While most Dodgers fans were disappointed that the team failed to offer Bryce Harper a more lucrative deal, there was a sense of relief in one part of the team’s spring-training facility when the free-agent slugger signed a contract with the Phillies.
Harper did not request No. 34 from the Phillies out of respect for Hall of Famer Roy Halladay, saying at Saturday’s introductory news conference that the former two-time Cy Young Award winner, who died in a 2017 plane crash at the age of 40, should be the last Phillies player to wear that number. Harper will wear No. 3.
Poole said the only other Dodgers player to request No. 34 was Manny Ramirez, who was traded from Boston to the Dodgers in 2008. Ramirez wore No. 24 with the Red Sox, but that number is retired for Dodgers for Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston. Ramirez didn’t get his second choice, either.Ramirez eventually settled on No. 99.
Stewart has shuttled between the minor leagues and big leagues for three seasons. According to Fangraphs, the average velocity of his fastball fell from 93.3 mph in 2017, when he had a 3.41 ERA in 17 big-league appearances, to 91.1 mph in 2018, when he had a 6.11 ERA in nine games.Stewart switched to a more of a circular motion with his left foot in an effort to better position his lower half and gain more momentum as he drives toward the plate.
“It’s another step in the right direction,” Stewart said. “The ball feels better coming out. It’s just about getting consistent with it and commanding the heater. That’s when I’m at my best, when I’m commanding my fastball.”Russell Martin, the 36-year-old who was acquired from Toronto to share catching duties with Austin Barnes, has been sidelined for four days because of lower-back soreness, a condition manager Dave Roberts said was the result of “overuse.
“I can’t speak to that right now,” Roberts said. “I just know it’s going about as well as we could have hoped for Corey.”The best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond.
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