hot stove 2019-20

the blue jays have designated right-handed reliever ryan dull for assignment

too hot

he wasn’t the right fit according to the Jays’ new cutting edge advanced statistical analysis.

After Strasburg's Game 6 start, we might as well start predicting whether he opts out of his contract. Over the past three years, he's accumulated 0.5 bWAR more than Gerrit Cole, but is two years older. I think it's a no brainer that he opts out and looks for ~ 6yr/$200M.

Per league source, the #Royals have hired Mike Matheny as their next manager. A press conference to introduce Matheny could happen today.

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) October 31, 2019

yankees decline option on edwing

He was terrible in the ALCS...hope he hooks on with someone; 37 next year, 86 more for 500 HR.

2.7 bWAR, 2.5 fWAR in only 109 games this year -- still very useful when he's healthy

might fit nicely in boston, particularly if jd martinez opts out

beltran's the mets coach. I like it

the pitfalls of this particular job are applicable to anybody who takes it, but I think this is an inspired choice given what we've heard about Beltrán https://t.co/AuHr1RJabw

— Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) November 1, 2019

rooting for beltran

In a development that promises to have far-reaching implications on this offseason’s free agent market, starter Stephen Strasburg has decided to opt out of the remaining four years and $100MM on his contract with the Nationals, as first reported by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (link). As Feinsand notes in a follow-up tweet, the present-day value of the remaining money on his Nationals deal is closer to $88MM, due to the original agreement’s heavily deferred structure (link).

strasburg will be interesting. he's a wonderful pitcher but there's a good chance that whoever signs him will be dealing with injuries.

...but obviously some team will have the money to risk it and sign him to a deal through his mid-to-late 30s.

also, yankees extend good guy aroldis chapman through 2022

Brewers trade SP Chase Anderson to the Jays for INF Chad Spanberger

Milwaukee already has Cory Spangenberg so idk why they need this guy

theyre spanning you

When 2 Spanbergs Collide

flowers and markakis both return to atlanta

So Martinez decides to stay in Boston, recognizing he has opt outs in the next couple years as well.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 4, 2019

what am i bid

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2020-top-50-free-agents/

i hate these

Your city. Your colors. #BrownIsBack and it’s better than ever! pic.twitter.com/ykPW6aW4R7

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) November 10, 2019

At least one player among the Mookie Betts/Francisco Lindor/Kris Bryant group will be traded this offseason, in the opinion of multiple @MLB team execs I’ve checked with over the last 24 hours. @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 11, 2019

seems like a random group.

top-10 players with one or two years of control left who play for theoretical contenders

Sox trading Mookie seems so incredibly insane

xpost - makes sense. i retract my "random" remark. they are indeed a group.

also trading Mookie would indeed be nuts. they're still a good team and i don't see the fans abiding any sort of rebuild.

what if they could get lol Trout?

ok, yes. they allowed to trade him for Trout.

arbitration salary predictions from mlb trade rumors for 2020:

mookie $27.7m
lindor $16.7m
bryant $18.5m

feel like lindor would be likeliest, considering how cheap the indians are

that's got to be a record arb amount for Mookie there.

a tiny bit of self-awareness

MLB usually presents The Belt this morning at the GM meetings. But they have now decided against doing so, telling team execs today it is not in their best interest to keep doing so.https://t.co/kf08AI06yU

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) November 11, 2019

Hmm, feel like that tweet should have been along the lines of:

Set. At The Belt...does not deliver.

NO COLLUSION

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/11/mlbpa-investigation-braves-gm-alex-anthopoulos.html

I'm not sure I understand this—wouldn't checking in on availablity of other teams' players necessitate having a feel for who those teams migh re-up in free agency?

might re-up

i believe this sorta shit is flatly prohibited under the Basic Agreement? depends what AA "meant" maybe....

One more year for Waino!

We have agreed to terms with free-agent pitcher Adam Wainwright on a one-year contract for 2020. pic.twitter.com/ZzKnVUKly1

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) November 12, 2019

he is DEFINITELY going to repeat his age-37 performance in 2020!

just being whiny. i don't think he'll do quite as well next year (i would guess an injury will intervene), but it will be pretty cool to watch him go out with yadi (if molina ends up retiring at the end of 2020).

astros are cheating cheaters

The #Astros stole signs electronically in 2017 - part of a much broader issue for Major League Baseball. Story with @EvanDrellich. https://t.co/VyS35fDT5D

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 12, 2019

haaaa fuckers

I think this is the game that Farquhar is talking about (video at a little after 2:58:30). The changeup sign is put down, then you can hear two bangs (even on the broadcast!), and then Farquhar steps off to switch the signs.https://t.co/dmKADpJQdA https://t.co/D3jFJKZKny pic.twitter.com/PyPMMR8DZl

— Lucas Apostoleris (@DBITLefty) November 12, 2019

Astros using cameras to steal signs, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/rncm6qzXxw

— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) November 12, 2019

Great topic but has nothing to do with the hot stove? Start a new thread you n00bz.

I thought hotstove was a catchall for “off-season things”.

bee ok's new favorite manager: gabe kapler

Gabe Kapler will be hugely popular in SF

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 13, 2019

this took me a bit - but is it because he's hot af?!

He just knows how to run a clubhouse. Once you’ve handled a Brooklyn classroom full of Sweathogs you can handle anything.

Signed,
Epstein’s Mother

40 years ago it woulda been just the Castro

LaRussa to Angels as baseball ops adviser

Will Smith to Braves

Ben Cherington is new Pirates GM

Kind of surprised Abreu and Odorizzi took the QO.
I guess last off-season has them spooked?

abreu strikes me as a guy who would get a decent two, maybe three year deal, but he also feels like a guy who could drop off a cliff any season now.

1b is really shallow this offseason too.

everything sounds great at the owners meetings in arlington

Astros owner Jim Crane is sitting about 30 feet away. We're not allowed to approach him and a sherriff and constable are standing in between the media and the owner. He'll get to decide whether he wants to speak about the cheating investigation. Stay tuned...

— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) November 20, 2019

Jacoby Ellsbury Poly has been released.

Way to mess up my vanity search results

lol it took me a second to get that

Sorry, Poly.

OFFICIAL: The #WhiteSox have agreed to terms on a four-year, $73-million contract with free agent All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal (@YazmanianDVL08). Under terms of the agreement, Grandal will receive $18.25 million per year from 2020-2023. pic.twitter.com/dczzZo8UTE

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 21, 2019

nice signing imo

dude had a low-key Tettleton-esque season last year

oh wow

although i guess the perception of grandal depends on how much stock you put in pitch framing value stats

only thing that worries me is that he's 31 and caught a *lot* of games over the last couple seasons (137 last year, 135 in 2018)

surprised the Brewers didn't try to match that offer. their backup is not exactly someone you'd want in the lineup every day and I don't think they have anyone on the horizon. maybe they're saving up for a monster offer to Yelich.

are the brewers in a good position to offer a massive contract to someone like yelich without hurting the rest of their team?

