Today the Dodgers made official what was reported last week, announcing Mark McGwire as their new hitting coach.
McGwire replaces Dave Hansen, who was fired as the Dodgers’ hitting coach and then quickly hired by the Mariners to fill the same role.
McGwire spent the past three seasons as the Cardinals’ hitting coach and was consistently praised for the job he did, as the lineup ranked sixth, first, and second among NL teams in scoring under his tutelage.
St. Louis wanted him back in 2013, but McGwire is from California, makes his offseason home there, and wanted to be closer to his family year-round.
St. Louis has already promoted John Mabry from assistant hitting coach to hitting coach as McGwire’s replacement.
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Jose Reyes could rejoin the Jays on Monday. Shi Davidi of Canada’s Sportsnet reports that the Toronto shortstop will shift his minor league rehab assignment from High-A Dunedin to Triple-A Buffalo this Friday night, putting him one small step away from returning to the active major league roster. Reyes has been on the disabled list since…
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Derek Jeter takes round of batting practice for first time since diagnosis of second ankle fracture
Jun 19, 2013, 9:59 PM EDT
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Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter took batting practice Wednesday in Tampa, Florida for the first time since a new crack was discovered in his surgically-repaired left ankle back in mid-April. Jeter had no issues during Wednesday’s workout. He has been doing light fielding drills for the past week…
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Indians outfielder Nick Swisher has not appeared in a game since June 15 due to soreness in his left shoulder. But he is apparently feeling much better. From Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer comes word that Swisher is tentatively scheduled to return to the Indians’ starting lineup this Saturday against the Twins. He…
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Josh Hamilton struck out twice and grounded into three double plays in the Angels’ 3-2 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday and is now sporting a putrid .213/.269/.388 batting line through 69 games this season. So some changes are being made. Hamilton will bat seventh Wednesday as the Halos take on the M’s for the third…
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Indians closer Chris Perez was supposed to return from the disabled list on Friday. But it won’t happen. According to Nick Camino of Cleveland’s WTAM 1100, the Indians are pulling back from their original plan for Perez because he got hammered in a rehab appearance on Tuesday night at Double-A Akron and they’re worried that…
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David Price felt “great” after a bullpen session on Tuesday and has now been cleared to take a major step in his recovery from a strained left triceps. According to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune, the ace left-hander is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Friday with the High-A Charlotte Stone…
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Bruce Bochy is not inclined to pick Yasiel Puig for the All-Star Game
Jun 19, 2013, 5:42 PM EDT
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Everyone’s going crazy for Yasiel Puig, but NL All-Star manager Bruce Bochy thinks the All-Stars he picks to fill out his roster need a few more miles on the odometer. Bochy spoke with Jim Bowden and Casey Stern of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today about the possibility of Puig on the squad: “Well, Jim, I’ve got…
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Joe Torre’s daughter, 44-year-old Christina Torre, was walking down the street in Brooklyn when she spotted a 1-year-old baby hanging from a storefront awning. Here’s what happened next, according to the New York Daily News: Suddenly, the child dropped–but he landed safely in Torre’s outstretched arms, the sources and witnesses said. “The woman caught the…
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Chris Davis‘ insane season continues apace. Today the Orioles’ first baseman — playing DH — hit two two-run homers and a ground rule double to collect five RBI as the Orioles trounced the Tigers 13-3 in Detroit. That’s 26 homers on the season for Davis, including four in his last four games. His season line…
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The panda foot/Panda’s foot is feeling better: Pagan goes on rehab tomorrow. Could be activated this weekend. Panda starts his Saturday. Could be active Monday. @bcraw35 doubtful for tmrw — Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) June 19, 2013 Sandoval hit .289 with eight homers and a .753 OPS in 57 games before the injury. He should…
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No. 4 pick Kohl Stewart and the Twins have agreed to a deal and Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the high school right-hander from Texas will get the exact slot bonus amount of $4,544,400. Minnesota was linked to Stewart throughout the draft process and several reports suggested that the Twins would have taken…
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Jon Paul Morosi spoke with Bud Selig about a few things today. This one came up: Bud Selig said the only thing that could change separate DH rule would be “significant geographic realignment.” — Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 19, 2013 I assume that this means radical realignment that would cause multiple teams to switch…
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The San Francisco Chronicle spoke to some officials from Oakland who are not at all happy at the A’s and the rest of the world portraying the Coliseum as an antiquated dump. The story from Chris Wright, the general manager of the Coliseum: Wright, however, said there was nothing structurally wrong with the Coliseum’s plumbing…
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Everth Cabrera is in the midst of a breakout year as the Padres’ starting shortstop, hitting .305 with an .800 OPS and MLB-leading 31 stolen bases in 69 games, but now he’s headed to the disabled list. Cabrera strained his hamstring Sunday while attempting a stolen base and the Padres have classified the injury as…
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Quote of the Day: Jayson Werth is ready to “eat somebody’s face”
Jun 19, 2013, 2:10 PM EDT
AP
Holy bath salts, Batman! I missed this last night. Here’s Jayson Werth‘s quote after last night’s loss to the Phillies: Jayson Werth certainly hasn’t lost confidence or resolve: “We gotta show up tomorrow ready to eat somebody’s face.” — James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) June 19, 2013 Given that, for most of his career, Werth has…
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Making official what was reported earlier this week, the Astros announced that they’ve come to an agreement with No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel. Appel, who turned down $3.8 million from the Pirates last year as the No. 8 pick, is expected to receive around $6.35 million. That means returning for his senior season at…
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Jon Heyman talks to some MLB insiders and reports that, yes Virginia, suspensions are looming in the Biogenesis scandal: Major League Baseball has started interviewing big leaguers linked to the Miami PED investigation, and people who have spoken to MLB investigators are convinced there will be at least some suspensions handed down in the explosive…
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Less than a month after rejoining the Red Sox following a concussion catcher David Ross is back on the seven-day concussion disabled list with a second brain injury. Ross took a foul tip to the catcher’s mask in Friday’s game and manager John Farrell explained yesterday: He’s still having symptoms with the concussion. The foul…
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Tweet of the Day: Dustin Ackley is recovering from his sabermetrics abuse
Jun 19, 2013, 1:00 PM EDT
AP
Had me laughing: Must be fewer sabermetricians in Tacoma: Dustin Ackley hitting .383/.490/.519 in 99 PA in Triple-A. #clearyourhead — Brent Hershey (@BrentHQ) June 19, 2013 And it doesn’t appear as if the improvement is based on Ackley becoming more aggressive or anything. He has walked in 16.16 of plate appearances during his minor…
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Nationals activate Danny Espinosa from the DL … and send him to the minors
Jun 19, 2013, 12:46 PM EDT
AP
Danny Espinosa is recovered enough from his wrist injury to be activated from the disabled list, but the second baseman was so bad before being shut down and so bad during his rehab assignment that the Nationals have decided to option him to Triple-A. Anthony Rendon hitting .338 filling in for Espinosa at second base…
