8 MLB Players Who've Been Putting in Work This Offseason
Everyone from fans and sabermetricians to teammates and general managers judge baseball players on their April-to-October results, but that forgets the bleakness of a wintry offseason.
While some might choose to spend the time off maniacally shoving an arm into a barrel of rice, a la Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan, these eight players made headlines during the winter and early spring for more significant reasons.
And no, we're not referring to Alex Rodriguez—he of the two home runs and .905 OPS through 13 spring games—winning the job of New York Yankees' full-time designated hitter.
Instead, these eight players have either put in major work during the offseason in a variety of ways, or they're tearing up spring training and making an impact with the regular season looming.
Curtis Granderson, OF, New York Mets
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Curtis Granderson had a busy and rewarding offseason during which he managed to train for the upcoming 2015 campaign with the New York Mets while also giving something back. And he wasted no time with his free time either.
"[Granderson] spent one Tuesday afternoon in November at the New York Public Library, espousing education initiatives and supporting Citi's $138,000 donation to local charities. Three days later, Granderson was in Jackson, Mississippi, speaking at an English composition class that his sister teaches at Jackson State. ...
The week after that, Granderson flew home to Chicago, where he participated in a fundraiser designed to raise awareness for the importance that healthy eating has on a child's ability to learn.
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As if that were not enough, DiComo detailed Granderson's other continuing charitable outreach: "He serves as an international ambassador for Major League Baseball, a national ambassador for the White House's anti-obesity campaign and a spokesperson for the Partnership for a Healthier America's Drink Up water initiative."
And that's just the usual run of business for Granderson, who consistently gives both his time and money to worthy causes beyond the baseball diamond.
Sometimes, he actually gives a baseball diamond.
Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News detailed the philanthropic site of Granderson's training this offseason—the University of Illinois-Chicago, his alma mater:
"The $10 million Curtis Granderson Stadium at UIC opened last year and this winter an indoor turf field and batting cages were unveiled. Granderson donated $5 million to the project. ... Inner-city youth groups and school teams also use the facility, and Granderson says he hopes the park can get 'baseball back where it can be.
That’s where my passion is, minority youth baseball and what better place to do it than my hometown?'
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With all his selflessness and engagement, Granderson keeps perspective and continues proving that his on-field work does not define who he is. Although, Mets fans will also be happy to learn that he also engaged in offseason work with his former New York Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long.
Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants
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Buster Posey could be busting out of his old San Francisco Giants uniforms after he packed on a few pounds this offseason. With his added bulk, Posey now looks less like the polite high school sophomore he has long resembled, trading up to the beefier look of a high school senior.
Let's be honest, a bushy Brian Wilson beard would go a long way on Posey's chin, but putting on some weight is a start for the fresh-faced former MVP and three-time World Series champ, especially considering the rigors of playing backstop on an NL team with no DH option for their star batter.
While Posey owns a lifetime batting average of .308 and hit .311 overall last season, he batted below .265 in April, May and July. According to Chris Haft from MLB.com, Posey added on 10 pounds as part of an offseason training regimen, because he's "bent on fortifying himself physically to withstand the erosion of catching."
Posey refused to resort to excuses about the physical wear and tear affecting his last season, saying in late January: "As a competitor, you don't want to use anything as an excuse. No matter how your body's doing or how you're feeling mentally, you should be able to find a way to get the job done."
But Giants manager Bruce Bochy used to be a catcher as well, and he was unequivocal in assessing Posey's 2014 season, saying bluntly: "He was tired last year."
While adding a bowling ball worth of weight to his 6'1" frame won't make an extreme difference in the short term, Posey, who just turned 28, is aiming to improve his overall longevity as he eyes the future of his already-impressive career.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder and 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen ruined something during spring training which he had been working on devotedly for eight years: his dreadlocks.
Playing coy, McCutchen tweeted on the morning of March 25: "I've had a secret that's been weighing me down for a while... I'll let you in on it at noon today". Later in the day, video evidence of the (hashtag) "CutchSecret" was unveiled, showing that the Buccaneer has lopped off his locks, instantly transforming his widely recognizable visage.
That left fans hoping he does not suffer a Samsonesque loss of his abilities, which include Silver Slugger power at the plate and the remorseless range of a Gold Glove outfielder to rob opponents' hopeful line drives.
