Mariners Moose Tracks, 3/11/23: Cooper Hummel, Keibert Ruiz, and Jacob deGrom

We’ve got a full slate of games today in the WBC!

Hello everyone and happy Saturday! The World Baseball Classic begins tonight for Team USA, Team DR, and many other exciting teams. In other news...

In Mariners news...

• The Cooper Hummel hype train is leaving the station! All aboard!

Around the league...

• With a 10-2 drubbing over the Czech Republic, Team Japan has secured a spot in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals. Japan has scored 31 runs in 3 games so far.
• James Wagner at The New York Times told the story of how Nelson Cruz built the juggernaut Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic team.
• Another great thing about the WBC is the cool stories you get, like Team Israel’s Shlomo Lipetz, the 44-year-old legend.
• The staff of The Athletic ranked every WBC team jersey. ($)
• The staff of the Wall Street Journal examined how the sports broadcasting landscape is about to change.
• Baseball’s top pitching prospect, Andrew Painter of the Phillies, was diagnosed with a UCL sprain. While most players who receive this diagnosis eventually get Tommy John surgery, Painter is hoping a few weeks of rest will be sufficient for him to return to action.
• Jay Jaffe at Fangraphs wonders what’s next for all of the many teams who are dealing with injuries in the starting rotation this spring.
• Jacob deGrom, who has yet to take to the bump for the Rangers this spring, may start on Monday if his throwing session today goes well.
• The Nationals have agreed to an eight-year contract extension with young backstop Keibert Ruiz. The deal also includes two team options, possibly keeping him in D.C. for the next decade.