offseason 2015-16

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dn-dodgers-don-mattingly-20151022-story.html

mattingly out

we all saw that coming, right?

so . . . price and greinke to the cubs or just one of them

uuuuuuuuuuugh

guessing just price

I've been (and am) day drinking today at Bobby V's. lol @ dude's phone blowing up when the Mattingly news was announced.

http://i.imgur.com/cWBgXzj.jpg

Favorite mattingly moment: August (?) 2010 against the giants, he fucks up some rule about visiting the pitcher's mound, Bruce bochy calls him on it and he's forced to replace a relief pitcher before he even throws a pitch

torre was still manager in 2010, maybe '11?

curious whether bartolo will try to keep going/anyone will have him next year

Nah torre had been ejected earlier on the game

on = in

yea bart shd keep pitching

add "Overwork? Nah man, 140 pitches is cool" joke of your own

http://m.sfgate.com/music/article/Dusty-Baker-I-once-blazed-a-joint-with-Jimi-6582136.php

Servais, new Mariners manager. imparfait du verbe servir.

soon all managers will be white former catchers with no coaching experience and all general managers will be ivy league dudes in their 30s who were rich enough to spend multiple years as team interns

the marlins have hired the pirates' jim benedict to be their Vice President of Pitching

Vice President...of Pitching?

Gabe Kapler is the front runner for the Dodgers job apparently.. not a bad idea as he's been overseeing all of player development but his managing experience is thin at best - one year at single a for the red sox a couple years ago.. then again thats a year more than most recent hires.

Whats interesting is the entire coaching staff was told they could look for other jobs.. Rick Honeycutt would be a good addition to any team, imo.

Pittsburgh Pirates ‏@Pirates 10m10 minutes ago
We have acquired RHP Trevor Williams from the @Marlins in exchange for RHP Richard Mitchell. #Pirates

@nickcafardo
It appears former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr will become Red Sox first base coach.

hahahahahaha

*agonized screaming*

wtff

that is super weird.

whatever, good for him

@BillShaikin
Ex-#RedSox GM Ben Cherington hired as ... executive in residence by Columbia University's sports management program.

I think it most likely Amaro's rep in baseball circles is much higher than fan or media perception. It could also be that some of those extensions that hobbled the Phil's were pushed by ownership.

@jonmorosi
Ruben Amaro Jr. is ambidextrous and will throw batting practice for the @RedSox both right- and left-handed. This is outstanding.

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/source-marlins-hire-don-mattingly-as-manager

(Ambidextrous BP pitcher far more valuable than a GM, obv.)

should we make a separate thread for postseason awards or just dump it here, gold glove finalists being announced rn (def the most meaningless of these awards)

might as well start a new thread, since this one will get clogged up with hot stove stuff eventually

mattingly --> marlins

budblack --> nats

andy green --> padres

Marlins offseason checklist:

1. Hire manager
2. Fire general manager
3. ?

trade marcel ozuna 'cause loria doesn't like him

@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: #BlueJays’ five-year offer to Anthopoulos gave him right to opt out after one year if relationship with Shapiro was not working.

If that's true I'm not sure it changes anything. Ownership either endorses the GM 100 percent or they don't.

In a face-to-face meeting with the senior members of the Jays’ front office, Shapiro said he strongly disagreed with some of the deadline choices that sent prospects out. The initial contract offer to Anthopoulos, according to an official who was briefed on the talks, was a two-year deal, with the second year an option.

It was an insult. By the time Rogers tried to give Anthopoulos a five-year contract, it was already too late.

http://www.springtrainingcountdown.com/

dusty to the nats!

Good Mets winter already!

saw this on FB yesterday

Dusty: "Nice collection of arms ya got here... Shame if anything wwere to happen to 'em."

supposedly they offered bud black a one-year deal lol

i thought everyone was joking about Baker getting hired!

we were, the Nats were not.

wow. i want to say "rip" to them; but just watch them fluke their way into the WS next year.

not their Dustiny

@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: #Dodgers have interviewed Dave Roberts for managing job. LAD not close to decision. Roberts expected to move on from SD regardless.

Black and the Nats talked over the next couple days, with proposals and counterproposals exchanged. However, after Black, who had originally sought a three-year deal, didn't quickly accept their next offer and instead apparently countered it -- it is believed the Nats came off the straight one-year offer, and talked about offers with options and buyouts, and may have gotten up to two guaranteed years at some point -- the Nats then turned back to Baker....

The Nats are a first-class organization as far as the players go, but it's somewhat surprising how little they dedicate to manager salaries. This is very likely an ownership stance, but it is certainly odd.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/jon-heyman/25362028/nats-get-their-man-but-man-oh-man-what-a-soap-opera-it-was

yeesh

FG goes challopsy

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/dusty-baker-is-not-a-bad-hire/

August Fagerstrom @AugustFG_

Four-year peaks:

Grady Sizemore: 25.8 WAR
Willie Stargell 25.6
Pete Rose 25.4
Tony Gwynn 25.4
Brooks Robinson 25.3

Is this real life
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CS78jTqUAAAchwY.jpg

WTF

wow. wonder what Harper's thoughts are on that one

Forbes, famed sports analysts

from the author of 'baseball maverick: how sandy alderson revolutionized baseball and revived the mets' no less

omg, had no idea what that guy's name is.

Two more years for Terry Collins (tho there are still fans calling for his head over Harveygate).

Padres exercised their $8 million club option on Joaquin Benoit.

greinke formally opted out, for what that's worth (guessing dodgers offer him the farm to stay)

sandy alderson fainted while answering questions at the collins-extension press conference

probably thinking about Murphy accepting their qualifying offer.

mike maddux to be dusty's pitching coach

I want the dodgers to re-sign Greinke but Stan Kasten has repeated a couple times they don't want to give out deals to pitchers that include any years of 35+

lol imagine signing Greinke to a 35 year deal where he pitches until hes 60+

@GregJohnsMLB
Mariners-Rays with 6-player trade: Sea sends Brad Miller, LoMo & Farquhar to TB for RH Nathan Karns, LH CJ Riefenhauser and OF Boog Powell.

"OF Boog Powell"!

heard o' that boog b4

lomo is a good ray

will anyone accept a qualifying offer y/n

looking at u, ian kennedy

i hadn't realized that dylan bundy is now out of options

he pitched zero innings in '13, 41 in '14 and 22 in '15 but the o's will have to keep him on big-league roster or pass him through waivers

BP writer (and a random number generator) predict the Free Agent 50

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=27844

new member of the zobrist family - BLAISE ROYAL ZOBRIST

put a qualifying offer on *that*

@AdamRubinESPN Nov 6
Denard Span doesn't get a qualifying offer from Nats, per @JamesWagnerWP, in case you're looking for a lefty-hitting center fielder.

let's go Mets

byung ho park to the twins, supposedly

Dylan Bundy is hurt.

ts: 'elbow tightness' vs. 'forearm tightness'

Per multiple sources, former #Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is in a coma at local Atl. hospital. Working to get more details

Jose Reyes arrested on domestic violence charge

http://www.9news.com/story/sports/mlb/colorado-rockies/2015/11/09/jose-reyes-maui-arrest-assault/75494688/

ugh i was literally having a conversation with my friend a few weeks ago about how reyes seems like one of the "good ones" that you can cheer for and not feel guilty about it. like i name checked him as an example. ughhhh :(

matt williams --> d-bax 3b coach
manny acta --> mariners 3b coach
rick renteria --> white sox bench coach

I assume tommy hanson's organs didnt just fail on their own? sad story regardless..

rumor is drugz, sad

hadnt realized he was still so young

if you encounter any baseball entities failing to thank the veterans on all conceivable platforms, please report them to the appropriate authorities

The Pirates and Marlins quietly worked out a seemingly uneven trade last month that was arranged because Pittsburgh demanded compensation in exchange for allowing highly regarded special assistant Jim Benedict to take a job with Miami, multiple sources told ESPN.com.

interesting

twins acquire catcher john ryan murphy from the yanquis for aaron hicks

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTkiqoMUcAAc1XZ.jpg

Word to Bobby Moynihan.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTkiqoMUcAAc1XZ.jpg

Pierzynski back to Barves for a year

they are gonna be truly awful next year

@Joelsherman1
#Mets inquired on Simmons this morn and told ask price is Harvey or deGrom, so no way.

lol ok braves

simmons for harvey would be a pretty fair trade

hard to say, even for All-World D and Mets only having MH for 3 more years

Harvey for Mookie Betts wd be tempting; ass't GM John Ricco said trading one of Core Four mound studs "very unlikely"

wah-KEEN behn-WAH

...the Mariners have acquired right-handed relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit (wah-KEEN behn-WAH) from the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Enyel De Los Santos and minor league infielder Nelson Ward.

http://marinersblog.mlblogs.com/2015/11/12/mariners-acquire-rhp-joaquin-benoit-from-san-diego/

the preller challenge: field an entirely new team each season

I hope somebody has used Benoit Balls as a fantasy team name in this joint.