Those fears were proven unfounded, as McCutchen had just two hits in 14 at-bats to that point of the spring. After cutting away the dreads, he promptly went 2-for-3 with an RBI against the Atlanta Braves. Perhaps he should cut his hair everyday!
And fear not, because Cutch cultivated some excellent karma since the secret haircut was for a good cause. The hair will be auctioned off, and each of the winning bids will receive a signed ball as well. That's one of the benefits of dreadlocks—you get something substantial when you buy a lock of the hair, not a few wispy strands.
This comes in keeping with McCutchen's larger social-justice mindset, as seen in his powerful essay on The Players' Tribune (where he's a senior editor) in February about the strains that youth baseball puts on low-income families.
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David Ortiz, DH, Boston Red Sox
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Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz has dealt with some dehydration issues this spring, but it could be because he flapped his gums so much during the offseason.
The always outspoken 39-year-old designated hitter addressed his hydration or lack thereof, telling WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford: "Dehydrating is part of being human. You know how hot it’s been down here? I dehydrate and then I caught a bad cold. So all these symptoms get all your joints tied up, which normally happens. I started feeling soreness, so they shut me down."
But don't worry about it, because Ortiz remains unconcerned, saying: "I see people getting worried about me in spring training, and I’m like, ‘What’s going on? I thought the season was more important than spring training.’ But I understand. I get the memo."
That memo should read: Drink more water, David! But Ortiz gets extra latitude coming off a 2014 regular season with 35 homers and 104 RBI.
Ortiz, now the elder statesman of Red Sox Nation, has an undeniably stubborn side, and his dehydration problems may have him rethinking all that walking around he does near the plate.
As he told reporters during an amusing and expletive-tinged press conference in February regarding the MLB's new rules on pace of play (via ESPN.com):
"After a pitch, you got to stay in the box? One foot? I call that b------t. ... I'm not walking around just because there are cameras all over the place and I want my buddies back home to see me and this and that. ... It doesn't matter what they do, the game is not going to speed up. That's the bottom line. ... I'm not going to change my game.
I don't care what they say. My game, it's not like I go around and do all kinds of stupid s--t. But I have to take my time and think about what that [pitcher] is going to do next.
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While the lumbering, portly slugger known as "Big Papi" might stand a better chance at remaining hydrated by keeping one foot in the box and thinking a little less, he's earned the right to say and do just about whatever he wants by now. And after another stellar campaign for the Sawx, why should he mess with what's worked for so long?
Kris Bryant, 3B, Chicago Cubs
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Baseball has a new (spring) home run king: All hail Kris Bryant, the 23-year-old Chicago Cubs third baseman. Through 12 games, he's socked nine home runs, four more than any other player. His spring OPS sits at a gaudy 1.785.
The young man has raked at the plate like few other prospects for the Cubbies in recent memory, and yet, don't expect to see him at third base on Opening Day.
For FoxSports.com in early March, former big leaguer CJ Nitkowski wrote: "In an average year there are 183 service days in a major-league season, 162 games and 21 off days. If you accrue 172 days in any season, it is considered a full year. Six full years gets you to free agency. Five years and 170 days—like Rick Porcello currently has—does not."
The fact remains that Bryant crushed 43 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A last season, and the Cubs could use a slugger at the hot corner. However, it behooves the team in the long run to keep Bryant in the minors to start this season and call him up during the year, thereby keeping the phenom under team control for an extra season and forestalling his arbitration eligibility.
Last September, as Bryant began to realize he would not get a late-season call-up to the majors, he revealed to Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com: "Now more than ever, I’m realizing this game is a business, and all I can do is go out there and play as hard as I can and make it really hard on the guys in charge. ... It’s kind of funny, all the rules [regarding service time]. Coming into professional baseball, I had no clue."
Well, with Bryant's torrid spring, he's certainly making it hard on the guys in charge, a regime consisting of general manager Theo Epstein and new manager Joe Maddon.
However, Bryant shouldn't have to wait long to join the Cubbies at Wrigley Field, as the team will likely bring him up to the bigs some time in June, just as the Tampa Bay Rays did with Wil Myers in 2013 and the Pittsburgh Pirates did with Gregory Polanco last season.
