NL Central

The Chicago Cubs and Willson Contreras, who leads all MLB catchers with 10 home runs in 2022, reportedly reached an agreement Thursday on a one-year, $9.625 million contract to avoid arbitration.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported details of the deal, which represents the midpoint between the sides' arbitration proposals—$9 million for the Cubs and $10.25 million for Contreras.

The arbitration process was delayed by the 99-day MLB lockout during the offseason, which is why hearings are ongoing two months into the regular season.

Contreras is playing his final year under arbitration. He's eligible to become a free agent at season's end if the sides don't agree to an extension.

He's off to a terrific start to the campaign. His 10 homers are two more than any other catcher, ahead of the eight by his brother William of the Atlanta Braves and the Arizona Diamondbacks' Daulton Varsho, and his 2.2 WAR is also tops at the position, per FanGraphs.

While he's made a major impact with his bat, his play behind the plate has left room for improvement.

Contreras ranks 53rd on the Baseball Savant catcher-framing leaderboard, which estimates he's cost the Cubs two runs in that aspect of the game.

The 30-year-old would still attract ample interest if he hits free agency next winter because of his production at a position with a limited number of high-end offensive producers.

The Venezuela native is a two-time All-Star who owns a career .260/.353/.463 slash line with 105 home runs across 668 career appearances. He's spent his entire seven-year MLB tenure with the Cubs, who won the World Series during his rookie year in 2016.

Chicago is going through a rebuilding phase and has already trended in the wrong direction this season with a 23-33 record. Contreras' bat at a premium position would make him a prime target for contenders, and that could yield the Cubs quite a trade haul.

In March, the standout backstop said trade rumors are a product of "doing something good on the field that another team might want."

"And I understand that the Chicago Cubs are in a rebuild right now. And if they can get good packages, they're going to do whatever they do best for the team," Contreras told reporters. "Anyways, whatever happens, happens."

He'll be one of the most popular names in the rumor mill over the next two months.

Before we get to how they're flipping the script in 2022, is it fair to first establish that the St. Louis Cardinals have a reputation for being boring?

Why, yes. It is. Google knows. Run a search for "Cardinals boring," and the results range from Reddit threads to blog posts to even acceptance from within the organization.

"We are boring," president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Bob Nightengale of USA Today back in March 2015, also adding: "Vanilla are our colored sprinkles."

That the Redbirds went on to win 100 games that year is perhaps the ultimate proof that being entertaining and being good are not mutually inclusive. From a broader perspective, there's also the fact that the Cardinals won the most games of any National League team between 2000 and 2021 despite their bland rap. Say what you will about the oft-mocked and vaguely defined "Cardinal Way," but there was something to it.

Yet in spite of all the familiar faces that are still in the Cardinals dugout on any given day, there's just something different about this year's team. Heck, something special.

At 32-23 for the season, the Cardinals quite good once again in 2022. They're also getting better, as their 12-5 run in their last 17 games has put them within a half-game of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. What's more, Milwaukee's plus-26 run differential isn't even half of St. Louis' plus-54 mark.

While this is pretty much business as usual for the Cardinals, what's not is that they're also just unusually fun to watch. In specific and very much quantifiable ways to some extents, yet also in ways that are very much not to other extents.

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Gotta Love That Corner Infield Duo

Back in April, the Cardinals hitter who was making it impossible to look away was Nolan Arenado. The veteran third baseman had one of the best months of his career, hitting .375 with five home runs to earn NL Player of the Month honors.

More recently, Paul Goldschmidt has stolen the spotlight from Arenado and, well, basically every other hitter in Major League Baseball.

The 34-year-old followed up Arenado's triumphant April with his own Player of the Month-winning effort in May, hitting .404 with 10 home runs and 33 runs driven in. He's the first player to hit all three of those marks in any month since Cody Bellinger in April of 2019, and only the ninth all-time to do it in May.

Is he still hot in June? Yeah, you bet he's still hot in June:

GOLDY GONE! pic.twitter.com/VV1CsGcfKq

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 3, 2022

Goldschmidt is working on a season unlike even any of the ones he had in his days as an annual All-Star with the Arizona Diamondbacks between 2013 and 2018. His .343 average, .423 on-base percentage and 1.031 OPS are each tops among National League hitters, and he's on pace for over 200 hits and 30 home runs.

