Happy Friday. We brought our cat home from the vet hospital last night (after paying quite the ransom), and he seems almost 100% now, which is great considering he was at death’s door when we took him in. We have to give him special food now (special is code for very expensive) and we had locked him in a room at night so we can see if he’s peeing. For the moment, at least, all is good. He’s sleeping on my lap at the moment.
The Jays tendered contracts to all their eligible free agents (not a surprise
there). Nick Sandlin, Dillon Tate, and Ryan Burr were let go last week.
The Braves didn’t tender Alek Manoah a contract, making him a free agent, which isn’t a surprise. The Rangers didn’t tender Adolis Garcia. Also, Reese McGuire wasn’t offered a contract by the Cubs. Seattle didn’t give Trent Thornton and Tayler Saucedo (both former Jays) contracts.
The Cardinals non-tendered Sem Robberse (who we sent to them for Jordan Hicks, along with Adam Kloffenstein. And the Dodgers didn’t give a contract to Nick Frasso, who we sent to them in the Mitch White trade.
Erik Swanson announced his retirement. Erik came to us from the Mariners (with Adam Macko) for Teoscar Hernandez. Swanson had the one good season for us, 2023, when he had a 2.97 ERA in 69 appearances, picking up 29 holds, helping us get the Wild Card spot (though we lost to the Twins).
In 2024, he had a 5.03 ERA in 45 appearances, and he pitched just 5.1 innings for us this year.
When he was good, he was very good. He threw a four-seamer with a lot of backspin (which seemed to put a lot of stress on his arm), which caused it not to drop as much as most pitchers’ four-seamers. He paired it with a splitter and a slider.
He was fun to watch. Enjoy retirement, Erik.
