MLB Spring Training: Friday was a day for a deal... or two

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MLB spring training took a turn Friday, March 6th. Moncada and Yelich both make extension deals official while Freddie Freeman was mic’d up.

Two guys celebrated major contract upgrades in starkly different ways Friday. Chicago White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada toasted his extension by lighting up the Cubs. But Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich, apparently overcome at the thought of the nine-year deal he and the Brewers had just consummated, went hitless in three shots against the Giants.

They were two of the more interesting tidbits from Friday’s MLB spring training games. Those contests also featured the participatory play-by-play debut of a budding Atlanta Braves broadcaster named Freddie Freeman.

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Here are the day’s winners and losers.

Winner, Yoan Moncada, Chicago White Sox infielder

What’s the best possible day? How about getting three hits after signing a five-year, $70 million extension deal?

That’s the kind of day Yoan Moncada had against the Cubs.

The extension was announced Friday morning. In the afternoon, Moncada celebrated with a leadoff single in the first, an infield single in the second and a line-drive run-producing single in the fourth.

Hitless winner: Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder

The good news is that Yelich got on the field. The really good news is that before getting on the field, he and the Brewers signed a nine-year, $215 million contract extension that will keep him in Milwaukee through 2029.

The deal is the richest in Brewers’ history and contains a full no-trade clause. Yelich, as you might suppose, was thrilled. “Ever since I came here, it just felt like a natural fit,” he told reporters about the deal.

Now to rain on the celebration. The Giants held Yelich hitless in his MLB spring training debut Friday in a game that ended as a 5-5 tie.

The game’s newest multi-millionaire grounded out with a runner on first base in the first inning, fanned in the fourth and flied out with two out and runners at second and third in the fifth.

Well, you can’t have everything.

(Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

MLB Spring Training Recap: March 6

Winner: Nick Martini, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder

Martini is a 30-year-old journeyman trying to make the Phillies as a non-roster invitee. It’s not likely to happen. His .269 career batting average in 245 official at-bats isn’t bad, but the Phillies don’t really need a left-handed hitting outfielder. Bryce Harper and Jay Bruce pretty much cover that niche.

So afternoons like Martini had Friday may end up being his MLB spring training highlight. Against the Detroit Tigers, Martini stated his case for attention, if not playing time.

Entering the game in the sixth inning as a replacement for Adam Haseley, Martini singled in the seventh to drive in two runs. He got a second shot in the eighth inning and launched a home run over the fence in right.

For the spring Martini is hitting .364 with a 1.44 OPS.

Winner: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves first baseman

Freeman’s a good enough first baseman that he doesn’t need a second career. All the same, he auditioned as a play-by-play guy Friday.

Wearing a microphone, Freeman reached first base on a walk in the first inning of Atlanta’s game against the Boston Red Sox.

Then as Marcel Ozuna lofted a two-out, wind-blown pop up behind second base, Freeman entertained the Braves TV audience by narrating his own trip around the bases.

“There’s wind,” Freeman is heard to repeat as Red Sox infielders futilely tried to position themselves beneath the ball. Because there were two out and a 3-2 count, Freeman was approaching third base by the time the ball fell.

He was winded by the time he crossed home plate – you could tell that by his quite audible panting — but he made it home without much of a play.

(Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

MLB Spring Training Recap: March 6

Winner: Pittsburgh Pirates offense

The Pirates offense is just plain weird.

Through 14 MLB spring training games, the Pirates are just 3-11, and solidly at the bottom of the Grapefruit League standings. Yet in two of their three victories, Pirate hitters have chased 32 runs across the plate.

Even more curiously, most of the real damage is being done by the yannigans.

Win No. 3 came Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Pirates actually trailed Toronto 10-7 through six innings, before opening up for a dozen runs in the seventh and eighth. The final score was 19-13.

The Pirate subs – the guys who entered the game after the starters got their three at-bats – accumulated 10 of the team’s 19 hits and piled up 11 RBIs. Phillip Evans, a non-roster infielder, showed the way with a seventh-inning grand slam and an eighth-inning base hit.

Winner: Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox pitcher

The buzz around Sox camp has Giolito pegged as the opening day starter. That had seemed up for debate as Giolito spent the spring’s first two weeks on the sidelines recovering from a chest muscle strain.

But making his spring debut Friday against the Cubs, Giolito suggested he may be ready for opening day after all.

Granted, it was just one inning. But he struck out one, did not allow a hit, and afterward described the experience of getting back on the field as a lot of fun.”

MLB Spring Training Recap: March 6

Loser: Sean Manaea, Oakland Athletics pitcher

The Athletics are counting on a full season and also a strong one from Sean Manaea, their ace left-hander who missed most of 2019 with arm injuries.