(hurting the rest of the team by not having much extra money to sign/extend other players, i mean)

They don't have a whole lot on the books right now. Actually the Stearns era is the first time I can remember us not having some 35 year old starter signed who absolutely sucks but is still getting paid $15 million so he gets to stay in the opening day rotation, then eventually mop up duty by early June. 2 more years for Braun, 3 for Cain, combined $30m, plus Yelich. I'm not sure who else on that roster they'd want to give a significant extension to. Houser, Woodruff, and Hiura aren't free agents for a long time. They'll probably keep a ton of players through arbitration but some of the potential big money guys like Shaw & Jimmy Nelson basically tumbled off a cliff last year. Hader & Knebel might be kinda expensive I guess. They're gonna have to field some sort of rotation next year but there are a lot of options for them there.

Steve Stone was on the Russo's show and was saying since rosters are going to 26, the White Sox will most likely carry three catchers with Zack Collins and James McCann then use them also at DH. Grandal's switch hitting fills having a lefty for the lineup to split things up. Seems plausible.

So which starter would you give the long term deal to, Cole or Strasburg?

I’m going with the + 2 years of prime Cole offers.

Abreu resigned with the Sox, 3 years, 50 millions.

like to see a stalwart get re-signed, but i'm not sure that was a great idea

White Sox love their lumbering long time first basemen. Idk how much Adam “Sports Dad” Laroche counts, not much imo, but it’s been Thomas/Konerko/Abreu going back to 1991.

they took a (college) first baseman with the third overall pick in june; would probably expect him to arrive by 2021

eh, whatever -- they can afford it

seems like he's also seen as an important mentor for their younger players, especially fellow cubans yoan moncada and luis robert

tru

so apparently the yankees are going to try to get out of paying the rest of Ellsbury's contract. i guess they think that him seeing an outside trainer has negated the thing?!

lols all around

cubs acquire jharel cotton from the a’s for $$

Gerardo Parra to Yomiuri Giants

Travis d'Arnaud signs a two-year, $16 million deal with the Braves

BLUE JAYS SIGN COLE https://t.co/gS73gw2oSp

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) November 25, 2019

cheap

longtime replacement-level tigers reliever drew verhagen is off to japan to fight ham

Mets:

Jeremy Hefner - pitching coach
Hensley Meulens - bench coach
Chili Davis returns as hitting coach

https://www.amazinavenue.com/2019/11/26/20983870/mets-news-jeremy-hefner-bench-coach-carlos-beltran-coaching-staff-new-york

BAM
BAM

kyle gibson to texas

i guess someone has to eat the innings

the gibson family thanksgiving dinner, 2054

Kyle Gibson Jr III: "was grandpa good at baseball?"
*uncomfortable silence*

brewers trade trent grisham and zach davies to the padres for luis urias and eric lauer

*four glasses of wine later*

"...which brings us to the concept of the "replacement value" player, by which your grandpa did provide positive value, to an extent..."

former red sox great drew pomeranz to san diego

xp
wow, that trade!

grisham, urias, and lauer all seem like high ceiling players/prospects. seems likely that one team or the other will "win" the trade, but it's not clear which team that is..

gotta wonder how dangerous the padres would be if they hadn't chosen to build their team around wil myers and eric fucking hosmer a couple years ago

Urias was considered a pretty hot prospect a couple of years ago.

for sure. and grisham is a 2015 first round pick who demolished AA and AAA last year. lauer was drafted first round the following year, and his peripherals are already better than zach davies' (who will be a free agent after 2020 anyway)

oops, i think davies isn't eligible for free agency until after 2021 season? sometimes it's hard to tell.

Rays have agreed on a contract with backstop Mike Zunino, who’ll earn $4.5MM for the 2020 campaign and remain under control in the 2021 season with a $4.5MM club option.

so my HACKING MASS catching pick is set! dude can't hit

erstwhile twins bench coach derek shelton is the pirates' new manager

carl/cj edwards jr to the mariners

stephen vogt to arizona

orioles are 'shopping' dylan bundy

legendary mets infielder jed lowrie to san diego for manuel margot and josh naylor

oh wait, apparently that was fake

tsk tsk how could u fall for that

tif no deal is out of bounds for the padres

orioles put their best position player — jonathan villar, 4 WAR in 2019 — on waivers rather than pay him an estimated $10m in arbitration

jfc

red sox trade sandy leon to cleveland, in lieu of non-tendering him

BREAKING: Third baseman Mike Moustakas and the Cincinnati Reds are in agreement on a four-year deal, league sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 2, 2019

They gonna move Suarez to shortstop or something?

With Moustakas going to Cincy to play 2B...do we still believe that 2B is higher (harder) on the defensive spectrum than 3B?

I believe I could argue that shift + rules effectively banning collisions at 2B on DP turns have made 2B easier than 3B.

Which returns us to 1900.

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) December 2, 2019

four years, $64m

Villar dealt to Miami

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28213608/marlins-trade-orioles-jonathan-villar-claim-jesus-aguilar

weird

In losing Grandal, Moustakas and Pomeranz as FAs, trading Davies and Anderson, and cutting Thames, Perez and now Shaw, Nelson, Guerra, Claudio and Saladino, #Brewers have trimmed some $63 million from payroll since end of season.

— Tom (@Haudricourt) December 3, 2019

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/zack-wheeler-bidding-already-in-nine-figures.html

In terms of supply, Wheeler occupies an interesting position. He’s clearly not to the level of Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, but arguably possesses a much loftier ceiling — with a combination of premium stuff and relative youth — than any of the other available starters.

i'm willing to be very wrong later but i suspect anyone signing him to an insane contract based on the "arguably" he has a "much loftier ceiling" via a combination of "stuff" and "youth" thing will regret it later especially considering he's only a couple of years younger than Strasburg and also older than Cole so...i actually don't know what's being said there.

hole camels to the braves apparently

Sources: Zack Wheeler joins Phillies on five-year deal worth more than $100 million

that's fine but if you're gonna spend that kind of money i think i'd rather spend more to get cole or strasburg

really curious about what the Brewers plan to do

Totally agree about the spending aspect of Wheeler. I think teams liked him because he was the next tier down from Cole/Stras - but what’s the point if you’re paying 120 million and also losing a draft pick?! Might aswell just put that towards a legit ace.

the argument that he has a loftier ceiling than Cole or Strasburg seems legitimately insane to me, like when Scott Boras was arguing Jayson Werth was an elite player.

even if the argument is "from this point forward" -- i mean what the--!

Someone on a blue jays board was comparing Wheeler to Chance Anderson - who the jays got for a pretty fair price. And really, Wheeler is not a lot better. He’s a little better (def over the last two years), but no way he’s 24 million a year better

Similar Pitchers through 29

Erik Bedard (979.8)
Shane Reynolds (977.9)
Matt Harvey (976.7)
Carlos Carrasco (969.5)
Danny Salazar (969.0)
Chris Young (968.5)
Shaun Marcum (968.3)
Hideo Nomo (967.4)
Dan Straily (965.8)
Sam Gray (965.1)

Similar Pitchers

Garrett Richards (979.9)
Tommy Hanson (975.9)
Danny Salazar (969.0)
Marcus Stroman (968.1)
Jair Jurrjens (965.0)
Matt Harvey (964.9)
Mike Foltynewicz (962.5)
Kenta Maeda (961.0)
Bill Stafford (960.7)
Mark Prior (959.6)

career ERA+ 100

he doesn't even know how to spell his name correctly, either

I am glad the Mets let him walk

brewers find a catcher, Omar Narvaez

9:20am: The two sides have a deal in place, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Milwaukee will send minor league right-hander Adam Hill and its Competitive Balance draft pick to Seattle in exchange for Narvaez. The Brewers’ pick lands in Round B this year and is currently slotted in at No. 71 overall.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/brewers-nearing-acquisition-of-omar-narvaez.html

i guess he's not a great defender, but that seems like not much for a cheap catcher who hit 22 homers with a 119 wRC+ last year

cool now all they need is a 3rd baseman and an entire starting rotation

Off the top of my head I can name Woodruff and the guy they traded to the Jays.

