Mariners Moose Tracks, 5/24/24: Harry Ford, Jon Gray, and Kevin Gausman

The Rangers are having quite the World Series hangover.

Hello everyone and happy Friday! While you prepare for the holiday weekend, let’s catch you up on the latest.

In Mariners news...

• I really hope the Mariners don’t trade Harry Ford...and here’s another reason why if you need convincing.

Around the league...

• Major League Baseball announced the host sites for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Some day, maybe Seattle will be able to see such a cool event.
• According to Rob Manfred, it is unlikely we see an automated ball-strike (ABS) system in the big leagues in 2025.
• Things are bad for the Rangers and only continue to get worse, as right-hander Jon Gray is headed to the injured list with a groin strain.
• Ben Clemens at Fangraphs breaks down why teams don’t pay top prospect dollar for bullpen upgrades, even though many fans think they will.
• Michael Rosen at Fangraphs undertakes an interesting but bizarre thought experiment: what if Rockies pitchers started throwing exclusively knuckeballs?
• Mikey Ajeto at Baseball Prospectus wonders what’s going on with Kevin Gausman. ($)

Anders’ picks...

• The NCAA has officially opened up the floodgates — the league agreed to a deal with Power 5 conference schools that will allow institutions to pay players directly.