the Cardinals that November.He held a showcase for teams last October, and then finalized a $7 million, one-year deal with the Nationals in November that could be worth $30 million over two years if he becomes the closer and regularly finishes games.“Really what it was Marcus Semien Jersey , we figured my value was going to be higher when I was healthy rather than trying to negotiate a contract when I was just fresh off the scalpel,” Rosenthal said.Rosenthal said some teams expressed interest while he was out, but he was comfortable going through the rehab process on his own. He worked out in St. Louis with Keith Sanders, a physical therapist who has helped several pitchers come back from injuries.“Everybody’s different. Everybody responds a little bit differently,” Rosenthal said. “A lot of guys like coming into a team atmosphere, having a more structured setup. For me, I do really well coordinating my own, being on my own. I really enjoyed it. It couldn’t have gone any better.” MIAMI (AP) — During the offseason the Miami Marlins announced the addition of new concession menu items, including mushroom tacos, fries with mole sauce and bottomless popcorn and soda.So much for the team’s 2019 upgrades. Marlins fans hungry for a winner will have to wait.The woebegone franchise’s biggest offseason move came Thursday, when the Marlins traded All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Jorge Alfaro, two pitching prospects and international signing bonus pool money. The deal was the latest move in CEO Derek Jeter’s rebuilding effort, which began soon after he took over in late 2017 and could eventually transform the Marlins into contenders.Not this year. Spring training will be devoted to sorting out a roster dominated by young players, including several who emerged last season and could provide a foundation for the future. That includes pitchers Pablo Lopez http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , Sandy Alcantara, Caleb Smith and Trevor Richards, and third baseman-right fielder Brian Anderson.“They’re going to be the core of our championships here,” president of baseball operations Michael Hill said during a Marlins show on their flagship radio station, WINZ. “The young talent and what they were able to demonstrate last season is what makes us excited to get going.”Some other things to know before pitchers and catchers hold their first workout Wednesday in Jupiter, Florida:THEY’RE SETThe Marlins are certain about their ace, catcher and second baseman. Everything else is up for grabs.Right-hander Jose Urena is expected to get the opening day nod for the second year in a row. In 2018 he rebounded from an 0-7 start and overcame poor run support to finish 9-12 with a 3.98 ERA. He’s 23-19 over the past two seasons, while in other games over the stretch the Marlins have gone 117-164.Alfaro, who will replace Realmuto behind the plate, hit .262 with 10 homers in his first full major league season last year. Second baseman Starlin Castro hit .278 in 154 games in his first season with Miami.THEY’RE NOT SETThere will be a mad spring training scramble for other jobs in the rotation and lineup. Anderson will start at either third base or right field after batting .273 with 65 RBIs as a rookie last year. Lewis Brinson will get another chance in center field after batting .199 with 120 strikeouts in 109 games as a rookie. Veteran right-hander Dan Straily will be in the rotation unless he’s traded, and injury-plagued left-hander Wei-Yin Chen will be in the rotation if he’s healthy.INJURY REPORTThe Marlins head into spring training fully healthy. Among the players who recovered from injuries in the offseason are third baseman Martin Prado, first baseman Garrett Cooper, right-hander Lopez and left-hander Smith.ON DECKSpring training will provide a chance to see how much the farm system has improved since Jeter took over. The Marlins believe it’s a lot.The trades that sent All-Stars Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich Reggie Jackson Jersey , Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon elsewhere netted a passel of prospects that dramatically improved the franchise’s long-term outlook, and that was the goal.“We needed to layer talent from top to bottom,” Hill said. “That has been our focus over the last 18 months.”The Marlins’ top six prospects were all acquired after Jeter’s group bought the team. All will get a look in spring training, and that includes 22-year-old Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa, rated baseball’s top international prospect when he received a $5.25 million signing bonus from Miami in October.NEW LOOKAn offseason rebranding included a new logo and new colors, part of Jeter’s effort to distance the franchise from the previous owner, Jeffrey Loria. Losing teams, frequent payroll purges and a favorable stadium deal for Loria made him wildly unpopular.“We have to show our community this is a new day,” president of business operations Chip Bowers said on WINZ. “Our fans feel like scorned lovers. They’ve felt burned time and time again. We understand that and can appreciate that. We’re going to work diligently to earn that trust back and make them understand we’re the guy or girl they always wanted to love.”