Though Arenado, who was a five-time All-Star for the Colorado Rockies before coming to St. Louis last year, cooled off around the time that Goldschmidt caught fire, he's started warming up again with a .357 average over his last seven games.

If this keeps up, the Goldschmidt-Arenado duo will be the two-headed monster that the Cardinals have been dreaming of since they paired the two last year.

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Gotta Love That Emerging Slugger

Nolan Gorman still leads the Triple-A International League in OPS at 1.044, and he likewise maintains a share of the lead in home runs with 15.

Not bad, considering he hasn't suited up for the Memphis Redbirds since May 18.

Those numbers basically made Gorman, 22, preordained to be a handful for major league pitchers, and that's proved to be the case as he's posted a .950 OPS and three home runs over his first 14 games.

Of all the words one could use to describe those home runs, "cheap" is not one of them:

FIRST MLB HOME RUN FOR @NolanGorman‼️ pic.twitter.com/r0mlSdP5rw

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 28, 2022

That was Gorman going 449 feet for his first career homer on May 28. His other two homers also crossed the 400-foot threshold, and the average distance on all his batted balls comes out to 243 feet. That's presently the best such mark in baseball.

That's a lot of oomph for a guy who, at 6'1", 210 pounds, isn't exactly Judge-ian or Stanton-ian in stature. But it's always been there, with Keith Law of The Athletic noting that Gorman had 80-grade power potential even as a draft prospect in 2018.

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Gotta Love That One Electrifying Arm

Elsewhere on the topic of power, a Cardinals pitching staff that's primarily centered on veteran finesse types like Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson nonetheless also features perhaps baseball's best pure power pitcher: Ryan Helsley.

Even as he's shared the bullpen with excellent closer Giovanny Gallegos, Helsley has had little trouble separating himself from the pack in allowing just one earned run on six hits and five walks through 21.1 innings.

The 27-year-old has also struck out 30 batters, including 15 on a fastball that he's run as high as 103 mph:

Ryan Helsley. 103mph 🔥 pic.twitter.com/22Eatp0NzC

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2022

In addition to all that velocity, Helsley's heater is also in the 99th percentile for spin rate. Opposing hitters have yet to discover the solution for it, as they're just 2-for-37 against it.

Granted, Helsley doesn't have Josh Hader's 18 saves or 0.00 ERA. Yet he does boast an expected batting average of .087, the best of all qualified hurlers in the National League.

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Gotta Love That Defense and Baserunning

Statistically speaking, there's a case to be made that the Cardinals defense has actually regressed from 2021. It's gone from ranking second in efficiency and defensive runs saved last year to ranking joint-11th and joint-14th respectively in both departments thus far in 2022.

The eye test, though, is far kinder to this Cardinals defense.

In Arenado, Goldschmidt and Tommy Edman, the Redbirds have Gold Glovers in three of the four spots on their infield, which has allowed just a .213 average on ground balls.

Arenado has kept highlight reel editors busy:

Give Nolan Arenado the Gold Glove right now! pic.twitter.com/vPJUtndy29

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 8, 2022

And yet perhaps not as busy as Edman has kept them:

It doesn't matter where you put @TommyEdman11. He's going to play elite defense!#STLCards x @ShaneCompany pic.twitter.com/qFtvT98vwn

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 24, 2022

The Cardinals also have one of baseball's rangiest center fielders in Harrison Bader, and he's not alone in also excelling at punishing overly ambitious runners with his arm. The entire Cardinals outfield is tied for second with 12 assists, with Brendan Donovan accounting for three of those in just 87 innings in the field.

Yet the team's best arm is still stationed behind the plate, where Yadier Molina continues to make ridiculous throws even as his 40th birthday looms on July 13:

Play isn't as easy as it appears!#STLCards x @CapitalOne pic.twitter.com/9f02Nz8Kt9

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 21, 2022

Meanwhile, other teams can only wish that they had their very own Molina behind the plate when they play the Cardinals.

That would make it easier to shut down a running game that's so far produced an MLB-best 44 stolen bases against only eight failed attempts. St. Louis baserunners also take an extra base on hits more than half the time they get the chance, and 34 percent of the runners the team puts on ultimately come home to score.

