Marty’s musings: an ice-cold stove

Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game, and highlighting this week’s key pitching matchups.

A lawsuit and two key non-tenders highlight what remains an ice-cold ‘hot’ stove.

News & Notes

30 - MLB teams suing their insurance provider in a COVID losses lawsuit dating back to October. The California-based suit became public last week, with the League claiming they lost billions of dollars due to the shortened season and extremely limited fans in stands.

2 - Players non-tendered by the Chicago Cubs, as neither Kyle Schwarber nor Albert Almora Jr. were extended a contract for 2021. Schwarber and Almora were key players in the Cubs’ 2016 World Series Championship season, with Schwarber returning from an injury to impact the playoff roster, and Almora being involved in several key World Series plays. They each arrived in Chicago with high-profile pedigree, Almora being a first-round pick in 2012 (Chicago selected him with the sixth overall pick) and Schwaber turning heads with his eye-potting power. Both players are now free agents going into next year.

115 - Days until Opening Day 2021. Whether or not there will be fans in the stands and whether or not MLB start s as scheduled is yet to be determined. Stay tuned!