the prime defender Jake Marisnick to Mets

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28230780/mets-acquire-jake-marisnick-trade-astros

Pham to SD for Renfroe

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28234840/tommy-pham-headed-padres-rays-get-hunter-renfroe

Michael Pineda to Twins, 2/20M

hope once steve cohen is majority owner he brings his marc quinn blood head to the clubhouse

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b8/07/a1/b807a1901c4846bb0a91d1f466fb81e9.jpg

what the fuck?

that would be a good thing to throw at curt schilling

alex avila to the twins
howie kendrick back to the nats

jeez, big day already! pham for hunter renfroe seems like a big one. (i would always bet large on pham)

yeah i'm a phan

being a rays fan must be very frustrating. first of all, there's only like 30,000 of them, total, in the world. but beyond that, particularly for younger fans, it must be frustrating to watch them trade away talent like pham in order to avoid paying an $8M salary (what Pham is expected to get after arbitration). they're godhead from the management angle of getting young talent, keeping costs low and staying competitive with a very low payroll, but if you're a kid, you just want there to be a really good player that sticks around and that you connect with and spend a few years watching and getting to know a little. that was longoria for a long time, i guess, but in general they just seem like a hard team for a casual fan to root for

A generation or 2 of Oakland A's fans can relate^^^

Michael Pineda to Twins, 2/20M

― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Friday, December 6, 2019 4:07 AM (five hours ago)

What's the largest contract for a player currently serving a suspension for PEDs?

Padres might not be great next year but they could pull a Royals and surprise people. Tatis will only be better, Machado too. Pham is real solid, Renfroe has power but doesn't walk much and doesn't hit for average.

plus it's an even year, so that means hosmer is due for a ...oh

but yeah, they could be dangerous, especially if the SP takes a step up

but yeah, they could be dangerous, especially if the SP takes a step up

i guess this could apply to every team, lol

reports of marcell ozuna to the white sox

Don Kelly, in moving from Astros staff to become Pirates bench coach, is nicely positioning himself for the manager’s gig he inevitably will get. Nice resume for a man who’s only 39.

— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) December 7, 2019

yesss

maybe he'll bring the cameras and whistles

strasburg stays in dc

seven years, $220m apparently

make that $245m

does that include a strike year?

sir didi to philly

kevin gausman to the giants, one year $9m

Didi Gregorius signed by PHI (1 year/$14 million dollars)

I had no idea that he was a free agent OR that he had such an off-year with the stick. Damn, just when it looked like the Yanks finally had a good shortstop...

Zack Cozart and Will Wilson traded to SF; cash considerations to LAA

Angels clearing payroll space for Rendon or Cole.

He came late to the season off TJ. 1/14 is a good pillow contract tbh and he should do well on philly

:(

Can we really believe that teams 'want' to trade Mookie Betts or Kris Bryant?

Seems jockeying for salary negations, right?

Cole to Yanks for 9 years/324 million

Which uh damn

The luxury of not having to worry about making a mistake.

That’s a 36 million avg. sweet damn.

The Yankees have gotten their spending mojo back. The Boss would have certainly approved.

I’m a Steele Walker, I kill what I eat.

can Cole have some kind of nonfatal farming accident

I don't think he has any farm bg, but he could start

Maybe he’ll injure himself carrying that contract up his steps.

I can't begin to understand this. For a pitcher. Would have preferred re-upping Didi and Dellin, going after Ryu.

Hope he's bubble-wrapped and given an ankle bracelet / full-time chaperone

can't believe this news outshone the white sox signing nomar mazara

The White Sox will be hoping this changes, but Nomar Mazara's numbers have been absurdly consistent*.

2016: 93 OPS+, 20 HR
2017: 90 OPS+, 20 HR
2018: 96 OPS+, 20 HR
2019: 96 OPS+, 19 HR

*not a synonym for "good"

— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) December 11, 2019

#Mets are working hard to finalize a 1-yr contract with Michael Wacha.

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 11, 2019

I know money is no object to the Yankees but holy shit that contract is nuts. Cole turns 30 next year and NY doesn't exactly seem suited to his talents

Cole has been incredible two years running and i would bet he'll continue to be incredible, though of course like almost every SP he's not a sure thing (arguably the only sure things among starting pitchers over the past decade have been Scherzer and Verlander, the latter only scuffling when he was hurting a few years back iirc). the length seems crazy but the Yanks do really want a reliable ace and not many are coming along.

most likely but I doubt he'll have another year quite like what he had in Houston.

obviously the contract makes sense in that the Yankees window is very much now, iirc in the next 3 or 4 years Judge, Sanchez, Torres, Severino and Betances will all be FAs. still nuts to give any pitcher that sort of money, especially giving them the opt out clause in year 5. as good as Cole is you never knew how age is gonna affect a guy

hate to tell the mets but wacha is only going to pitch 73.2 innings in 2020 before his arm explodes

frogbs how is NY not suited to his talents? Do you mean because of RF? I don't have the numbers but iirc he radically improved ground ball rate these past two seasons. I imagine he'll do just fine.

cole's groundball rate was actually down in houston (the pirates stressed sinkers more than most) but he more than made up for it in strikeouts. his splits against lefty batters are fine and he'll be fine

i'd imagine they are hoping he opts the fuck out in 5 years.

xpost

i'm mostly pissed that cole didn't use his leverage to keep his long hair/beard, because fuck that yankee crap

yet proud that the pirates could smoothly fulfill their role in the whole process

Keep your slovenly habits to yourself.

Put on a tie. And sit up straight fer chrissakes!

I don’t have such strong feelings on this issue except I like the differentiation and I LOVE how much for whatever reason it bothers other ppl

Sources: Zack Wheeler joins Phillies on five-year deal worth more than $100 million

that's fine but if you're gonna spend that kind of money i think i'd rather spend more to get cole or strasburg

i may have underestimated the financial gap here

Jays blow their allowance on 2 years of Tanner Roark at $12 mil per

Rendon to the Angels, 7/245

frogbs how is NY not suited to his talents? Do you mean because of RF? I don't have the numbers but iirc he radically improved ground ball rate these past two seasons. I imagine he'll do just fine.

that plus his HR rate which was his one actual weakness last year. though I wonder how many of those probably shouldn't have been homers

kudos to texas for really trying

Rangers went into the process not wanting to go more than five years for Rendon and Scott Boras made it clear that seven years what clubs were offering

— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) December 12, 2019

Wtf Rangers?

The value of Rendon's contract isn't much more than the one he supposedly turned down from the Nationals months ago. Still, he did well. AAV is almost the same as Mike Trout's contract!

I always thought Roark was underrated, that's not a bad signing by the Jays.

Right-hander Blake Treinen and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Wednesday.

Could somebody please explain to an idiot baseball fan like myself why the Indians are trading Francisco Lindor?