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Gotta Love That Vibe

To be sure, "fun" isn't always a manifestation of the abilities of individual players or of a team as a whole. It's also a vibe, and one that the Cardinals didn't emanate prior to 2022. Something resembling mechanical precision was what crafted their boring reputation.

"Those guys are like robots," former catcher Miguel Montero said of the Cardinals back in 2018. "They all play a certain way, and you never know who they are. But they are all good."

To this end, really the best illustration of how much the Cardinals have changed in 2022 has nothing to do with Goldschmidt's or Arenado's hitting, Gorman's slugging, Helsley's fireballing or any of their many talented defenders' defending.

Rather, it's Albert Pujols pitching on May 15:

Or, if you prefer, Molina taking the mound for a pitching appearance of his own just a week later on May 22:

Letting position players pitch was simply not part of the "Cardinal Way" before this year. Even as pitching appearances by hitters proliferated in 2019 and especially in 2021, then-manager Mike Shildt let just one position player take the mound both years.

New manager Oliver Marmol has not only gone to that well twice already, but with two of the most celebrated players in the history of the franchise and the sport at large to boot. That surely speaks to how much more casually the 35-year-old skipper is operating, and yet he's doing so while also commanding respect even from the club's trifecta of foremost veterans.

"I think he was being groomed to be the manager," Wainwright, 40, told Hannah Keyser of Yahoo.

"He's young, but this is a guy that has a lot of wisdom," added Pujols. "Knows the game more than what you think."

It would also be a monumental oversight to ignore what Pujols himself has meant to these Cardinals. Throughout his first 21 seasons in the majors, he was the ultimate professional as he put together a resume worthy of the inner circle of the Hall of Fame. But now, in his return to St. Louis after a decade away, the 42-year-old's lighter side is really coming through.

"You have to have fun," Pujols told ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "I'm blessed to be back here where it all started."

It's oh so tempting to consider all this and conclude that the "Cardinal Way" must finally be dead. But maybe that's taking it too far. Instead, perhaps it's simply evolved.

Whatever this new form is, one thing it's certainly not is boring.

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham said he received a three-game suspension for slapping the San Francisco Giants' Joc Pederson during a dispute about fantasy football before Friday's game.

Pham told reporters Saturday that Pederson made "disrespectful" comments about the San Diego Padres, the Reds slugger's former team, in addition to their fantasy football issues, which he alleged came down to Pederson "messing with my money."

"I'm a big dog in Vegas," Pham said. "I'm a high roller at many casinos."

Pederson provided a detailed version of the events from his perspective after Friday's contest, a 5-1 Reds victory. He explained the pair were in disagreement about how he handled the use of injured reserve in their fantasy league:

Joc shares details of what happened in his fantasy football league that started his altercation with Tommy Pham today pic.twitter.com/d9NBTwPVoG

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 28, 2022

Earlier in the day, players from both teams had to intervene when things got heated between the outfielders during batting practice:

BREAKING: 96.3/92.5 The Big Jab has obtained exclusive rights to a never before seen video of Tommy Pham slapping Joc Pederson (via Chad McCormack’s sources) #JocPederson #Pham #tommypham #Joc @MorningJab @MannixBrothers @ThePMJab pic.twitter.com/0oXBwDDRdH

— Chad McCormack☎️ (@mccormack_chad) May 28, 2022

If Pederson's version of events is true—one of his players was ruled out before the start of the game and he then placed them on IR in an ESPN league—he's in the right, unless the league made a special rule about those instances prior to the season.

ESPN allows fantasy managers to utilize IR for any player who's ruled out in a given week, even if it's only a one-week injury.

Pham didn't say how much money he lost in the fantasy league, but MLB confirmed he'll pay an "undisclosed fine" for inappropriate conduct in addition to the suspension.

He sat out Friday's matchup while the situation was under review, so he'll be required to sit out the remainder of the teams' three-game series.

He'll be eligible to return Tuesday when Cincinnati visits Fenway Park for a two-game set.

Pederson played Friday, going 1-for-3 with an RBI, and didn't face discipline from MLB.

Cincinnati Reds left fielder Tommy Pham and San Francisco Giants left fielder Joc Pederson got into an altercation before the two teams faced off at Great American Ball Park on Friday night, but it reportedly didn't have anything to do with baseball. 

https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1530279623447150593

According to The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans and Andrew Baggarly, the altercation stemmed from a fantasy football league disagreement. Pham slapped Pederson before the two were separated by teammates. 

Pederson confirmed he was slapped and offered a detailed explanation about the origin of Pham's frustration: 

Joc Pederson confirms Tommy Pham slapped him in the face over a fantasy football dispute

(via @NBCSGiants)pic.twitter.com/aJ5PH30K48

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) May 28, 2022

Pham sat out Friday's game as MLB investigates the incident, per The Enquirer's Bobby Nightengale. The 34-year-old agreed not to play. Pederson remained in the lineup. 

Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters the team is investigating the situation and that he won't comment on it further until he has "a clearer understanding" of what happened.

Pham and Pederson spent time as division rivals when they played for the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively, during the 2020 season.  

The Pittsburgh Pirates and third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes have reportedly agreed to an eight-year, $70 million contract extension.

Robert Murray of FanSided reported Thursday the deal includes a club option for a ninth season. It is the largest contract in Pirates history, topping the six-year, $60 million pact catcher Jason Kendall signed in 2000.

Hayes, 25, is heading into his third MLB season. He hit .257/.316/.373 with six home runs and 38 runs batted in last season while emerging as one of the best defensive third basemen in the sport. While his offensive production lagged behind expectations, he projects as a perennial Gold Glove candidate.

Hayes told Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic last August that he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh:

"I want to stay and win a championship with the team that drafted me. But I'm not really … I mean, even last year when I was going through that (contract) stuff, I wasn't really thinking too much about it. I was thankful and humbled that they considered to offer me (an extension) before I had even played a big-league game. That made me want to work even harder. But I'm not really worried about it right now. Just trying to get better every day."

The deal represents a rare financial commitment from the Pirates, whose payroll regularly ranks among the lowest in baseball. Billionaire Pirates owner Bob Nutting has cut costs at every turn and hired executives who jettison in-their-prime stars at the expense of the on-field product, earning the nickname "Bottom-Line Bob." 

This deal isn't likely to create much goodwill from Pirates fans exasperated by the penny-pinching, but it could be a sign Nutting is willing to loosen the purse strings. 

The Pirates have not posted a winning season since 2015. 

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols will be in the starting lineup for a 22nd straight Opening Day when he serves as the team's designated hitter on Thursday at Busch Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

"I don't want to set expectations because I like to be surprised, so I'm just going to enjoy it," Pujols said, according to Dave Skretta of the Associated Press. "I'm sure it will be emotional for me, and the fans, too. But my focus is on trying to get in the reps I need to get myself ready for this season."

Pujols signed a $2.5 million deal to return to the Cardinals this offseason after splitting the 2021 campaign between the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers. The 42-year-old had spent nine-and-a-half seasons with the Angels before being traded to the Dodgers.

Pujols became a star for the Cardinals in the early stages of his career from 2001 to 2011. He earned nine All-Star selections and won three MVP awards, two Gold Gloves and six Silver Slugger awards in that span.

The Dominican Republic native also won the batting title in 2003 and helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 2006 and 2011. He was electric in his 11 seasons in St. Louis, hitting .328/.420/.617 with 445 home runs and 1,329 RBI in 1,705 games.

After winning the World Series in 2011, Pujols signed a 10-year, $254 million deal with the Angels. He wasn't nearly as productive during his tenure in Los Angeles, but was still a significant contributor, slashing .256/.311/.447 with 222 home runs and 783 RBI in 1,181 games.

The Dodgers added Pujols last season in hopes of making another title run, but they were eliminated in the National League Championship Series by the eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves. In 85 games for the Blue Crew, Pujols slashed .254/.299/.460 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI.

Now that he's back in St. Louis for his final MLB season, Pujols is expected to primarily serve as the team's designated hitter. He could also fill in for Paul Goldschmidt at first base. 

Seiya Suzuki has found a new home in Major League Baseball by agreeing to a deal with the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Suzuki landed a five-year, $85 million contract.