Taijuan Walker, SP, Seattle Mariners
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All Seattle Mariners pitching star Taijuan Walker has done through five spring games is throw 18 shutout innings, while striking out 19, walking four and yielding only six hits. Somehow, that's still not good enough to lock down the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation, according to manager Lloyd McClendon.
After another dominant performance in a March 25 outing, reporters asked McClendon if the 22-year-old starter had cemented his role with the M's. McClendon shook his head. According to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, McClendon gave sage advice, saying Walker must: “Stay consistent. Keep pitching well.”
That's why they pay managers the big bucks.
Last season, the Mariners finished one game out of the second wild-card spot, but narrowly missing a playoff berth was a major victory considering that they finished 20 games under .500 the previous season. For a team that has not made the playoffs since 2001, things are looking sunnier in Seattle.
As Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post phrased it, the most important Mariners player is not Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager or Fernando Rodney. Rather: "The most important person here has a career record of 3-3 and has made all of eight major league starts. But if the Mariners end up being what they believe they can be...then Taijuan Walker must become less of a prospect and more of a finished product."
With flashes of being a finished product already this spring, now the M's just need to get Walker in the rotation. The 6'4" righty has shown improved control on his fastball, and he offers a cutter as well to keep batters off balance. If his slider and curveball continue to round into shape, the Mariners just might have a legitimate successor to Felix Hernandez.
Dee Gordon, 2B, Miami Marlins
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Dee Gordon values charity work even if his former team remains indifferent. As noted by CBSSports.com, Gordon donned his Los Angeles Dodgers jersey for a morning visit to Union Elementary School in December, part of a "School Fuel" program dedicated to ensuring breakfast to over 400,000 L.A.-area school children.
Later that day, Gordon was traded to the Miami Marlins.
Gordon admitted that after four seasons in Dodgers blue, the trade gives him motivation to be a better player. As he told Fox Sports Florida's Christina De Nicola: "It actually helped I think knowing I have to work hard and continue to work to be good. It motivated me to actually work harder."
That's a slightly scary prospect considering that Gordon soared to his finest season last year at age 26, compiling a .289 batting average and 92 runs scored while leading the league with 64 stolen bases and 12 triples.
And yet, Gordon's put together even better numbers this spring. He's currently leading all players with seven bases swiped through 16 spring games, and he's compiled a tidy .356 batting average in that span.
The big challenge for Gordon will be buoying last season's on-base percentage (.326), as he only drew 31 walks in 148 games compared to 107 strikeouts. If he's intent on leading off for the Marlins and swiping 60-plus bases once again, he'll need to get on base efficiently and with regularity.
Yoan Moncada, SS, Boston Red Sox
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Jorge Arangure from Vice Sports published an article in early December that chronicled the arduous journey Cuban Yoan Moncada took from being a celebrated prospect to the newest jewel in the crown of the Boston Red Sox. And it was not a tiresome road through the minor league's backwaters, but rather, an international sojourn fraught with semi-legality.
As Arangure framed it:
"Even executives who have spent years in the international player market are marveling at the mystery and innuendo surrounding 19-year-old Cuban phenom shortstop Yoan Moncada: his legal exit from Cuba, his subsequent romantic pairing with a player agent, and his representation by an accountant who has never had an athlete client in any capacity.
Nobody has seen a Cuban defection story quite like this.
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Eventually, Moncada made it from Cuba to Guatemala and from Guatemala to St. Petersburg. From there, his agent David Hastings, a certified public accountant, managed to hammer out a contract that included a record $31.5 million signing bonus for an amateur player.
Hastings, along with family members and trusted friends, protected Moncada for more than six months as the defector created a stir from Quetzaltenango up to St. Pete.
Many of the questions Hastings had for the Red Sox during salary negotiations were not the usual monetary, Scott Boras-type queries, per WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. Rather, Hastings wanted to know about how Moncada would be acclimated to his new pro team after a whirlwind few months since leaving his native country: "Where will he live? What will he eat? Who will be helping him ease into his new environment?"
With all answers apparently satisfactory, Moncada signed on the dotted line. Now, the ballyhooed youngster has the comparably easier task of making the leap from Single-A Salem up to Fenway Park.
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