Quinoa would be a cool nickname for him

@IanMBrowne
Dombrowski seems to be cushioning @RedSox fans for loss of big prospect when he says, "At some point, we'll have to do something painful."

sounds like Betts to Mets!

re: quinoa, As long as you spell it Quinoit

bookie metts

filling park w/ a MOOOOOOOOOOOOOKIE chant again is better retro move than "Piano Man" singalong

Seems like Aroldis Chapman is top on the deal list for the Reds. Looking at the possibilities, I'd think he might end up going to Houston. They got position player prospects to deal and seem to be ready to make a run. I'd think the Yankees would maybe take a shot at Chapman, as you got to think the crazy fastball and The Missile's showmanship would probably play well in the Bronx.

FOH y'all aint gettin mookie

unless i guess dombrowski is trying to reignite the never-actually-that-real-if-at-all mets/boston hostilities, which'd be silly, then again goons on both sides would prob buy into it right quick

think the yankees are pretty well set at closer

Some Houston fans want the Astros to perhaps deal for Votto or Frazier along with Chapman. They like things large in Texas.

I just keep wondering how long until the Blue Jays just plunk down the Canadian cash and get Joey Votto from the Reds. It might not happen after the big flip, but there was some talk of swapping with Jose Bautista to the Reds in a deal for Votto, but that was before you knew how JV would play coming out of the injury.

really doubt front-office pros are trying to do anything but get wins, sloth

i was being facetious. also betts would prob require a return of matz or thor and i don't think the mets would (or should!) pay that price

if the tigers are any indication the tigers prefer a certain sort of player which might not be mookie, though i think they'd be crazy to trade him

colby rasmus will accept houston's qualifying offer!

http://cdn.barstoolsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/07/Screen-Shot-2015-10-07-at-12.06.19-AM.png?8b81f6

@JesseSanchezMLB
Source: Andrelton Simmons has been traded to the Angels. #Braves

:o

i'll say

simmons for one year of erick aybar, LHP sean newcomb, RHP chris ellis

newcomb is really good, but only has seven starts above class a, and half of those came in an extreme pitchers park (arkansas)

Barves also got $3 million.

Acc to a FB person, Angels pitchers were last in the majors in ground ball percentage allowed.

@keithlaw
Doesn't have to be a winner/loser in every trade. I love Simmons and I think Newcomb could be special

angels have absolutely nothing left on the farm, and shortstop wasn't (yet) one of the holes that needed filling

Fascinating trade -- I like it for both teams and yet I have no idea how it will pan out long term. A huge range of outcomes are in play.

the angels are kind of a really shitty franchise

they had like four good position players and one good pitching prospect and trade one of those position players and that pitching prospect for a marginal upgrade at SS. at least simmons is on a good contract but smh.

too much time on ilb: i now have to double-check whether i've written 'braves' or 'barves'

I think Arte Moreno is the main reason the team is shitty. Hes like a poor man's Jerry Jones.

he seems well meaning but impulsive and foolish

a subset of that is moreno letting scioscia run amok

wieters will accept orioles' qualifying offer, which i find a little surprising -- maybe more to do with next year's free agent class being weak?

It is a new world!

@Ken_Rosenthal
Wieters’ $15.8M salary for 2016 will be highest for one year in #Orioles history.

your 4 finalists for Dodger manager

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/the-gms-office/insider/post?id=11704

daniel murphy is gonna cost someone a first-round pick

kimbrel (at least) to boston

kimbrel for margot/guerra/asuaje/allen

awfully good haul for a reliever, even a really good one

wieters will accept orioles' qualifying offer, which i find a little surprising -- maybe more to do with next year's free agent class being weak?

― mookieproof, Friday, November 13, 2015 2:08 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no way, he's like the only catcher on the market this year. weird decision

Obviously he fears change.

he and rasmus and anderson love the guys and the fans and felt that it was the best place for their families

lol @ the dodgers even offering it to anderson

less lol than ian kennedy turning it down

at least he gets to take april and may off, i guess

the Rays will play in Cuba in spring training if the USG approves.

Hellickson to Phillies!

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14128847/philadelphia-phillies-acquire-jeremy-hellickson-arizona-diamondbacks

In exactly 20 weeks, the Mets open the season in... Kansas City.

takeout slide was discussed at GM meetings

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/chase-utley-ruben-tejada-slide-rules-changes-gm-meetings-replay-reviews-joe-torre-111315

@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: David Ortiz will retire at end of 2016 season.

giants sign brandon crawford for six years, $75m, full no-trade clause

seems fairly reasonable

age 29 through 34

range in the 5th and 6th years could get ugly

congrats Brandon Crawford on your new deal. love that the Giants will have this guy for at least six more years.

good luck Giancarlo

http://www.amazinavenue.com/2015/11/17/9750158/mlb-marlins-trade-rumors-jose-fernandez-miami

spotty tracking of his earnings for obvious reasons, but rich hill's $6M deal for next year is nearly 2x his career earnings as shown on his bb-ref page, good for him

https://twitter.com/BotStove

^guy who did this posted about it on Effectively Wild FB; v clever

K-Rod to DET

Mets sposedly "very interested" in Zobrist

otoh, NO NO NO:

http://espn.go.com/blog/newyork/mets/post/_/id/113379/daniel-murphy-not-necessarily-a-goner-from-mets

they would, wouldn't they

deadline to protect minor leaguers from the rule 5 draft is tomorrow

mets have lost jack leathersich (to the cubs) on waivers in the process of shuffling their 40-man

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/157705878/mlb-fox-streaming-deal-a-great-thing-for-fans

Baseball got more accessible for millions of fans on Thursday when Commissioner Rob Manfred announced a three-year deal with FOX Sports in which 15 teams will allow in-market streaming of games on phones, tablets and other devices.

These 15 teams are the ones with games carried by FOX regional sports networks -- Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, D-backs, Indians, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, Twins and Yankees -- and Manfred said baseball is negotiating with the carriers of the other 15 teams to try to complete similar agreements by Opening Day.

This announcement means that if you subscribe to your local FOX broadcasts of your team, you will be able to watch the games on your phone or tablet in that market. Previously, teams hadn't been allowed to stream their own games into their local market. This is one of those days when the world shifted a bit, when it got just a bit smaller and connected us to our local teams in ways we've never been connected before.

The Marlins and Pirates will play a two-game series in Puerto Rico this May to honor Roberto Clemente Day.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/157695122/pirates-marlins-will-play-in-puerto-rico

let's go mook

Cameron Maybin is Coming Home

Is he hurt?

‏@joe_sheehan
Nice that the #Mets play the #Royals next year. They won't have to mail Terry Collins his ring.

i was at maybin's mlb debut, which was a big deal at the time -- BA's #6 prospect, 20yo, five tools, etc. iirc he looked completely overmatched at the plate and misplayed a ball pretty badly in left

in retrospect he doesn't really seem to have any tools? steal a few bases, i guess, but i'm not sure why the tigers would want to pay him $8m plus one more to buy him out in a year

lol that game was also joba's fourth big league appearance; he wouldn't allow a run until his 12th. we were all so young and had such promise

He was one of the more exciting Braves to watch on offense this past season, but that's really not saying much at all. "Objects in mirror are nowhere near as close as they appear to be."

Cameron Maybin is ONLY 28!!!!

????

I'm starting to feel real bad for Mattingly.

oh, Dave Roberts

well they got that crucial postseason SB move covered

Dodgers will have their first minority manager 69 years after Jackie Robinson's debut (and 41 after the first black manager)

Chris Iannetta to Seattle for one year

hits better than Zunino (maybe)

Mark McGwire, yr new Padres bench coach

Embattled Alex Avila to ChiSox

astros, a's continue to play jed lowrie volleyball

'Stros to Os for Hoes.

Though technically the 'Stros DFA'd him.

bud norris to the braves on a one-year deal

no word on whether he consulted with jon singleton on the terms

c-ass Anthony Recker signs minor league deal with Indians

sorry man

j.a. 'jay' happ to the blue jays, three years, $36m

dude better send ray searage a hell of a christmas present

so, i guess this means the Jay's have no shot at Price (or any of the other top/secondary tier pitchers). Estrada, Chavez and now Happ... i guess back-end starters are the new market inefficiency

Detroit is in serious talks with free-agent Jordan Zimmermann, according to FoxSports.

