Morning Mound Visit: Pioneer League to replace extra innings with home run derby

Thomas Harrigan | MLB.com: The (mostly) independent Pioneer League will try replacing extra innings with home run derbies in 2021. Each team will pick a hitter who will receive five pitches and the team with the most homers wins the game. If there’s a tie after five pitches, new batters are selected and the derby continues until a winner is declared.

Brady Klopfer | McCovey Chronicles: The Yankees and Giants made a trade Tuesday. The Yankees received left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta and a player to be named later in exchange for outfielder Mike Tauchman. With Mike Yastrzemski hurt, the Giants were in need of an additional outfielder and the team opened the year with five lefties in the bullpen.

Zach Koenig | Twinkie Town: The Twins are a tough team to watch right now, and it’s not just the miserable baseball they’ve been playing. If there’s a silver lining to a 7-15 start, it’s that fewer people were able to watch. A slough of weekday day games has kept the Twins’ struggles out of the limelight.

Quick Hits

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. became the youngest Blue Jay in franchise history to hit three home runs in a game.

In defiance of the impending universal DH, Adrian Houser hit a home run.

Nolan Arenado caught this ball he had no business catching because he’s a witch.