For the same reason the cubs are trading Bryant

Cheap-assery

149-game-winner rick porcello to the mets (1y, $10m)

scrappy brett gardner re-signs with yanks (1y, $12m)

Could somebody please explain to an idiot baseball fan like myself why the Indians are trading Francisco Lindor?

― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, December 12, 2019 6:32 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

For the same reason the cubs are trading Bryant

― 10,000 mani-gecs (voodoo chili), Thursday, December 12, 2019 6:34 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Cheap-assery

― 10,000 mani-gecs (voodoo chili), Thursday, December 12, 2019 6:35 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

nope, both cases are similar. they're both free agents after 2020. both teams face the same decision:

trade their young stars now to gain other players that will be on the team for longer than a single year, plus prospects to restock their weak farm systems (well, chicago's is weak af, i don't know about cleveland)

OR

pass on making the team better in the future in order to go all in on 2020.

i don't know what kind of SS/3B prospects that either team has, but teams are especially motivated to trade young starts before their contract is over when they know they have someone rising up in the system to take their place soon.

one key thing that might not be obvious to more casual fans - when lindor's contract is up at the end of 2020, he can sign for any team he wants. it's not a matter of the indians being cheap. they could offer him a bombass contract, and lindor could choose to play for the yankees for $20M more, or whatever. so this is likely the last year that lindor would ever play for the indians, regardless

kris bryant isn't a UFA til 2022

they could offer him a bombass contract

we're talking about the cleveland indians here???

couldn't they also be "trading" them as a negotiation tactic for an extension/new contract

kris bryant isn't a UFA til 2022

― 10,000 mani-gecs (voodoo chili), Thursday, December 12, 2019 11:05 AM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

pending grievance results though right?

feels like bryant's going to be gone when his contact is up too, the cubs don't seem interested in spending real money right now and i think the grievance has led to some bad blood

lindor isn't a free agent until 2022 either

The Yankees committed more money to Gerrit Cole ($324M) than the Pirates have to free agents in the last 25 years ($299.5M).

— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) December 11, 2019

damn

kris bryant isn't a UFA til 2022

― 10,000 mani-gecs (voodoo chili)

lindor isn't a free agent until 2022 either

― mookieproof,

sorry, i always find fangraphs descriptions of contracts to be confusing. on lindor's page it says "Free Agent: 2021", which I assumed meant he'd be a free agent at the end of 2020. But I guess it means he'll be a FA after that season.

anyway, my silly explanation above still applies - these are young stars that are nearing the end of their contracts. the further away they are from the end of the contract, the more they're worth as trade chips.

The Yankees committed more money to Gerrit Cole ($324M) than the Pirates have to free agents in the last 25 years ($299.5M).

tbf this is probably not true if both figures are denominated 2019 dollars

true, but still

biggest contract in pirates history went to jason kendall in 2000: six years, $60m

i think their highest annual salary was two years of a.j. burnett at $16.5m, acquired in a trade from the yankees

amazing

jose peraza to the red sox

ew

Austin Romine is now a teammate of good friend Miguel Cabrera.

ffs i just want lindor to be an indian for the next ten years is that too much to ask? i don’t want to relive manny ramirez all over again.

I’m enjoying this off-season much more than last years.

who are the best free agents left? ozuna? castellanos?

plus donaldson and ryu (and maybe bumgarner and keuchel)

TT are you a Boras or Cole cousin? secret Stankee fan?

Are you now or have you ever been a fan of the new york stankees

TT welcome to kindergarten

tsk Hade u lost cause

TT and i have sat in the old YS bleachers! and heard a fan curse a 10-yo Tigers fan.

a creature, that is

who are the best free agents left? ozuna? castellanos?

― na (NA), Friday, December 13, 2019 8:22 AM (four hours ago)

plus donaldson and ryu (and maybe bumgarner and keuchel)

― mookieproof, Friday, December 13, 2019 8:28 AM (three hours ago)

Grandal belongs above many of the players listed.

On November 21, 2019, Grandal signed a four-year, $73 million contract with the Chicago White Sox.

i think y'all are forgetting Blue Jays legend Eric Sogard is still available.

Adam Jones to Japan

I... had no idea! And I thought I've been paying attention...

mets and cespedes reach an agreement to 'significantly' cut his 2020 salary (in lieu of the mets trying to void his contract entirely)

nice

looks like he can make most that money back through incentives. really curious what he did that could have almost voided his contract like that.

I recall some rumors about his injury which I now suppose must be true, whatever they were

The Milwaukee Brewers have filled the glaring Anderson-sized hole in their rotation with a 1-year deal with Brett Anderson, who is somehow only 31 years old. Brett Anderson has suffered over 114 injuries during his major league career so far

Lol

Anthony Rendon says that he couldn't sign with the Dodgers because the "Hollywood lifestyle" didn't appeal to him.

So that's why he signed with the ... LA Angels??

the Disney lifestyle

Yeah no, Anaheim/Santa Ana is like a good 2+ hours from downtown LA/Hollywood by auto. It's very well a different city, economy, demographics, politics (well... until recently, but it's still pretty right-wing for California).

Yes, I know it's a huge city but it's not like he has to live down the street from the stadium and adopt the lifestyle of the fans. It seemed like a silly thing to say when he'll still be living and playing in LA.

BREAKING: The Texas Rangers are in the final stages of completing a trade to acquire two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber from the Cleveland Indians, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 15, 2019

Best Indians pitcher I’ve ever seen. I like the move, though. It was time to move on. I just really wish they had won it all back in 2016.

two-time cy winner for a reliever and a bad outfielder. pathetic

two-time cy winner on the downside of his career!

Coming off an injury and being paid slightly more than a qualifying offer. A steal in my books.

steamer projection has him at 3.4 fWAR this season; clase and deshields combine for 1.1. this is a team that won 93 games last year -- this deal makes absolutely no sense beyond dumping salary.

you could argue that the cleveland rotation is pretty good even without him, and maybe they'll use the $17m to extend lindor or sign someone at a position of greater need, but i'll believe that when i see it.

also hard to believe they couldn't have gotten a better deal. kluber's 2020 projection is slightly better than zack wheeler's, ffs -- were there really no teams willing to give up more than a reliever and fifth outfielder for that?

either they're super high on Deshields and/or it never occurred to other teams to just offer them random things.

I could see Kluber just continuing to decline but his stuff is so good and his track record was basically Scherzer-like coming into last season, so I imagine there might be some teams who would have offered more. But maybe they know something we don’t.

bumgarner to arizona, apparently

!

That's kind of out of the blue

saw somewhere Kluber deal is not complete

apparently Bumgarner just really wanted to be in Arizona.
huh.

horses

A source close to Bumgarner says the Diamondbacks were his No. 1 choice, provided they could pay him at an appropriate level. As The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly recently noted, Bumgarner has horses in the Phoenix area and loves it there. For Bumgarner, an individualist who cares little about public perception, that and the solid five-year offer were enough.

an individualist

an individual-plus-several-horses-ist.

what a weird ass trade. a relief prospect (albeit a 102 mph-throwing one) and an all-defense fringe player.

almost any team could match or top that offer for one year of kluber, and there are a ton of teams that you'd think would be willing to do it.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/nobody-really-wanted-corey-kluber

avisail garcia to milwaukee, 2/$20m

luke maile to pittsburgh, threatening to eclipse last year's big offseason acquisition, lonnie chisenhall

What's the best site to see who the front-runners for FAs like Ryu Puig, Donaldson might be?

wtf, OF is like the one thing Milwaukee doesn't need

xp

mlbtraderumors is the best site for all of this IMO

it probably goes w/o saying but avoid the comments here^ at all costs

they're not bad. i've seen WAAAAAY worse.