Jordan Zimmermann, Tigers reach 5-year, $110 million deal

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14249237

seems low for him

I'd figure this deal probably sets the price for Johnny Cueto. Thing with Cueto is going long term as while he has pitched a lot of innings, he's also had a couple of injuries.

I'm thinking some of the free agency got a bit high dollar in the pitching and with the total amount of starters available, it could fall back especially for the last ones left on the board. It hasn't happened as much lately with starting pitchers as with position players, but you could find some of them fall back and maybe have to settle into 1 or 2 year deals.

I think the leverage the players had getting those crazy long and expensive deals might not be there like it was a few years back.

Someone told me that the reason people might overpay for pitching this year is because next year's FA market is BAD for pitching

i'd feel like a real dummy if i read that in this thread and was just repeating it

not sure we're seeing any overpaying. pitchers are obviously more prone to catastrophic injury, but zimmermann has averaged 4 war over his last five seasons. the two blue jays signings seem more tenuous -- happ put up 2.4 WAR in just 11 starts for the pirates; maybe he's figured something out or maybe not, while estrada benefited from an extraordinarily low BABIP -- but not outrageous with a win costing around what, $7m? starting pitching is expensive af

I don't think anything is extraordinarily overpriced yet but i'm saying it COULD get crazy due to next year's drought. maybe i should just find that article, huh.

http://www.sbnation.com/2015/11/16/9743932/mlb-free-agency-rumors-trade-2016-2017

@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: #RedSox in agreement with free-agent outfielder Chris Young on a multi-year contract, pending a physical.

cardinals sign brayan pena to be the primary catcher for september/october in anticipation of yet another season of promising to give yadier molina more rest, failing to do so, and then being shocked at a late season injury

Reassuring when Mike Ilitch praises his GM during a press conference for having "a lot of contacts."

hehehe

http://mweb.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/jon-heyman/25395692/barry-bonds-is-under-consideration-to-be-a-marlins-hitting-coach

_@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: #RedSox in agreement with free-agent outfielder Chris Young on a multi-year contract, pending a physical._

--mookieproof

really don't understand this one

joba to cleveland on a minor league deal

https://usatftw.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/bw-03-bug-spray-1128.jpg

xp self well 2 years isn't bad, was worried dombpoutski was gonna shell out for longer

that joba pic is so good

byung-ho park to the twinkies

Pena going to the Cards sux. He's a good backup catcher.

@PeteAbe
#RedSox in agreement with David Price. 7 years and $217 million.

phew (at least the cubs didn't get him)

fangraphs crowdsourced prediction (7 years, 196 million) wasn't too far off.

opt-out after three years

are opt-outs becoming more common? it's speculated that the heyward contract will likely also include one

seems like it, for the biggest names. they can see how much money is pouring in

@BNightengale
The St. Louis Cardinals finished runner-up in the David Price sweepstakes. #STLCards

thank god

it would have been pretty cool to watch Price for a couple years but paying 30 million/yr for a pitcher's decline years seems like an overpay, especially when the elevated risk of pitcher injury is taken into account. i know it's not a perfect comparison, but look at someone like cc sabathia, signed to a 5 year contract at age 30 (the same as price is now), and with an impressive resume before then. the first year of his contract (2012) was alright but ever since then it's been a nosedive. just seems too risky.

much better to use that money to get Heyward's prime years.

https://twitter.com/greghoward88/status/671813099427602437

assuming all goes well, the key will be to let him walk after three years (and if all goes well, he no doubt will). if the yankees had done so when sabathia opted out, they'd be golden

price will be a year older then than greinke is now

@jcrasnick
Sources say Greinke is looking for a 5 or 6 yr deal. He wants AAV above Price. That means $31.5M or $32M a year.

greinke has been good and teams are rich, but i'd rather have price

price essentially got kershaw's deal plus a couple million

1 million per start, basically?

Glad the Giants 'missed out' on this one. That kind of overpay is scary, we already have an ace.

if you're optimistic, 31 mill per 35 starts, avg 88 pitches per start, = $10,000 per pitch

dave cameron is optimistic http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/red-sox-sign-david-price/

the one thing that would make me nervous is that they had to agree to pay him the most money ever for a pitcher AND they had to give him a 3 year opt out, which pushes a lot of risk onto the team

it should have either been the most money ever for a pitcher or a slightly below market deal with an opt out

anyway maybe the best case scenario is they get three good years out of him, he goes back on the market and someone else gives him enough money that even the red sox aren't interested

Price’s deal dwarfs what had been the largest contract for a Red Sox pitcher, both by average annual value and total cost. The previous high was a four-year, $82.5 million extension given to Rick Porcello in April.

i forgot that porcello deal was that much

can't wait for Harper's free agency guys

it's going to be 400 millions + all of our homes

Price turned down a 7 year 200m contract from St. Louis. Not clear if there was an opt out.. But fuck dude I would take 3-4m less a year and not have to deal with red sox fans/media/etc

I'm fine missing out on Price. I just wish we weren't trying piece together a whole six-pack of Drew Hutchisons.

god are they really paying porcello $20 million a year

maybe price was scared of batting

Price turned down a 7 year 200m contract from St. Louis. Not clear if there was an opt out.. But fuck dude I would take 3-4m less a year and not have to deal with red sox fans/media/etc
--carthago delenda est (mayor jingleberries)

rude!!!!!

anyway w/e it's all good obv it was great for say the Nats to get scherzer and like be World Series favorites that worked out perfectly obv

*screaming internally*

but seriously it's dope I mean fuck it spend it if you got it and let's see what happens

right, who cares about the money, there's no salary cap

ilitch's kids probably care

right, who cares about the money, there's no salary cap
--k3vin k.

aren't you a yankees fan, I mean they haven't done that very recently but in general, like, cmon man

if i was a red sox fan i would be far more concerned about dombrowski trading away the farm system than i would on him spending $200m on one of the best pitchers of a generation

and so far he's traded exactly one prospect that I actually had any expectations for (margot) and three others who were m/l coin flips, and has left the best pieces intact. there isn't much else that needs to be acquired other than maybe another solid bullpen guy, and they wouldn't need to trade to get that in all likelihood

so I'm pretty set

right, who cares about the money, there's no salary cap

― k3vin k., Wednesday, December 2, 2015 1:17 AM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol 43.7m luxury tax.

http://www.truebluela.com/2015/12/1/9614130/mlb-luxury-tax-dodgers-payroll-2015-competitive-balance

right, who cares about the money, there's no salary cap
--k3vin k.
aren't you a yankees fan, I mean they haven't done that very recently but in general, like, cmon man

― metro slothrop want some more (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, December 1, 2015 8:35 PM (16 minutes ago)

i'm a lapsed yankee fan, but i wasn't criticizing the red sox for paying him so much, my point was the contract doesn't matter to some teams

right, who cares about the money, there's no salary cap
― k3vin k., Wednesday, December 2, 2015 1:17 AM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol 43.7m luxury tax.

http://www.truebluela.com/2015/12/1/9614130/mlb-luxury-tax-dodgers-payroll-2015-competitive-balance

― carthago delenda est (mayor jingleberries), Tuesday, December 1, 2015 8:52 PM (45 seconds ago)

obviously that's money the teams can afford to pay

i dislike price but this is the right move for the sox

wow, what is Greinke going to get?

Greinke is going to be a Giant or a Dodger supposedly.

and so far he's traded exactly one prospect that I actually had any expectations for (margot) and three others who were m/l coin flips, and has left the best pieces intact. there isn't much else that needs to be acquired other than maybe another solid bullpen guy, and they wouldn't need to trade to get that in all likelihood

― metro slothrop want some more (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, December 1, 2015 8:50 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

eh that trade blew dick

in other news, I will laugh hysterically if the giants sell the company store to get greinke after the past four years of their fans' railing against the dodgers w/ the whole "omg they're buying players how impure" thing

the peter bourjos era has ended in st. louis

rip bourjos. i always liked him, and i think he'll do well in philly. i'm surprised they couldn't get even a low-minors player in exchange for him (like they did for Tony Cruz yesterday)

MLB.com, the official web site of Major League Baseball, is seeking stats stringers to cover these clubs in 2016 and beyond:

Boston
Baltimore/Washington DC
Atlanta
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
Oakland/San Francisco
Pittsburgh
Texas
Toronto

http://mlb.theresumator.com/apply/oHAhlE/Stats-Stringers

that would be great, but i doubt they would pay enough to cover my mortgage :(

Athletics acquire Marc Rzepcynski and Yonder Alonso from San Diego for Drew Pomeranz, Jose Torres and a player to be named later.

pomeranz will prob be pretty good in that park

yonder alonso seems like a very oakland player

You already had Daric Barton. Why get another one.

pomeranz will prob be pretty good in that park

you could say that about everyone, except, apparently, ian kennedy

Yonder Alonso can hit a bit but hasn't shown the power hitting that he had in college.

lol @ stringers communicating (via AOL Instant Messenger)

The Mariners signed reliever Justin De Fratus to a one-year deal worth $750,000. De Fratus spent 2015 with the Phillies, where he pitched to a 5.51 ERA over 80 innings.

DeFeatus.

rays acquire hank conger despite his historic futility behind the plate

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVUq5HKUsAALY4B.png

(note two recent pirates on that list)

interesting that every season on the list (except for Yost) is post-2000

how is it even possible to throw out only 1 of 43 runners

looks like this is the one time that Hank Conger threw someone out in 2015:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU201505290.shtml

J.B. Shuck was the victim. here's the video: http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v136851683/cwshou-conger-throws-out-shuck-to-end-the-inning/?game_pk=414368

hank looks pretty surprised himself at the end of that clip

The Blue Jays will hire Indians vice president of player personnel Ross Atkins as their new general manager

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVvCA-O52gw

lollllllllll

what a guy

Hunter has got to be a vertiginous experience in the sack.

Lindbergh ponders the Conger move:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-rays-traded-for-hank-conger-a-catcher-who-cant-throw/

awwe, that Pence video was great.

new d-backs uniforms are . . . something

big pelf to the tigers, 2yrs, $16m

i guess *someone* has to pitch those innings, but idgi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTLkDfg_HI

big pelf to the tigers, 2yrs, $16m

i guess *someone* has to pitch those innings, but idgi

Me neither.

Bonds officially in as Miami hitting coach

cue 48 hrs of sanctimony

haven't seen any sanctimony, more 'why would he sign on with such a shitshow of an organization?'

well presumably he's satisfied the checks won't bounce

why would barry bonds go to the marlins is sort of a self-answering question

i heard it's not present-timeline barry bonds, but future-timeline barry bonds coming back in time to prevent giancarlo stanton from hitting the 810 career home runs he would have hit in MLB Universe Prime by subtly fucking with his mechanics

it's a rumour but i heard it from a pretty good source

lackey to the cubes

chicken & beer reunion y'all

just need beckett to come out of retirement on a one-year deal

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVajleWUkAElQL6.jpg

dombrowskiface strikes again

Lackey to Cubs.

MYSTERY TEAM SWOOPIN IN UR ASSES

Ken Rosenthal ✔ @Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: Greinke in agreement with #DBacks, pending physical.

shoulda been "in on" instead of directly into yr asses

smdh

what

Greinke is a mad genius whose ways we cannot fully comprehend.

I mean that is indisputably true but that's still kinda baffling

lol wiki

https://i.imgur.com/6Kis2AY.png

if an american league team had offered him more money i wonder if he'd have taken it

anyway he's awesome and baseball is swimming in money but if he really got more than price for his mid-to-late 30s that seems iffy

starting to be nervous for the Giants here, I am fearing a panic move for Cueto or a real shitty trade coming in. they need a top of the rotation starting pitcher.

@SportsTaxMan
Zack Greinke reportedly agrees to Six-year deal with #DBacks. top tax rate in #Arizona is 4.54% top tax rate in #California is 13.3

they need a top of the rotation starting pitcher

they need it less than most, u very spoiled fan

I want nothing to do with Cueto. that dude has bust written all over him.

@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: Greinke deal is six years, $206M. Deferrals expected.

YO

in fWAR, Giants' rotation was 25th in the league. more than a full war behind the Marlins. unless Cain is magically returning to form, it doesn't look pretty for next year.

kinda surprised the top tax rate in California is the same than Ontario. (kinda glad Quebec has it at 25,75%)

@JeffPassan
If Greinke deal is $206M for six years, as @Ken_Rosenthal says, that's $34.3M per year -- >10% higher than record Price tied three days ago.

@robneyer
Starting to sound like this was all about that title, Highest Paid Player. I guess everybody's gotta sleep at night.

lol that's more than Kershaw.

@BMcCarthy32
@robneyer because there's no reason for him to ever do more than 4 years at a time? 4/160?

o wait, that was about harper making half a billion, but still

let's take a moment to appreciate the greatness of Kluber's contract. 5 years / 38,5 m.

iirc the giants have a front-of-the-rotation (a formulation i hate but here we are) starter. by definition you only get one; i suspect they merely need better 2-5 starters

/pédant

yeah you are right, for the me the ideal situation would have been grabbing Zimmermann as a 1b, but hey if we get Iwakuma or Kazmir I'll be very happy. It's just that I have the feeling they'll go for the big name, they have so much money coming off the books.

well i'm glad it is over. can't believe he got that much.

i guess that at this point, the players could pool all their money and buy all 30 franchises with it.

that they can't is exactly the point

i feel like this is the closest thing we've seen to the old a-rod/rangers deal

cano to the mariners had the same sort of dynamic (random team pulling star player with contract he simply can't refuse) but that one was telegraphed pretty overtly

i guess pujols to the angels too

when greinke initially signed with the dodgers he explicitly said it was because they offered the most money, which is totally legit. i personally might take a million less for a particular situation, but i don't throw very hard and ZG doesn't seem to care too much about situations

it's tough because he's a freak and even though he and the players totally deserve that money it's been made to look greedy

mainly tho: ugh, arizona?

jeez, i didn't realize grienke was 32, i thought he was more like 30

you figure he'll be worth 20-25 wins over that 6 year period, maybe more if this year wasn't too much of a fluke. the going rate supposedly is what, 6 million per WAR? 8? i forget. either way, it's an overpay, but probably not egregiously so

the amount of money baseball players are paid is absurd

i guess whatever projection system cameron uses predicts he'll be worth 17.1 wins over that period, which seems a little low, but given that $/WAR is currently at 8 million and will go up to above 10 million at the end of the deal*, maybe it's not so much of an overpay

* this is absurd btw, why does this number keep going up at such an exponential rate? a 25% increase in 6 years?

live tv is precious. ballplayers are crazy overpaid, but would you rather the money just went to jeffrey loria etc?

i saw a graph on twitter that i can't find right now that shows player salaries relative to overall team revenue have actually decreased over time despite contracts like this one

the dave cameron post calculated that he would be worth about $150 million just as a pitcher but there's ~$50 million worth of value in his bat and glove. grienke has been a special hitter relative to all other pitcher but i dunno about that one.

As recently as the early 2000s, player salaries accounted for more than 55 percent of league revenue. Since then, that share has declined precipitously, all the way down to the 43 percent that Boras cited on Monday.

there's a chance that the d backs know privately that this is an overpay but are willing to do so in order to lure a player of grienke's caliber. how harmful that is is dependent on whether the owner is willing to tack that overpaid money onto the team's salary budget instead of detracting from it.

they've got goldy and pollock and a decent manager, which is a big step up from even two years ago

it's just that when has a contract like this ever actually worked out? maybe another year or so, but age 32 -- for a pitcher! -- is when you walk away, not offer the biggest deal in baseball history

they just signed a 1.5 bill tv deal so they are sitting fat and ready to spend.

might have a reason to go to some dbax games now

The Giants have agreed to sign Jeff Samardzija to a five-year deal.

now they need Mike Leake and pitching will be set.

The dominoes are starting to fall quick. Got to figure the Giants would like to resign Leake.

I wonder if the long term deal isn't out there for Cueto if he takes a single year max style deal to try to prove value and try to go long term deal in another season.

5 yrs, 90 million for samardzija.

let's take a moment to appreciate the greatness of Kluber's contract. 5 years / 38,5 m.

― Van Horn Street, Saturday, December 5, 2015 2:07 AM (16 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

samardzija career ERA+: 96

Samardzija’s contract breakdown is provided by Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The righty will receive a $9MM salary in 2016 then $18MM in each of the next four years. Samardzija gets a $3MM bonus immediately and then another $6MM in signing bonus money will be spread out over the last four years in equal $1.5MM installments.

lol

I think y'all done fucked up SF

Conceding the money out there's insane, always worth looking back:

http://sportsworld.nbcsports.com/sandy-koufax-don-drysdale-gambit/

@keithlaw
I hear fans complaining about "insane" salaries, but never about owner profits.

@Marketplace
In the last 12 years, baseball salaries have inflated 60 percent, but team revenues have gone up 120 percent.

http://www.marketplace.org/2015/12/02/business/david-price-and-economics-baseball-inflation

can't we complain about both

The Dodgers have agreed to a one-year deal with second baseman Chase Utley.

can't wait for Mets vs Dodgers.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/comeback-complete--ryan-madson-gets--22m-in-three-year-deal-with-a-s-161318249.html

Three year deal for Madson at 35? Only thing that I could figure is that the A's are signing him to hope to flip him at a trade deadline.

Saltalabiancalana to DET

Maybe the A's have calculated that Madson's arm is only 32 because he didn't pitch for three years?

Mark Lowe to DET as well (2/?M).

aroldis to doyers

August Fagerstrom @AugustFG_
The top free agent reliever on the FanGraphs depth charts is now Joe Blanton

somehow i missed the the doyers have also added hisashi iwakuma at 3 years/$45 million

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVokpDNWcAAC5H2.jpg

hope morbs is there

Mets may bring Murphy back if they fail to get Zobrist (groan)

also Bartolo in the pen?

are they ever going to announce which prospects the Reds got? All the articles I've read just mention "prospects".

reds beat writer said the team wants to make sure everyone passes all the physicals before announcing things -- maybe a result of the wilmer flores fiasco

anyway it is supposedly *not* seager/urias/de leon. maybe holmes

really not sure what the sox want from the mariners in return for miley (potentially); to be clear i'm totally fine with moving made wiley

carson smith or charlie furbush, maybe

aaaand the former is exactly what happened, except with roenis elias included, for no great loss, thank u based dombpoutski

kris bryant and maikel franco have filed a grievance alleging 'service time manipulation'

@JeffPassan
Kris Bryant finished his rookie season with 171 days of service time. Maikel Franco finished his with 170 days. A full season is 172 days.

DON: Well, yeah.

i missed this on Friday

The New York Mets say general manager Sandy Alderson has cancer and will begin chemotherapy this week.

Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in a statement Friday the cancer is "very treatable" and doctors are "optimistic about his full recovery." The team did not say what kind of cancer he has.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/mets-gm-sandy-alderson-treatable-cancer-35591480

@JonHeymanCBS
Soria will have IP and GS in 25M, 3-yr royals deal. Hasn't started since 2006, but may like to try again

So all the big free agent pitchers (even relievers) have been signed within a week (except Cueto) and every big position player (Gordon, Upton, Heyward, etc.) is still unsigned.

I guess that teams are too busy tracking the pitching dominoes as they fall and are ignoring the position players. For now.

supposedly everyone's waiting for zobrist?

i dunno -- he's good, and versatile, but he turns 35 in may and is thus only two years and five months younger than chase utley

if that's the case then 30 clubs are stupid?

AL AVILA SAYS NO, CHRIST -- DESPITE REPORTS, THE TIGERS ARE NOT KICKING THE PROVERBIAL TIRES ON YOENIS CESPEDES OR ALEX GORDON WTF SMDH, though it's possible they will look into acquiring a bat, or another arm, or "a guy that maybe can play a little infield, a little outfield, give us that combination, and that can provide some offense."

Just looking for someone who can come to the park every day, be ready to put the ball into play, maybe catch it from time to time, be a speed guy when called upon, idk.

@scottmerkin 4 hours ago
Hahn: "We continue to explore just about every avenue available to us to improve this club."

can al avila say that, i ask u

"Our scouts and analytics team are proactively looking into parkways and cul-de-sacs for all manner of pieces, gets, and so forth." -- Al Avila

rockies signing old relievers to two-year deals

cards supposedly on the verge of acquiring west by god virginia's own jedd gyorko

indeed: gyorko to cardinals, jon jay to padres

i like that move

although i fear it means either wong or peralta is going to be traded now.

gyorko doesn't get expensive for a couple more years (at which point it probably won't be 'expensive' any more) so i think he'll be a bench guy? i don't see how he supplants wong or peralta given his last two seasons and i'm not sure he can really play short anyway

yeah, gyorko on the bench as a massive upgrade to pete kozma was my first thought, and hopefully it turns out that way. i don't know too much about him, but based on his minor league numbers it seems like he has a higher upside than what he's shown so far.

my fear, as usual, is the matheny factor. if gyorko has a good spring and then hits a couple home runs in april while wong slumps, that could be the end of wong.

cameron thinks there's more to it http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/padres-reportedly-shipping-jedd-gyorko-to-st-louis/

@JimBowden_ESPN
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told me that Jedd Gyrko role will be as a super utility player. Padres sending significant cash to Cards in deal.

salary dump also makes sense

love when Mo takes away Matheny's underperforming toys

^^

padres are sending 'about $17m' of the $32m left on gyorko's contract lolol

dang. so really the cardinals are getting him for 4 years/$15m, then. sounds even better to me, especially if he ends up with significant playing time due to injuries

deposit it into Heywards checking account imo

well, rosenthal now says the padres are only sending like $9m. either way, it seems somewhat reasonable. i should back off the twitter but i'm bored at work

$17MM sounded a little outlandish.

aroldis to doyers

"in limbo" bcz of domestic violence investigation

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14320586/cincinnati-reds-closer-aroldis-chapman-accused-pushing-choking-girlfriend

Dodgers, Arizona, Yamkees and 'mystery team' talking to Miami about Fernandez

"He's not available," Hill told the Miami Herald on Monday. "We haven't made him available. But it doesn't stop the phone calls from coming."

Sources, however, said the team felt it was making progress toward a trade with an unidentified club. On Tuesday, sources who had previously described any deal as being still unlikely were no longer willing to say that.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14320064/unidentified-fourth-team-enters-trade-talks-miami-marlins-ace-jose-fernandez

i feel like i should hate this but it's probably a good time to get rid of him

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVuktghU4AA1-Jl.png:large

(xp re jose...)

@Ken_Rosenthal 1h
#Marlins’ Loria on Fernandez: “There is nothing I am thinking about doing at the moment with him.”

what a creep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@officialBBWAA
The BBWAA today voted to allow active membership for http://MLB.com writers and editors.

who will first ilx bbwaaer then

@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: #Cubs talking to #Yankees about trade that would send Starlin Castro to NYY

The Twins are going to sign Nathan, who will miraculously rebound and continue to dominate the Tigers, huh?

zobrist to cubs, four years

dbacks are MAKING MOVES (/vigorously pelvic thrusting)

that seems like a pretty good deal for both teams

jeezus so it's Herrera or Murphy at 2b for the Mets next year i guess

you can probably have neil walker

@BenLindbergh 16m
Writing up my contrarian take on why trading his top prospect for a starter with a lousy W-L record makes Dave Stewart the ultimate saber GM

wow @ the return for Miller

I still have trouble believing that somebody let Dave Stewart be a GM.

i can only guess that they put that package together for fernandez, didn't get him, and decided 'who's the next available starter?'

re Dusty's brothers-and-Latinos assertion, beyond his domestic-violence gaffe

@joe_sheehan
Per Fangraphs' SPD calculation, nine of the top 20 fastest players in MLB last year were white. (min. 100 PA) Eleven weren't.

Mets-Bucs talk

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/113657/mets-pirates-talking-swap-involving-neil-walker-jon-niese

idgi. niese not only sucks, he's making just as much as walker

the pirates have been pretty good with taking scrap heap pitchers and turning them into good starters

also niese was bad last year but for his career he's been pretty decent

not that i quite understand why the pirates were so eager to get rid of neil walker (defense im assuming?)

i don't think his defense was particularly bad and i don't think his offense was particularly good. maybe they're lining up for someone else? they also have josh harrison who could fill in

walker's in his last year of arbitration, expected to make around $9m, and then want more in free agency than the pirates would be willing to pay. i can understand trading him, but he's pretty good, and i'd rather have one year of him than one year of niese at the same price

niese may benefit from ray searage and shifting and such, but the pirates now basically have half an infield -- half of which may not recover from chris coughlan's slide until late spring

i suppose the trade may serve the greater good to mankind if it makes the mets bring back bartolo

praise be, no Murphy

Kendrick and Murphy are kinda fucked in this market..

well i can't imagine them getting big years, but if chase utley can get a deal . . .

plus the dbacks are in win-now mode because dave stewart's gut says so. they've already lost their next first-round pick; might as well sign murph too

sweet dreams are made of theeese

Asdrubal!

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/113694/mets-close-to-signing-infielder-asdrubal-cabrera

Infield defense is clearly the Mets' shore-up... maybe with an outfielder to come as well.

Lawrie to White Sox for pair of pitching prospects

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2015/12/9/9882896/athletics-trade-brett-lawrie-white-sox

well it appears that Walker and Cabrera are both below-avg defenders, so no paradigm shift after all

@joe_sheehan
Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Cuddyer will make almost $20 million in 2016. #mets

walker's not that bad a defender. and anecdotally he makes better decisions than murph, which isn't saying much but still

Tanner of the Bad News Bears made better decisions than DM

‏@Ken_Rosenthal 28m
Source: Sipp with #Astros is three years, $18M.

padres made two rule 5 picks, then traded for two others. strange

cardinals signed jonathan broxton to a two-year deal . . . with a full no-trade clause

...

but why

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CV5HT8aWUAAhHUj.png

lol

hehe

The Orioles have pulled back their free-agent offer to Chris Davis for nearly $150 million as the team tries to go about its business, with or without the slugger, a source told ESPN.

i don't think i see headlines like that nearly enough: "Team says 'Fuck it.'"

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CV9rDScUYAA05kq.jpg

yesssssss

sounds like J-Hey is a Small Bear

my lord, the Cards fans moaning on twitter.

it's like they're introducing their new creation just before they activate it

lol. Greink-bot is now ready for your voice activated queries.

this was posted on the cardinals SB blog the other day, imagining the worst-case scenario of heyward joining the cubs:

http://i.imgur.com/R0Qg19w.png

good lord

http://twiki.org/p/pub/TWiki/SmiliesPlugin/love.gif

it is an impressive line-up. great time to be a cubs fan

@BestFansStLouis running wild

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi 8m8 minutes ago

#Cubs have agreed to terms with Jason Heyward, multiple sources say, and are not done yet. They are trying to trade for a starting pitcher.

cld still be fun in store for small bears

Baseball's Best Fans Retweeted

Zachary ‏@zachEdwards10
Heyward is a trader

The Good Beard Haver ‏@HarrisNye 13m13 minutes ago
Smh Jason heyward another classless trader who values money over winning

i'll feel better when we get the Cubbies picks... and then they get taken away for the hacking.

Cards need to sign Cueto now

no thanks

he's the one player where personal things (like him ending a player's career and not really giving a shit about it) get in the way of the practical.

I'm just in it for the Twitter

the Best Fans thing continues to annoy me because, i mean, just listen to any sports radio call-in show, anywhere. but yeah the moaning on various messageboards and twitter and elsewhere is nauseating right now. "heyward betrayed us" waaaaaaaah

people keep tossing out a 6 yr/190 million figure (who knows the source of this) as the cubs winning offer, and taking this as evidence that heyward took less money to play for the cubs than the cardinals offered (assuming cardinals offered 200+). if that figure is true, it's $31.6 million/yr, and puts him in line to enter free agency again in his age 31 year. and it's likely that the teams that offered 200 or more (nationals, probably the cardinals, maybe others) offered 200 over 8 or 9 years.

i believe the phrase is "heyward betraded us"

http://sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Cardinals-fan.jpg

oh yeah, fans are just as bad everywhere. but those fans aren't Best.

sounds like he took slightly less than the cards/nats offered. and why not, as the cubs are fucking loaded and winning for the first time in a century would make him a folk hero

Zobrist - Heyward - Bryant - Rizzo - Schwarber is a O_O top of a lineup

Jason Heyward is an upgrade on Fowler and there is that potential that Heyward could take his power to that next level, but it is more with the glove than the bat. The thing is that with the glove, Heyward hasn't played all that much CF. He's played some, but they always say it's a different beast than the corners, so perhaps that dWAR advantage might even out a bit especially with Schwarber being a black hole in left field (unless he really improves).

The Cards could probably break even talent wise and ahead money wise by getting Fowler and another starting pitcher with the money they were going to put at Heyward.

Cards have had some good fortune at finding players later in the free agent trade window before spring training.

as a fan of neither team, it's kind of amusing to see these cardinal free agents go to the archenemy

yeah, the applause (occasional standing ovation) that traditionally takes place when the cardinals face a former teammate for the first time will be a little different this year when the Cardinals face Heyward and Lackey.

@neal_kendrick
The Cubs should keep Heyward in AAA for 2 weeks to start the season. Try and get that 9th year our of him.

word is 8/180, though sure to have an opt-out or two

8/184*, rather

two opt-outs!

Karl, what do you think the Cardinals are going to do at first base? Cards could stand pat with Piscotty and Adams but I think those guys could be chips to use to trade too.

I figure Grichuk moves into RF on a regular basis. Not sure what the Cards are going to do in CF with Jay and Bourjos moving on.

it's really tough to predict because they could go a bunch of different ways. i really hope they don't overcompensate for losing heyward by giving a guy like chris davis a ton of money, but you never know.

assuming no big free agent purchases, i think they'll go with a mathenymess at 1B with adams, piscotty, and moss all being used in a baffling manner, all depending on how each of them has done over the past 2 games, and how well they "matchup" against a pitcher they've faced probably only 4 or 5 times.

i'd assume most days they'll be going with Piscotty in RF and Grichuk in CF. i think they like Tommy Pham quite a bit (so do i), so assuming he manages to avoid injury he'd be in the mix as well.

the cardinal fan moaning is annoying because they're still a good team, even without Heyward. they'll probably still win 90 or so. but given that the cubs have the potential to just have a bonkers-good season, i guess it'll be the wild card for us.

Barves send Christian Bethancourt to SD for RHP Casey Kelly and C Ricardo Rodriguez. Bethancourt was horrible last year, Atl's well rid of him. The rocket arm doesn't count for much when he can't frame pitches, receive the baseball, or agree with pitchers on what to throw next. Middling bat, too.

I think the Braves should trade Freddie Freeman if they can get good value for him. I'm not convinced his right wrist is ever going to be 100% ready to go, and his obliques can't seem to withstand the torque of his swing.

also, lol @ cards fans

i think freeman could be the barves' david wright? atlanta suddenly has an insane group of pitching prospects -- with any luck some of them will turn into degrom or matz or syndergaard -- and swanson should move fairly quickly. freeman isn't ~cheap~, but he's a known cost, still young, and the youth of everyone else means they can afford him.

that said, i don't know anything about his health issues, but in 118 games last year he was still worth the forthcoming fat part of his contract

Hmm yeah, I like that Wright/Mets comparison.

chris davis gives me ryan howard chills, i think any team giving him a long contract is going to have to deal with the last half of his contract averaging out .230/.320/.410 per year or something close to that.

I could see Chris Davis falling into that hole like Nelson Cruz was in a couple years ago. If B-more is not going to give him a long deal, I don't see who has the dollars to do so for his history. I think he is way too inconsistent to go long term.

If Chris Davis does fall into some 1 year max type deal to try to play the free agent game again next year, I think the Pirates could use him and Davis playing for a team with a chance to go somewhere might be appealing. That would be a nice power bat to put behind McCutcheon. Don't really see any other contending clubs putting any money into a 1b/dh type. I can't believe this guy would play outfield much now.

i wouldn't mind that, really, but it would be *extremely* uncharacteristic of the pirates to do it -- especially since it means losing a draft pick

cardinals have money to spend (now), but they're not crazy and adams is good enough at a fraction of the price. cards do have comp picks coming for lackey and heyward, tho, so they're in a good position to sign an offered free agent

not prepared to give the Cubs 108 wins next year quite yet

more moves may be ahead (Carrasco and Salazar from Indians)

cuddyer retiring?

ty Jesus

@keithlaw 6h
Before everyone gets wrapped up in "Heyward took less money!" 1) the opt-outs are worth millions + 2) IL state taxes are lower than DC/MO

i was surprised at 2)

phillies get charlie morton, mark appel, a dozen other pitchers

no. 1 picks getting swapped

‏@Ken_Rosenthal
#Phillies’ trade of Giles bigger than initially reported. 5-for-2, Velasquez and Appel go to PHI with Eshelman, Arauz and Oberholtzer.

Bruce Rondon is in the fighting shape of his life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VozFZ_rUa0g

Manfred declines to reinstate Pete Rose

@Buster_ESPN
Sources: Johnny Cueto has an agreement with the Giants, pending a physical.

Watch your back, dodgers fans

So happy right now

http://blog.plumpjack.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/zito1.jpg

poor rockies

Hope rigetti can work his magic

Maybe we'll get 2 1/2 good years instead of 2

Apparently the DBacks ownership signed Greinke on a whim without any input from the guys who actually run the team:

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/67056/how-the-diamondbacks-got-zack-greinke

the price for Cueto is okay. the FO really trust Righetti and why should't they?

I've seen Johnny Cueto pitch quite a bit and he knows what he is doing. I'd think the ability to use that big outfield in San Francisco will play to his pitching skills. It's a big change to Great American ball park which is such a cheap home run park. Cueto's pitching style has enough guile to it that I think even if he does lose some velocity, he could still be effective. It all comes down to how many innings the Giants can get out of him, which is true of any long term pitching contract.

SF won and made a ton of dough the past few years, they can afford to get Cueto. They already are paying Cain. If it all lines up, the Giants could have a heck of a rotation. Rich team problems.

I'd think with Leake being from SoCal and the Dodgers needing another starter, that seems like a logical destination. That said, I think if I was the Yanks and a deal like Leake real affordable by their standards, I think he could give them some depth. NYY's pitching seems to be built by trying to have the back end of the bullpen top notch and just find a starter that can get six innings.

looks like some Phillie fans moved to KC

http://www.makegamedayeveryday.com/newsfeed/2015/10/29/10116/changes-in-mlb-attendance-by-team-2015-season-2014-season

big things afoot

Mets re-sign Jerry Blevins as LOOGY

Nats said to be shopping for Brandon Phillips or Kelly Johnson for 2b

bigger than those?

three-way deal:

white sox get todd frazier
dodgers get frankie montas, micah johnson, trayce thompson
reds get jose peraza, scott schebler, someone named dixon

btw joey votto has eight years and $192m guaranteed left on his deal with the reds

lol dam

he just had a monster year if he was a free agent he'd prob get something along the lines of 8/192

feel bad for joey votto that he's on the reds for 8 more years tho

i dunno. he's 32 and has had some injury issues

8 years/192 is $24m AAV. free agent prices are escalating to the point that he could generate enough surplus value in the next few years to balance out his decline years. problem for the reds, of course, is that it doesn't matter how good he is for the next few years with the cubs in the same division (and pirates/cards, to a lesser degree). all that surplus value will come during the worst time

it appears that the reds value jose peraza a bit more than the braves and dodgers did

Talk is that Brandon Phillips might be following Dusty to DC and this deal might be a precursor getting BPs replacement.

Mike Napoli, 1 year to Indians

@AdamRubinESPN
Dick Scott, who had been overseeing player development for the #Mets, is the new bench coach.

if chris davis ends up getting ~$150 million votto could get near $200 million

also grienke is 32 and just got $200 million

i don't think either of those are smart moves, but yeah i guess that's the market

tyler flowers is a barve

Yeah, that happened early last week — kicking Bethancourt to the curb was a day or 2 later.

ah. maybe he officially passed the physical and signed today then.

also

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CWYBmjWU8AAT_k_.png

@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: #Mets in agreement with Bartolo Colon on one-year, $7.25M contract, pending physical. Initial reports of deal came from DR

bartolooooooo

"pending physical," comedy gold

the MLB gifs twitter had the same thought process https://twitter.com/MLBGIFs/status/677238878344896512

I'm kinda wondering if there might be some back room deal with the Reds having the Dodgers in this trade that if Chapman clears the MLB investigation, the deal they had cooking or a variation of it happens.

i think that's pretty optimistic

no one knows if or when chapman will be cleared, the dodgers didn't really need two closers, and montas might turn into the setup guy they needed (and got for very little)

and the dodgers still have the prospects to get fernandez, assuming the marlins have any idea what they're looking for/doing

I don't think there is much optimism among Reds fans. It's not looking good right now.

japanese press reporting that the dodgers are backing out from iwakuma after a failed physical

@Ken_Rosenthal 28m
In addition to Leake, #Dodgers also on Kazmir, sources say. Told yesterday - even before Iwakuma news - they are not ruling out anyone.

@Buster_ESPN 2h
Phillies announced they signed Andrew Bailey and Edward Mujica.

@NeastWS
Chris Johnson DFA raised the Indians' projected WAR by 0.7 on the Fangraphs Depth Charts

@JAJimenez27
Where I can get more followers?

Brandon Phillips ✔ @DatDudeBP
513 to 202 ✈️ #PapaPope #OnDeck
9:09 PM - 17 Dec 2015
715 715 Retweets 682 682 likes

@suss2hyphens
notable omens:
* black cat
* shooting star
* the Dodgers have an agreement to acquire you

glad BP is bringing his crap on-base ability, aging glove and egomaniacal NATITUDE to d.c.

Chipper Jones will join the Braves' front office as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations.

Sounds like that's mainly going to entail working with the hitters full time through spring training and then checking in as needed during the season. I hope he stays busiest with the minor leaguers while they're still impressionable and their little fontanelles haven't hardened up yet.

Is this Samardzijacopypasta going to be Zito part 2???????? #behindthetimes

ryan vogelsong returns to the pirates!

38yo, career bWAR of 1.6, was above average in 2 of his 11 big league seasons, the last time was four years ago

i guess they deserve a little credit for the results of the last few seasons, but yikes. they're not *that* poor.

Ex-Fausto and Brad Penny to Jays

Those ex-Marlins seem to go to the DL for life.

premature!

@Ken_Rosenthal 22h
Sources: #Nationals moving on from Phillips, pursuing other options. Kendrick could be one; a trade could be another. Murphy low priority.

happy 67th to dave kingman, top pick of the 1970 draft

in his final season at age 37, he hit 35 homers -- third-most in the majors -- and was worth -1.0 WAR

hence KONG

@suss2hyphens
the Rockies have five salary obligations past 2016 and three of them are relievers

Ol' Lobber to PIT

okay ray searage, try *this*

fearsomely average mike leake rumored to the cardinals for ~ five years/$75m

make that 5/$80m with a no-trade clause

kirk nieuwenhuis claimed by brewers

nate schierholtz and jordanny valdespin (who turns 28 today) signed by the tigers

murph to the nationals!

huh

Mets get a compensation pick btwn 1st & 2nd rounds

Jaso to Pirates

aroldis to nyy

If they're keeping Miller and Betances, I guess they're aiming for the KC route of being basically unbeatable past the 6th inning.

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news/4689423-lee-smith-midland-cubs-spiders-tarantulas-hall-of-fame

Smith was with the Double-A Midland Cubs in 1978 when a home game at Christensen Stadium in Texas was postponed by tarantulas. A lot of tarantulas.

"It was really strange, man. Randy Velarde's dad was the grounds crew guy there and he mixed up some kind of different chemicals for the grass and for some reason the tarantula spiders enjoyed it," Smith recalled.

Tarantulas swarmed the field, emerging from under the bleachers and climbing over the back of the outfield wall. Players scattered and fans shrieked.

"The grounds crew went out there with yard rakes trying to get these spiders off the field so we could play the game. It was crazy," Smith said. The groundskeepers' raking strategy failed and the contest was postponed.

prob was TGH (tarantula growth hormone)

I'd think a podcast where you interview ex and current pro athletes keeping it light and getting weird stories like this could find some listeners.

doyers sign kazmir, all lefty rotation apparently

48/3

JR ross wants to be the voice of the pirates, which...please god

ugh, fuck the red sox

JR would immediately be in the top third of announcers

where does he stand on 'three-rbi homers'

they're called slobberknockers

some interesting stuff from dan haren

https://twitter.com/ithrow88

Best one: https://twitter.com/ithrow88/status/682760235761586176

uh, paul depodesta is leaving the mets to become executive vp of the cleveland browns

this must've been engineered by brownie

lolllllllllllll

happier thoughts

@AdamRubinESPN
The #Mets will honor the 1986 squad from May 27-29 (vs. Dodgers). May 28 is ceremony with players/coaches from '86.

Bartolo would make a great Doctor Octopus:

https://twitter.com/JesseSanchezMLB/status/684372110781759488

re- depodesta

iirc stan kasten was the GM of the atlanta hawks before he was GM of the atlanta braves.. I think he also might have been involved with their hockey team too?

alex gordon to remain a royal, 4 years/$72m

Kelly Johnson back to Hotlanta

The Orioles reportedly view Justin Upton as a "fallback" should they fail to re-sign Chris Davis. Davis was offered a deal that may or may not still be on the table worth $150 million.

Major league veterans Chris Carter and Neftali Feliz both signed one-year free agent contracts. Carter joined the Brewers for $2.5 million, and Feliz was inked by the Pirates for $3.9 million.

Daniel Murphy, still a jerk, feeling "the family" atmosphere in DC

https://twitter.com/chelsea_janes/status/685178389624418305

chien-ming wang to the world-champion royals

I immediately forgot the royals won the world series

giants nearing a deal with spenard dan

Andrew Baggarly
✔
@extrabaggs

Giants and Denard Span are in agreement in a 3-year deal.