ESPN's Jeff Passan pointed out that's the largest pact for a Japanese position player coming to MLB and the second-largest ever behind Masahiro Tanaka's $155 million Yankees deal.

David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago originally reported Suzuki had agreed to a five-year, $70 million contract with the Cubs. 

Earlier in the offseason, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Suzuki was going to be posted for all 30 teams on Nov. 22, with a signing deadline of Dec. 22. 

The lockout, which began at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, interrupted the process. MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball agreed to freeze Suzuki's posting window at that point. 

He has been one of the best players in NPB since making his debut in 2013. The 27-year-old has a .315/.414/.570 slash line with 182 homers and 82 stolen bases in 902 career NPB games with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He was named to the NPB All-Star team five times in the past six seasons. 

While looking at what MLB had to offer, Suzuki spoke to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic about the challenge of playing against the best baseball players in the world. 

"I was fascinated with how many better players there are in the States," Suzuki said. "That motivated me to play harder and get better so I could play with them someday."

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports ranked Suzuki as the No. 15 free agent this offseason:

"In addition to posting above-average exit velocities, he's walked more than he's struck out in two of the past three years. (In 2020, the exception, he finished with one fewer walk than strikeout.) Suzuki also has a high-grade arm that should allow him to make an impact on defense. The one blemish in his game is that he's not a particularly skilled basestealer. Teams will gladly overlook that."

Suzuki has played shortstop and third base at times, but his primary position is right field. He has the arm strength to handle the position in MLB. His power and contact skills allowed him to hit a career-high 38 homers with Hiroshima in 2021. 

After turning the pages on many of the remaining players left from their 2016 World Series team last year, the Cubs appear to be loading up to make a run at the playoffs in 2022. 

Prior to the lockout, Chicago signed Marcus Stroman to anchor the starting rotation. 

Suzuki's signing affords Cubs manager David Ross more versatility with his outfield for the upcoming season. Jason Heyward remains a valuable defensive player, but his offense makes him virtually unplayable in right field (.627 OPS in 2021). 

Ian Happ is a slightly better offensive player than Heyward (.757 OPS), but he's not much of a defender in left field. 

Suzuki should help split the difference between Happ and Heyward. He's been a solid offensive player throughout his career in Japan, with the skill set to be an average defender in the corner outfield. 

There is still work for the Cubs to do to replenish their roster, but the additions of Stroman and Suzuki are promising for the short- and long-term future of the franchise. 

Veteran shortstop Andrelton Simmons has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cubs.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported the two sides were nearing a deal. MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported the one-year deal will be worth $4 million plus incentives. 

Cubs fans who want Carlos Correa don't need to give up hope with Simmons set to join the team, according to Rosenthal:

A one-year agreement with Andrelton Simmons - $4M, plus incentives, per @JonHeyman - would not preclude the Cubs from pursuing Carlos Correa, if they choose to move in that direction.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 11, 2022

The 32-year-old signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Minnesota Twins ahead of the 2021 season. The Twins were coming off their second straight American League Central title, so Simmons was a sensible addition to fortify the infield.

Unfortunately for both parties, they endured a year that fell well short of expectations. Minnesota finished last in the division at 73-89, and Simmons experienced his worst season in MLB. 

The four-time Gold Glove winner has long been valued more for his defense than his offense. Prior to last season, teams could at least expect him to get on base at a healthy rate and collect a solid number of extra-base hits. From 2013 to '19, he averaged 25 doubles per season and had a .315 on-base percentage, according to Baseball Reference.

Those numbers would've been a big upgrade over what he actually delivered in Minneapolis.

Simmons batted .223 and had a .283 on-base percentage in 131 appearances. Among 188 batters with at least 400 plate appearances, his .274 slugging percentage was the second-lowest in the majors, per FanGraphs.

He struck out in 13.7 percent of his at-bats and owned a .252 weighted on-base average. For some perspective, the latter number falls nearly 40 points below the threshold FanGraphs deems "awful."