Asked at Winter Meetings about adding veteran leadership, Ben Cherington said FA catcher could fill that bill, but “Role should be legitimate; You’re not going to get a guy who hits .150 just because he’s funny.” Yesterday, Pirates signed Luke Maile... who batted .151 last year.

— David Laurila (@DavidLaurilaQA) December 17, 2019

wtf, OF is like the one thing Milwaukee doesn't need

― frogbs, Tuesday, December 17, 2019 8:05 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

sounds like this lets them move braun to 1b

as of last night, it seems the cardinals are about to sign 31-year old lefty Kwang-hyun Kim, who has pitched 7 years in the KBO

err, oops, he's been pitching longer than that! he debuted in the KBO as a SP at age 18, it looks like.

sounds like this lets them move braun to 1b

that's probably what's gonna happen but they don't have to, he's still as mediocre defensively as he's been his whole career, plus you know he's gonna miss 20-30 games with various injuries. you'd think you could just sign some aging slugger on the cheap to play there.

i think y'all are forgetting Blue Jays legend Eric Sogard is still available.

to the brewers!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EMF3iNpW4AA82uF?format=png&name=large

I like the Sogard signing, dude was pretty good last year

Justin Smoak to the Brewers, 1 yr/$5m

so I guess Brauny not going to 1B after all?

the Kwang-hyun Kim deal got finalized with STL: 2 years, $8M (plus up ot $3M in incentives). i'm pretty hopeful about it! upside would be something approaching the sweet deal they got with miles mikolas coming out of japan a couple years ago.

gio gonzalez to the white sox
julio teheran to the angels

feels like the brewers now have 50 position players

white sox also signing cheslor cuthbert

Reds did their bi-annual "living the Burt Reynolds lifestyle on the Mac Davis salary" signing of lefty Wade Miley a few days ago. It is possibly work out well. The contract is only 2 years and not crazy money. All depends on health and being able to throw up ground ball outs and not home runs.

Great American Ballpark does get into some pitchers heads. Kyle Lohse years back was a free agent signee that totally got lost pitching for the Reds. Miley might work out ok and having a lefty and gives the Reds some rotation depth.

I'm guessing the Reds might take a page out of the Cardnails book and move a couple of the top prospects to work out the pen and be starter #6.

The White Sox have reached agreement on a deal with free agent lefthander Dallas Keuchel, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Jeff Passan (link). It’s a three-year deal for $55.5MM, with a vesting fourth year that could take it to 4/$74MM, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (link).

i did not expect this, but the Jays just won the bidding for Ryu!
4 years, $80 mil

also they signed Travis Shaw.

with them also adding Roark, Anderson, Yamaguchi and getting their first full seasons out of Guerrero, Biggio and Bichette (and possibly Pearson making his debut) – this teams looks like they could make a run at the wild card.

nice!

The pitching is still iffy even if Ryu stays healthy and Pearson starts dominating right away (two huge ifs). But I do like the moves they're making.

i have lost track of who's on the white sox now. edwin encarnacion apparently?

i was vaguely wondering if their spending is motivated in part by leeching local baseball fans away from the non-spending cubs. it's working on me at least

So far they have resigned Abreu, signed Grandal, Edwin, Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez and traded for Nomar Mazara (for some reason).
They have been pretty busy!

I heard a bit of Ryu's introductory press conference on the radio; he opened with "Hello, Canada" and "Bonjour."

*swoon*

just finding out Mets signed Betances

misleading uRL

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28383869/sources-marlins-corey-dickerson-reach-2-year-175-million-deal

good hitter, solid player

rich hill and homer bailey to minnesota

luis robert gets a $50M extension before playing a game in MLB

the white sox are going to be pretty fun

did Rich Hill check out the Twins' bag policy first?

Outfielder/pitcher Oscar Colás, one of the best prospects to emerge from Cuba in years, has defected and will seek a deal with a major league team, sources familiar with his plans tell ESPN. Colás, 21, played in Japan last year and hit .302/.350/.516. He’s a LHP up to 95, too.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 3, 2020

unsigned at last check: Donaldson, Castellanos, Ozuna, Puig, Hudson, Cabrera, Vizcaino, Chirinos, Maybin, Frazier, Cishek, Iglesias, Pence, Kintzler, Gordon, and Dyson

Starlin Castro to Nats

Jason Castro to Angels

jose iglesias to baltimore 1yr/$3m with a club option

eric thames to the nats for roughly the same

steve cishek to white sox, 1 yr/$6 million

did the White Sox strike gold under second base?

Dodgers signed Jimmy Nelson to a one-year contract full of incentives.

In bizarre lawsuit, Yankees’ failed prospect says Derek Jeter ruined his career https://t.co/5ZEADEa6l7 pic.twitter.com/kKU5HG1sEg

— NJ.com (@njdotcom) January 9, 2020

Garrison Lassiter
2008 June Amateur Draft - Round: 27, Pick: 28, Overall: 830, Team: New York Yankees

i guess it's easier to say "prospect" in a headline than "organizational depth afterthought"

kid might have a point tho, looking at the stats from jeter's last two seasons

this reminds me that i needed to send that letter to ozzie smith's lawyers to let him know i'm suing him for blocking my progress back when i was struggling through the end of the 13-year-old league season

i think $75 million sounds right. $1M for each of my heartwrenching sobs per night, on average

He alleged that it was “blantanly (sic) obvious” that Jeter controlled the Yankees organization

http://www.milb.com/images/430599/generic/180x270/430599.jpg?

(Blanton-ly obvious?)

love to receive bats and pieces

Well-regarded pitching prospect Matt Liberatore has been traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the St. Louis Cardinals, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. It's part of a trade expected to send major league pieces back to Tampa Bay, which has been searching for outfield bats.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 9, 2020

it will be either fowler (pleeeeeeease), arozarena (noooo!), o'neill (noooo!), lane thomas (i mean that's fair), or jose martinez (technically can play OF, but would mainly be a DH)

Brewers get Logan Morrison, a dude I thought would've been a real great fit in 2011 or so

you know who's a pretty good outfield bat? tommy pham. alas, the estimated $8.6m for a three-win player was just too much

these guys are both cardinals now

Just messin’ around🤯 @NolanGorman pic.twitter.com/EooehYEUmx

— Matthew Liberatore (@libby3232) November 28, 2018

(gorman is the other guy, and also a really good player)

god i hope they don't still do this game - KEEP YOUR HANDS PROTECTED

pirates sign 29yo outfielder guillermo heredia, who hit .225/.306/.363 for the rays last year before being non-tendered

haven't really been paying attention but i think this is only the second major-league (so to speak) move the pirates have made this offseason. the other was signing luke maile, a 29yo catcher with a career wRC+ of 48

it is indeed Arozarena for Liberatore – and also Jose Martinez; both of whom i expect to go full Austin Meadows next season.

i think that's a good trade for both teams. jose martinez has been my favorite player the past couple years. the way he plays OF brought me excruciating pain, it really was like a train wreck. he'll be a great DH and he's also one of the most likable people in the game. arozarena has speed and power. he might take a couple years to hit his stride, but he really is good.

i don't know much about liberatore other than his prospect (i'm talking round 1, not round 29. fuck you derek jeter!) status, his good results in his first season, and that he's comfortable throwing a ball really fast in a clubhouse at a whirling nolan gorman. all of that, plus the fact that the cardinals system is pretty much depleted of plus starting pitchers, makes me really happy with this trade

>he's comfortable throwing a ball really fast in a clubhouse at a whirling nolan gorman

he's a what now?!

rays also get the cardinal's round A draft pick (38th overall).

i think the rays probably "won" the deal to the extent that it's competitive, but i'm still really happy that the cardinals were able to get a legit elite prospect out of extra parts

Pete fucking Kozma has been signed to a minor league deal with the barves

cubs avoid arbitration with bryant: one year, $18.6m

btw did they ever rule on his grievance?

