Wednesday Bantering: All Quiet on the Baseball Front

Not a lot of baseball news today, in what seems likely to he the new normal. What there is seems to mostly be about injuries. Players seem to be taking the opportunity to get surgery for injuries they might have tried to rehab if there was a season starting next week. Justin Verlander went under the knife for a groin strain he suffered early in camp. Tigers prospect Joey Wentz underwent Tommy John surgery.

SportsNet has a round-table of reporters and broadcasters speculating about what MLB will look like when it comes back, including how much spring training players will need, how long the season might be, etc. I would take anyone's predictions with a huge grain of salt at this point. No one really has any idea what's going to happen, and things are moving faster than anyone seems to expect. Still, it's interesting to see how people who are more plugged in than we are are thinking about things.

Yoelqui Cespedes, the younger brother of professional rancher and erstwhile Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, was declared a free agent, eligible to sign with MLB teams. He's instantly MLB Pipeline's #1 unsigned international prospect, a 5 tool center fielder who resembles a smaller version of his older brother. Under the Ohtani rule, adopted before the 2018 season, Cespedes, 22, will he subject to international free agent bonus pool limits. Given that most teams spent the vast majority of their pools last July, he'll likely wait until July 2 of this year to sign.

John Lott has a great interview with former Jays GM and hall of famer Pat Gillick over at The Athletic (subscribers only). Gillick, 82, is still scouting part time. They cover a wide range of topics, but of note to Jays fans, Gillick seems pretty impressed with the team that's being put together. He's a big Nate Pearson fan.

I find that I really have no idea how much baseball to expect this year. The prospect of a full season seems all but gone, but at the same time I do expect things to be under control enough by the summer that some kind of games happen, even if they're in empty parks. So let's see what the crowd things. How many regular season games do you expect the Jays to play in 2020: