Morning Mound Visit: sabermetrics news - 9/11/19

FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: With the firing of Dave Dombrowski, an era of financial restraint is coming to Boston. The Red Sox could retain Mookie Betts and try to outbid other teams when he hits free agency, or they could try to deal him for a solid return. Not that they can’t afford it, but the roster crunch they’ve self-imposed certainly puts them in this position

Baseball Prospectus | Rob Mains ($): The Mariners have been bad, sure, but their approach with respect to relievers is... interesting. They’ve leaned heavily on Wade LeBlanc and Tommy Milone, who make up nearly 40% of their bullpen usage. The last time that’s happened was when bullpens were largely made up of few relievers, and the pendulum has swung back in a sense with Openers.

The Ringer | Zach Kram: The Cardinals are in first place, and Jack Flaherty is a big reason why. He has a WAR of 3 in the second half with an ERA of 0.76, which is essentially on par with Jake Arrieta in 2015 with the Cubs. If they go deep into the postseason, the reasoning will largely be the same.