The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Mookie Betts in a record-setting manner. The club agreed with the 2018 American League MVP Award winner to a $27 million deal for 2020, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, breaking Nolan Arenado's year-old record $26 million for a player in his final year

former dodger/cardinal/padre/west virginia mountaineer jedd gyorko to the brewers

don’t get why the sox don’t back up the truck for betts

Todd Frazier to Texas

Welcome to Truist Park, home of your Atlanta Braves! pic.twitter.com/WruvGmkIeJ

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) January 14, 2020

truist no one

phillies dfa odubel herrera. it's a low bar, but he was one of the most successful rule 5 draft picks of the last couple decades

6:50pm: The Twins have agreed to a four-year contract with free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. There’s an option for a fifth season on the deal, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 SKOR North Radio. Donaldson is represented by the MVP Sports Group.

7:01pm: Donaldson will be guaranteed $92MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The option on the contract would bring its total value to five years and $100MM, if exercised.

7:19pm: Donaldson will earn $84MM over the first four years of the contract, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. The option is valued at $16MM and comes with an $8MM buyout.

BringerOfSnow

that's a huge buyout.

The Red Sox have traded 1B/OF Sam Travis to the Rangers in exchange for LHP Jeffrey Springs.

Travis was a longtime top prospect who never broke through, but is still just 26. The Rangers DFA'd Springs a few hours ago.

— Kyle Glaser (@KyleAGlaser) January 15, 2020

How many HR did the Twins lose in the off-season? Donaldson could really have a big season if he gets in the middle of a lineup like last year's. Or, yes, he could fall off a cliff.

I don’t see that happening tbh. So long as he stays healthy, I think his glove and plate discipline could carry him trough this contract pretty well.
I’d expect his home runs to decline as his bat speed goes down with age, but (again) if his injury issues in his later Jays days are behind him he could have a Beltre-esque ending to his career.

If the Twinkies shore up their rotation they could surprise some folx.

they're probably =the favorites to win the division again right? i know the white sox have improved but it's still unclear how good they're going to actually be

as far as home run power, the Twins lost Cron and Schoop and gained Donaldson. Garver, Polanco, Sano, Kepler, Rosario, and Cruz are all back (and w/the exception of Cruz they're all going to play 2020 in their age 26-29 seasons). i can't imagine they'll all build on last season's power surge, individually, but i bet a couple of them do.

Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria returned to the Braves on a one-year, $1 million deal, the team announced.

Toronto signed Joe Panik to a minor-league deal.

Great--next year's thread title writes itself (the same dumb Smiths joke I always want to make when I see Panik's name).

good! the pressure is off me this year!

he may not make the big club

King Felix to Barves -- minor league deal, invitation to camp.

Kinda sad it’s come to a MiL contract for the man. Just a few years ago he seemed destined for the hall.

I'm just glad there's a chance his career isn't over. Rooting for him!

arenado in colorado may be turning into a giancarlo-in-miami scenario

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28527906/nolan-arenado-ire-rooted-rockies-inactivity-71-91-season

how do the rox feel about miguel andujar

arenado's opt-out is really hurting him, too.

i mean, financially it really helps him of course. but in terms of getting traded to a good team, it hurts

could he agree to use his opt-out as part of waiving his NTC, if he really wanted out, no?

The Braves have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. The MDR Sports Management client will receive an $18MM salary that slightly exceeds the $17.8MM qualifying offer from the Cardinals that he rejected back in November.

Hey that .2 is college tuition for one of his kids!

appreciate the arenado situation because a) it's been less than a year since he signed the extension, b) colorado was 11th (not bad!) in salary last year but spent it terribly, just as it has for 25 years, c) this team has commited to pay you a quarter of a billion dollars over eight years; how much more fucking respect do you want

alex gordon returns to kc, 1yr/$4m (but waived his 10/5 rights)

some additional ozuna prognostication

there's a good chance that his hitting will be even better next year. maybe not 2017, but better than 2018-19. i watched quite a few of his games last year and he did seemed to suffer from some bad luck while consistently making very hard contact. i think his x-peripherals back that up, too.

his defense is really bad. somehow he graded out as average last year by the metrics, but what i saw was awful. his arm is gone, his routes are often bewildering, and every month or so he'll do something like climb up a wall only to have the ball land at the foot of the warning track

"See, what had happened was..." - Marcell Ozuna, probably. pic.twitter.com/1pHXLaeDOq

— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 10, 2019

as i expected

https://www.amazinavenue.com/2020/1/22/21077257/mets-news-luis-rojas-manager-carlos-beltran-multi-year-deal

i (understandably, i think) did not realize he was felipe alou's son

didnt know that either

ilx user dominic leone to cleveland

hot

The family name in the Dominican Republic is Rojas, but Felipe Alou and his brothers became known by the name Alou when the Giants' scout who signed Felipe mistakenly thought his matronymic was his father's name.

scout was paid off by Big Crossword

Reds supposedly offered Ozuna a 3 year deal and he turned it down. Reds seem to be still going after an outfielder pretty hard considering how many they have on the roster, which leading to think it is a step to doing a big deal to get Lindor or Seager (as most likely Nick Senzel would be traded).

castellanos to the reds

the reds are the only team in the NL central that are actively trying to get better

2020 is going to be even more of a fight than 2019 was, i think

the poor pirates though

honestly, i have no idea what the pirates' ownership are doing, but i know it's not good

NL central 2020 payroll at the moment:

CHC $182m
STL $156m
CIN $116m
MIL $90m
PIT $58m

the pittsburgh metro area is more populous than that of cincy or milwaukee

2019 total payrolls, for comparison:

CHC $219m
STL $174m
CIN: $128m
MIL: $136m
PIT: $73m

i guess more costs get added on from here (last minute spring training/hot stove acquisitions, trade deadline acquisitions, maybe the cost of the draft bonuses they pay out?)

pirates' most expensive player this year is starling marte (whom they have been shopping) at $11.5m

the cubs alone have eight guys making more; marte is tied with jed lowrie for 117th in the majors

I’m honestly not sure if the Reds approach here. Their outfield is crowded already, and they sign a guy who can opt out after one or two years in order to trade a young and affordable outfielder?

starling marte to the dbacks

qed

19yo shortstop, 19yo right-hander

Liover Peguero and Brennan Malone were rated the Diamondbacks' Nos. 7 and 9 prospects. They are young -- Peguero has just a brief time above rookie ball -- but exciting. High bust risk, though.