Andrelton Simmons finds the gap 👏@Andrelton | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/8Yu9q3ZA5p

— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) June 11, 2021

Not surprisingly, Simmons remains a plus defender. He ranked tied for fifth in MLB in outs above average (16), according to Statcast. He set such a high standard for himself in his prime that he'd still remain elite with the glove when he inevitably begins to decline a bit.

Simmons was so bad offensively that expecting a level of regression to the mean is reasonable for Chicago. But some of his advanced metrics point to a sustained trend over multiple years, per Baseball Savant:

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Exit Velocity

• 2018: 88.2 mph
• 2019: 87.8 mph
• 2020: 86.5 mph
• 2021: 84.1 mph

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Expected Batting Average

• 2018: .275
• 2019: .243
• 2020: .238
• 2021: .230

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Expected Slugging Percentage

• 2018: .387
• 2019: .327
• 2020: .281
• 2021: .281

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The addition of Simmons immediately improves the left side of the Cubs' infield defensively. If his offensive contributions continue along their current path, then they may be faced with a dilemma about utilizing him as an everyday option at shortstop.

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Regardless of what could happen with Correa, the Cubs needed to add more infield depth. Their current shortstop depth chart has Nico Hoerner penciled in as the starter, with Sergio Alcantara on the bench. 

At this stage of his career, Simmons is best used as a backup defensive player. He has the glove to play shortstop at a high level, but his offensive decline makes it difficult for him to start 150 games. 

After being traded by the Chicago Cubs midway through the 2021 season, Anthony Rizzo could return to the club as a free agent this offseason.

Per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score, the Cubs have had "internal conversations" about pursuing Rizzo when Major League Baseball's lockout comes to an end.

As the Cubs were in the midst of finishing 71-91 last season, the front office decided to look toward the future by dealing Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant prior to the July 30 trade deadline.

Rizzo was moved to the New York Yankees for prospects Alexander Vizcaino and Kevin Alcantara.

Frank Schwindel was fantastic as the Cubs' primary first baseman after Rizzo was traded last season, hitting .342/.389/.613 with 13 homers in 56 games. But he was also a 29-year-old rookie who had no extended MLB experience prior to 2021.

A three-time All-Star, Rizzo turned in a solid 2021 campaign between the Cubs and Yankees, hitting .248/.344/.440 with 22 homers and 61 RBI in 496 at-bats over 141 games. 

The Yankees could end up slotting Luke Voit back in at first base if they want to move on from Rizzo. Injuries limited Voit to 68 games last season, but he still managed a .764 OPS and 11 homers in 213 at-bats.

The Cubs are in an interesting spot because they made one notable move prior to the lockout that seems to indicate they want to contend in 2022, signing Marcus Stroman to a three-year, $71 million deal on Dec. 1 with an opt out after the second season.

If Chicago's front office believes the roster has the talent to contend, signing a player like Rizzo makes sense. He's only 32 and doesn't figure to cost a ton as a free agent.    

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett returned to Twitter on Wednesday with a message explaining why he deactivated his account in the first place.

He said he didn't deactivate it because he couldn't handle criticism for his performance on the field but rather because he "would read awful things" such as "people wishing death upon my unborn child along with my pregnant wife. Unimaginable dm's spewing hate and stomach wrenching messages."

Hello Twitter world… pic.twitter.com/yeXQ88uJSm

— CountOnAG (@Amir_Garrett) December 22, 2021

Garrett announced the birth of his daughter, Koa Mae Garrett, in July.

On the field, the southpaw had the worst statistical year of his career since he was a rookie in 2017. He posted a 6.04 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 61 strikeouts in 47.2 innings during the 2021 season, which was a far cry from his 2.45 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in the shortened 2020 campaign.

It is not a stretch to suggest Reds fans reacted poorly to his on-field struggles and sent some of the hateful messages that caused him to deactivate his account.

Garrett is also someone who has not hesitated to mix it up with division rivals in the past.

There was the back-and-forth with then-Chicago Cubs shortstop Javy Baez that included a benches-clearing incident that resulted in Garrett being suspended and a taunting incident that led to a fine for Baez. The relief pitcher also famously charged the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout and fought seemingly the entire team in 2019.

Perhaps Cubs and Pirates fans were also among those responsible for the vitriol.

For his part, Garrett wished the "keyboard tough guys" well and suggested everyone should "protect your peace."