The calendar has flipped to March and that means meaningful baseball will be played this month. Sooner than you think, too. The Cubs and Dodgers will play the two-game Tokyo Series from March 18-19. Those are regular-season games. The traditional Opening Day is Thursday, March 27. All 30 teams will be in action that day. Until then, here are Saturday’s MLB rumors.
Phillies, Schwarber had extension talks
The Phillies and Kyle Schwarber have had broad extension talks this spring, according to The Athletic. No deal is imminent, however. Schwarber will be a free agent after the season and has expressed a desire to remain with Philadelphia long-term. He will earn $20 million this year, the final season on the four-year, $79 million free-agent contract he signed in March 2022.
Schwarber, 32 next month, has hit 131 home runs with a .344 on-base percentage in three seasons with the Phillies. An extension could pay him $20 million or so for another 2-3 years. Schwarber is one of several prominent Phillies coming up in free agency, along with JT Realmuto and Ranger Suárez. Like Schwarber, Realmuto has expressed an openness to an extension.
Yankees check in on Martinez
The Yankees have had some contact with free agent slugger J.D. Martinez, reports the New York Post. Giancarlo Stanton, currently away from the team tending to a personal matter, has yet to play this spring because of elbow issues. It seems unlikely he will be ready to start the season. Martinez is close to a 1 to 1 replacement for Stanton as a righty-hitting DH.
Now 37, Martinez slashed .235/.320/.406 with 16 home runs for the Mets last season, though that was split into an .806 OPS in the first half and .623 in the second. He was mostly out of the lineup during the team’s late season postseason push and October. We ranked Martinez as the 44th best free agent available this winter. He did not sign until March 23 last offseason.
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