— Zach Buchanan (@ZHBuchanan) January 27, 2020

same with the Brewers, I'm not quite sure what they've got planned but they can't be done yet

Reds did have a pretty full outfield but there were also questions. Winker and Senzel have both been fairly injury prone in their first year or so in the big leagues. Aquino after 5 weeks of being The Punisher turned back into a Pumpkin in September last year, probably heading to Louisville I would figure unless dealt as he has plenty of options. I think Phil Ervin might be out of options, so I would think he would be in the pile for dealing.

Never seen him pitch before, but Ken Giles name out of the Toronto bullpen seems to be a name coming up in the Reds trade rumors.

I guess it is time to put up or shut up and see if this rumored deal in the works for Lindor happens. I never really got why the Dodgers would be wanting to deal Seager in the first place.

DUSTY is yr new astros manager

wow MLB's punishment was harsher than I expected

lol

well they have a good leadoff hitter in place

I guess it is time to put up or shut up and see if this rumored deal in the works for Lindor happens. I never really got why the Dodgers would be wanting to deal Seager in the first place.

― earlnash, Monday, January 27, 2020 9:43 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

the only issue I'm aware of is Seager has a Nomar-ish approach and swings at the first pitch all the fuckin time and management wants him to cut it out. not a big reason to dump a former silver slugger and ROY but that's part of it. they also need to get gavin lux playing time.

bryant lost his grievance; free agent following 2021 season

i guess it makes sense that a team without a GM doesn't want to commit to a 70yo manager, but i'm a little surprised dusty agreed to this. also it means the astros will spend the entire season dealing with rumors that they'll re-hire hinch

Dusty Baker's contract is officially a one-year deal with a club option in 2021 that includes a buyout

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 29, 2020

i just realized that there's a possibility of the astros having to deal with a bunch of fans banging on trashcans and containers during away games

cannot imagine what the Astros will "have to go through" on the road this season lol

They’re gonna have to go through some things

Me being one of them.

roundup

American League

Yankees: $336.5MM on two players (Gerrit Cole and Brett Gardner; top 50 MLBTR signings: two)

Angels: $260.85MM on three players (Anthony Rendon, Julio Teheran and Jason Castro; top 50 signings: three)

White Sox: $196.5MM on six players (Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu, Dallas Keuchel, Edwin Encarnacion, Steve Cishek and Gio Gonzalez; top 50 signings: five)

Twins: $151.8MM on eight players (Josh Donaldson, Michael Pineda, Jake Odorizzi, Homer Bailey, Sergio Romo, Alex Avila, Rich Hill and Tyler Clippard; top 50 signings: four)

Blue Jays: $114.35MM on four players (Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark, Shun Yamaguchi and Travis Shaw; top 50 signings: two)

Rangers: $62.25MM on five players (Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles, Robinson Chirinos, Joely Rodriguez and Todd Frazier; top 50 signings: two)

Tigers: $17.8MM on four players (C.J. Cron, Jonathan Schoop, Austin Romine and Ivan Nova; top 50 signings: one)

Astros: $15.65MM on three players (Joe Smith, Martin Maldonado and Dustin Garneau; top 50 signings: zero)

Rays: $12MM on one player (Yoshitomo Tsutsugo; top 50 signings: zero)

Red Sox: $9.9MM on three players (Martin Perez, Jose Peraza and Kevin Plawecki; top 50 signings: zero)

Athletics: $7.5MM on one player (Jake Diekman; top 50 signings: zero)

Royals: $6.95MM on two players (Alex Gordon and Maikel Franco; top 50 signings: zero)

Indians: $6.25MM on one player (Cesar Hernandez; top 50 signings: zero)

Orioles: $3MM on one player (Jose Iglesias; top 50 signings: zero)

Mariners: $2.95MM on two players (Kendall Graveman and Carl Edwards Jr.; top 50 signings: zero)

National League

Nationals: $316.75MM on 10 players (Stephen Strasburg, Will Harris, Daniel Hudson, Starlin Castro, Yan Gomes, Howie Kendrick, Eric Thames, Asdrubal Cabrera, Ryan Zimmerman and Kyle Finnegan; financial details unclear for Finnegan; top 50 MLBTR signings: four)

Reds: $164MM on four players (Nick Castellanos, Mike Moustakas, Shogo Akiyama and Wade Miley; top 50 signings: four)

Phillies: $132MM on two players (Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius; top 50 signings: two)

Braves: $116.25MM on nine players (Will Smith, Marcell Ozuna, Cole Hamels, Travis d’Arnaud, Chris Martin, Nick Markakis, Tyler Flowers, Darren O’Day, Adeiny Hechavarria; top 50 signings: five)

Diamondbacks: $109.65MM on five players (Madison Bumgarner, Kole Calhoun, Hector Rondon, Stephen Vogt and Junior Guerra; top 50 signings: two)

Brewers: $48.38MM on eight players (Avisail Garcia, Josh Lindblom, Justin Smoak, Brett Anderson, Eric Sogard, Alex Claudio, Ryon Healy and Deolis Guerra; financial details unclear for Healy and Guerra; top 50 signings: two)

Padres: $48MM on three players (Drew Pomeranz, Craig Stammen and Pierce Johnson; top 50 signings: three)

Mets: $24.35MM on four players (Dellin Betances, Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha and Brad Brach; top 50 signings: three)

Marlins: $23.855MM on five players (Corey Dickerson, Brandon Kintzler, Francisco Cervelli, Matt Joyce and Yimi Garcia; financial details unclear for Joyce; top 50 signings: one)

Giants: $17.775MM on four players (Kevin Gausman, Drew Smyly, Tony Watson and Tyler Anderson; top 50 signings: one)

Dodgers: $15.25MM on three players (Blake Treinen, Alex Wood and Jimmy Nelson; top 50 signings: one)

Cardinals: $15MM on three players (Adam Wainwright, Kwang-hyun Kim and Matt Wieters; top 50 signings: one)

Cubs: $2.5MM on three players (Steven Souza Jr., Jeremy Jeffress and Ryan Tepera; top 50 signings: zero)

Pirates: Signed OF Guillermo Heredia and C Luke Maile (financial details unclear; top 50 signings: zero)

Rockies: Signed RHP Jose Mujica (financial details unclear; top 50 signings: zero)

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/01/free-agent-spending-by-team-american-league.html
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/01/free-agent-spending-by-team-national-league.html

(for anyone who doesn't follow, "top 50 MLBTR" refers to the top 50 free agents list on MLBTradeRumors)

The Kris Bryant ruling shows MLB’s “impartial” arbitration is a farce

lol the Rockies do not give a single fuck about winning baseball games

appreciate that the tigers are making a token wave at being watchable, unlike some other teams i could name

your 2020 pittsburgh pirates

https://i.imgur.com/zT9rZRG.png

are there fun players on this team?

