FanGraphs | Craig Edwards: We all know it wasn’t a great free agent class, and that has borne out with relievers so far. It has just so happened that lesser signees have out-performed more expensive ones by about a third of a win, but it’s really just noise; spending money on relievers in general just has not worked out. (But I also don’t care because owners spent next to nothing on every other position, so tough luck).
The Athletic | Joe Posnanski ($): “Don’t feel sorry for me... Feel sorry for everyone who didn’t see us play,” was the attitude Buck O’Neil had on the Negro Leagues, and now that multiple arsons have harmed both the Paseo YMCA and the home of Satchel Paige, two important sites for that history, that quote asks both what our culture missed from that exclusion, and what we’re missing today if these crimes could echo today.
Baseball Prospectus | Russell A. Carleton ($): We know about the third time through the order effect, but the bigger question is: why does it exist? Carleton looks at the crucial factor of fatigue and fastball velocity, and found that pitchers who fatigue more do not have a great effect than those that fatigue less. This suggests that there is either a more nuanced understanding of fatigue that we don’t have, or it’s something else entirely.
ESPN Insider | Keith Law ($): Law walks through his top 25 under 25 list, which includes a lot of players you would normally expect—Francisco Lindor, Luis Severino, Gleyber Torres, Shohei Ohtani, Josh Hader, Yoan Moncada, and Ian Happ.