Ian Kinsler homers in return to Arlington, Texas and then waves at the Rangers dugout

By Drew SilvaJun 24, 2014, 9:31 PM EST
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“To be honest with you, I hope they go 0-162,” Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler said to ESPN The Magazine in March about the team that traded him over the winter for Prince Fielder. “I got friends, and I love my friends, but I hope they lose their ass.”

Kinsler also called Rangers general manager Jon Daniels a “sleazeball” for pushing Nolan Ryan, who is now with the Astros, out of the front office mix.

So it should come as no surprise that this happened Tuesday when Kinsler hit a solo home run in his first plate appearance back in Arlington, Texas …

Kinsler is batting .293/.325/.469 with nine home runs and 36 RBI in 72 games this season for Detroit.

Fielder is out for the season after undergoing cervical fusion surgery in his neck at the end of May.

Diamondbacks, T.J. McFarland avoid arbitration

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
By Bill BaerJan 23, 2019, 9:11 PM EST
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Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports reports that the Diamondbacks and reliever T.J. McFarland have avoided arbitration, agreeing on a $1.45 million salary for the 2019 season. McFarland, in his third of four years of arbitration eligibility, filed for $1.675 million while the Diamondbacks countered at $1.275 million. McFarland ended up settling for just under the midpoint of those two figures.

McFarland, 29, was terrific out of the bullpen for the D-Backs last season, finishing with a 2.00 ERA and a 42/22 K/BB ratio in 72 innings. While the lefty may not miss a lot of bats, he does induce quite a few grounders. His 67.9 percent ground ball rate last season was the third highest among relievers with at least 50 innings, trailing only Brad Ziegler (71.1%) and Scott Alexander (70.6%).

McFarland was dominant against left-handed hitters, limiting them to a .388 OPS last season, but the D-Backs deployed him nearly twice as often against right-handed hitters, who posted an aggregate .764 OPS against him. It will be interesting to see if the club decides to use him more as a platoon reliever in 2019.