@drewsilv
Giants have committed $251M this winter to two SPs who had a combined 5.29 second-half ERA last season and an OF who appeared in 61 games.

all in baby

combined second half ERA isn't the most persuasive stat i've ever heard of

they had a combined second-half WAR of 1.4, which is less than Erasmo Ramirez by himself.

combined second half anything isn't the most persuasive stat i've ever heard of

they only had a combined second-half season of slighly less than one season... worse than my nephew philip

philip is TWELVE

i bet samardzija has close to a career year for them. just seems like something the giants could pull off. cueto i think might break down.

if span stays healthy hes solid, v pagan-ish

not sure what to think of the Denard Span signing but the Giants are done. now looking forward to this upcoming season. going to be a blast.

perpin'

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2016/01/08/former-cardinals-scouting-director-to-be-indicted-for-hacking-the-astros-today/

bold prediction: some cardinals fans will say something dumb on twitter in response

wonder what the penalty to the organization will, be though? it's an interesting situation

giants are now a luxury tax paying team, so I'll be hearing none of that "moneybags dodgers buying a championship" shit this year, thx

I'll say "moneybags dodgers buying a championship" when they actually do.

http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_makza1ky4j1qa884o.gif

I think we can compromise here. If either of them win we will complain about the moneybags giants or dodgers buying a championship

this and this are photos of sheets that were hanging in the quad cities river bandits dugout last spring. quad cities is the astros' class a affiliate -- morbs has been there. those are reports on the tendencies of low-a opponents ffs.

mlb official stats does not have data anywhere near that specific at that level. apparently trackman, which i had not previously heard of, does. i dunno how trackman works -- do they make that data available to everyone who pays, or can you also pay to keep some off-limits? -- but basically the clubs who care (which is presumably most of them by now) have a shitload of stats that are not publicly available.

i would honestly be surprised if most minor league teams were given that kind of scouting information -- could be just a luhnow thing -- but i don't know. anyway it's not like hacking into the astros' systems just offered insight into how they valued players -- it may have offered hard data that was otherwise unavailable.

giants are now a luxury tax paying team, so I'll be hearing none of that "moneybags dodgers buying a championship" shit this year, thx

not yet, they are at $153 Million, Dodgers closed at $300 million: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aB2pke7WsGjlRiEySz4lQfGlfd3a9TdMOAHONOWsgGA/pub?output=html

but you are right they are both ridiculous.

~whatever~

anyway drew storen to toronto for 2008 midwest league mvp ben revere

Wow. (Only "wow" if you live in Toronto.) I'm sure the city's view of Shapiro will get a little more toxic--Revere was pretty popular during his stay. He wore out his welcome a bit with me during the playoffs; all you ever heard about was his phenomenal bat control, and he struck out two or three times in key situations (including game 6, of course) where he just needed to make contact to move a runner over. He did make that phenomenal catch in the last game, and he had a real run in September with the bat.

Seems like the A.L. East will be all about bullpen depth this year.

I think we can compromise here. If either of them win we will complain about the moneybags giants or dodgers buying a championship
--Karl Malone

I'll be busy complaining about the human sacrifices bochy made in 2010 that started all this, I feel confident in this theory, molly knight wouldve included details of human sacrifices in her dodgers book if the Guggenheim group had ordered them

god bless ben revere but he is basically the worst .300 hitter in mlb history. pillar is a much better defender, making revere a LF with no power and still twice as many strikeouts as walks. jays only get one year of storen, but if he can shake off his late-season papelbon malaise he should be very good

looks like the cardinals are about to sign korean closer Seung-hwan Oh, whose nickname is "The Final Boss". also AKA Stone Buddha.

lookin fwd to souvenir stone buddhas at Busch

does pseudo-collusion mean Mets could sign Cespedes?

http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2016/01/mlb_hot_stove_mets_not_completely_out_on_yoenis_ce.html

wei-yin chen to marlins, five years + vesting option

not the worst deal. extremely back-loaded with the option. (FG's opinion not mine I still don't understand shit about contracts, yet I'm a freelancer)

@Dodgers
Today, the #Dodgers announced the hiring of Alex Anthopoulos as Vice President, Baseball Operations.

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYiujJZWEAAvuw_.jpg

Stan Kasten: President and CEO
Andrew Friedman: President of baseball operations
Josh Byrnes: Senior VP of baseball operations
Alex Anthopoulos: VP of baseball operations
Farhan Zaidi: General Manager

Cool front office!

but they only have 3 offices, two need playing time

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25445873/what-did-david-bowie-have-to-do-with-the-new-york-yankees-website

Byrnes/Anthopoulos classic platoon splits tho. Anthopoulos brought in to sign righty sluggers.

chen shd be indoctrinated to do the lo vide gesture imo

http://i.imgur.com/GQYyU.png

Glad Anthopoulos has moved to the other league--if he'd signed on with an AL East club, the noise throughout the season would have been unbearable. Hope they do well.

Gerardo Parra signed a three-year, $26 million contract with the Rockies.

2016 Fangraphs predictions are up, Royals projected to win 79 games

http://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings

Fish extend Dee Gordon 5yrs/$50M

seems like a crazy good deal to me for a young guy who has put up ~8 WAR in two years. the sixth year has an option for $14 at which point will probably be the cost of a below average starting pitcher.

(xxpost) Shouldn't they make some kind of reality-adjustment for their projections? They've got every AL team between 76-92 wins--that level of parity seems inconceivable. Has there ever been such a narrow range within one league post-'92?

projections aren't predictions

^

i am shocked, shocked that clemenza doesn't understand the basics of projecting

in fairness i was saying the same types of things a few years ago and still my only stance is "projections are mostly pointless and there are probably more useful or remotely interesting ways to analyze baseball in the offseason", esp given the tremendous amount of time and shits people give about them every year

Al-Al to LAA of A

@Ken_Rosenthal
#Orioles have made offer to Cespedes, per @masnroch. Legitimate pursuit or a leverage play against Chris Davis? We shall see.

heard the offer was 5/$90m, which seems very reasonable

how bad will the six (eight?) NL 'lose now' teams be this year?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14568028/odd-troubling-state-national-league

qualx/karl: I think James started making player projections in the early '90s. I don't have an exact quote on hand, but he's often pointed out that if a projection defies common sense, they'll step in and make an adjustment. Not sure I see the difference between projecting players and teams, or, truthfully, between projecting and predicting, even if the one sounds very scientific and the other sounds gimmicky. I mean, I understand that one is run through a computer, but to me some pragmatic fine-tuning is not a bad idea.

Also still don't know if a 76-92 win range actually is inconceivable--I doubt it's ever happened, but I meant to check and haven't.

76 wins represents the mean of all the thousands of season projections for that particular team. If a team suffers a ton of injuries, players underperform, and/or they get screwed over by sequencing, they would so worse than the mean projection. All of those factors also apply to the team projected for 92 wins - if everything goes in their favor, they'll outperform their mean projection. That's why the range of projections are more conservative than the year end results.

Another example. Say a team is projected for 80 wins, based on their roster at the beginning of the season. That's the average of all the thousands of projections that are run for that team. Through a series of injuries and bad luck, by midseason they're on pace for 75 wins. They go into sell mode and play out the last month or two with a bunch of AAAA level players. They end with 68 wins.

Thanks. I had a general sense of how they were arrived at, I guess it's just a case of letting the projection stand with the unspoken assumption that it will bend in one direction or the other more often than not. Just out of curiosity, I skimmed through all the seasons starting with '96 (skipping past the two partials). There was one spread that wasn't all that far off from 76-92: the 2007 NL was 68-90. And the AL last year might have had the second smallest spread.

do we have preseason projections for the 2001 mariners?

Predictions-not-projections:

http://assets.espn.go.com/mlb/s/2001/1109/1275989.html

o's sign Davis 7/161

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14580503/chris-davis-agrees-deal-remain-baltimore-orioles

whoa

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14580551/ian-kennedy-kansas-city-royals-reach-five-year-70m-deal

still sounds like an overpay for the Orioles, let's hope it's not Ryan Howard #2

ian kennedy is 31 and has been below replacement level since turning 28. and cost a first-round pick, albeit a low one!

@CEmma670
Jason Heyward and Ryan Dempster reading mean tweets from Cardinals fans for the Cubs Convention crowd. This is epic.

Rosenthal not buying a short deal for Cespedes

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/yoenis-cespedes-still-has-time-to-land-long-term-deal-011716

Upton here, Upton here.

@BNightengale 8m8 minutes ago
Justin Upton, Detroit #Tigers have agreed in principal to six-year deal http://usat.ly/1V3yZ9u via @usatoday

please take the other one too

joe blanton (a mookman favorite iirc) to the dodgers - 1-year, 4.5 mil

ian kennedy is 31 and has been below replacement level since turning 28. and cost a first-round pick, albeit a low one!

fangraphs has him at 4.9, bb-ref has him at -0.5..that's a pretty crazy swing

maybe KC figures he's not gonna give up so many homers at Kaufmann

he wasn't supposed to give up so many homers at petco

that said, his strikeouts are still there. but when he gets hit, he seems to get hit hard

he also seems to get hit hard in the first inning/in his first 25 pitches. the obvious option here is to put a bullpen guy in for the first inning, warm up kennedy for innings 2-6. i copyright this tactic and call it THE FALSE START

He had games where he looked like an ace but they were few and far between