Josh Bell will probably be very fun for half the season and very unfun the other half

The half of the season he plays at the plate vs the half of the season in the field

reynolds is a 'professional hitter' -- which is nice, i like him -- but i don't think he can play center. polanco is a disappointment but i still like him because he reminds me of a plague-ridden man's dave parker

the projections for archer, musgrove and moran -- among others -- are extremely optimistic. the catchers too, unless they're framing wizards

brault is kind of fun because he can actually hit

they have a prospect named oneil cruz -- who will probably play in double-a this year -- but if they just called him up now it'd be cool because he's a legit 6'7" shortstop

that's the upper limit for fun

I like Reynolds - but he should not be in CF

oh yeah i forgot about brian reynolds, probably because his name is "brian reynolds"

hen cherington is mulling over these fantastic options

Free agents Kevin Pillar, Billy Hamilton snd Cameron Maybin are among CF candidates Pirates are considering. Pillar would seem to be pricier than the others. GM Hen Cherington knows him from Toronto

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 30, 2020

Pillar is almost the definition of the kind of player who is a) great to have around if you're a strong team and you can bat him eighth or ninth and just be glad for his defense (Jays, 2015), but b) is a liability if you have to bat him fifth or sixth because you've got no offense (Jays, 2018).

billy hamilton in 43 career games in pittsburgh: .303/.339/.376, 33 R, 33 SB, 4 CS lol

Love to see Billy Hamilton go somewhere and figure it out enough to stick around, he's a fun and well likable player.

He's 29, can't remember when a player that old figured it out.

what are hamilton's splits against STL? seems like every game i've ever seen against him involves walking him 3 separate times as the leadoff batter of an inning

Xpost to morbs: Bautista was 30 when he had that monster break out season.

Well, that was about power to a large degree. I wouldn't expect a speedster to learn how to get on base at 30.

Probably won't happen, but Billy H. is such a good athlete even a 10-20% margin improvement takes him up to handy player to keep around with his speed and defense. It will be interesting to see if he is still on a roster in a couple years.

I suppose you see pitchers figuring something out later on, but then you got the 'roid ragers like Luis Gonzales who went from average outfielder to super slugger in their 30s.

Mets signed Matt Adams and Eduardo Nunez to minor league deals

Otis Nixon's career arc might be the closest model you 'might' find for someone like Hamilton.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nixonot01.shtml

Matt Adams has had a weird career. That guy has been a model of inconsistency as there have been more than once it looks like the guy is going to be come a big bat, but then the magic wears off.

That said, I would love to see Matt Adams in a foot race with Lucas Duda.

Similar players I both saw hit moonshots against the Reds at GABP.

More I think about it, both were off Homer Bailey too. Always bet against Bailey if he is pitching during the day, that's my Pete Rose tip of the day.

Pumped to watch Billy Hamilton hit 54 home runs in 2020

billy hamilton has always been a small step away from an above average player - being able to reach .300 OBP consistently, or .100 ISO - but now he's 29, going into his 7th full season. his speed is already diminishing. i loved watching him (destroy the cardinals and yadi) but i think he missed his window.

d-backs sign edwin jackson (and jon jay) to minor league deals

unfortunately, arizona is one of the 14 teams he's already played for

over the last seven seasons, jackson is 37-62 with a 5.47 ERA, 4.87 FIP, 1.517 WHIP and -4.9 WAR while making $39m

d-backs sign edwin jackson (and jon jay) to minor league deals

unfortunately, arizona is one of the 14 teams he's already played for

this must be some sort of mistake. wtf is jackson doing??

i thought the dbags would stop signing average cardinals from 2011-13 after la russa moved on, but it looks like they're still into it

Betts and Price to Dodgers, says Jeff Passan

slight correction

There could be a third team involved in the deal, as @Ken_Rosenthal reported. Significant cash will be going the way of wherever David Price lands. But the main player, Mookie Betts, will be a Dodger should medicals go as expected.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 5, 2020

baseball is broken

Oh wow, the dodgers have added one of the best players in baseball to their team again

like many things that are bad for baseball, this is great for the yankees!

fuck this. just fuck it.

Mookie in LA from a marketing standpoint is going to be sick

so final tally i believe:
Mookie/Price/cash to Dodgers
Maeda to Twins
Brusdar/Verdugo to Sox

dodgers are also trading pederson to LAA for rengifo. i have no idea why the angels would do this unless they intend on swinging pederson to someone else for pitching. or adell. i have no idea how LAA has made this many moves and they still don't have any pitching.

why is $$$ going to LA? wtf...

to cover part of price, i imagine

when’s the last time a player of betts’ stature was traded by the team that drafted him in the prime of his career? and didn’t demand to traded? just can’t believe this actually happened

Seems dumb to me — good luck Boston.

gets them below the luxury tax threshold which is the only thing that matters

The closest comparison I can think of is the Twins trading Johan Santana, which was also during the off-season before his walk year.

when’s the last time a player of betts’ stature was traded by the team that drafted him in the prime of his career? and didn’t demand to traded?

babe ruth, 1919?

the red sox were complaining about cash back then, too. ruth's salary was $27,000, same as betts', give or take a zero or three.

when’s the last time a player of betts’ stature was traded by the team that drafted him in the prime of his career?

griffey jr, although he was older (and kinda fell apart after his first year in cincy)

frank robinson, also a lil bit older

also a-rod to the yankees (although texas did not draft him)

supposedly if the red sox are paying $14-$15m per year to dump price, the *dodgers* can stay under the salary cap luxury tax

i don't understand rich people. or rich teams. or rich owners.

surprised the Twins are shipping a prospect like Graterol for a starter like Maeda.

Rays vet James Click is the new Houston GM

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28634922/new-astros-gm-james-click-seeks-quick-success-replacing-jeff-luhnow

• think the twins concluded that graterol didn't have the command/third pitch to start, and getting a reliable (and cheap!) starter helps them go for it now

• wilmer flores to sf (two years, $6m), fragile greg bird to texas (minors deal)

• it's worth noting how little the luxury tax actually costs -- only the yankees and dodgers have *ever* paid any significant money on it, and the penalty just isn't that much. (otoh, since almost half the proceeds from the tax go to the non-threshold breaking teams that refuse to spend their own money, it is probably galling to the big-spending clubs)

hey way to go red sox lol

when’s the last time a player of betts’ stature was traded by the team that drafted him in the prime of his career? and didn’t demand to traded? just can’t believe this actually happened

― k3vin k., Tuesday, February 4, 2020 10:38 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

since im not really up on baseball these days the only thing i cld come up with was that they didnt think they cld retain him, if its just a straight financial move my god

i think he had said he was planning on becoming a free agent next year, but getting alex verdugo and a RP prospect for the 2nd best player in baseball suggests the motivation was mostly financial

dear god the rockies signed ubaldo jimenez to a minor league deal

he's 36 and last pitched in 2017, when he had a 6.81 ERA over 142 IP for baltimore

maybe arenado has a point

dodgers are also trading pederson to LAA for rengifo. i have no idea why the angels would do this unless they intend on swinging pederson to someone else for pitching. or adell. i have no idea how LAA has made this many moves and they still don't have any pitching.

― ℺ ☽ ⋠ ⏎ (✖), Wednesday, February 5, 2020 3:08 AM (nineteen hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

The trade isn't finalized yet for some reason but the Dodgers are trading Joc, Ross Stripling and a dude who hit 19 homers in rookie ball for Rengifo and another prospect, maybe two.

ya, i'm more confused what the dodgers plan here is.

the motivation was mostly financial

― na (NA), Wednesday, February 5, 2020 12:00 PM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

wild times

maybe Mookie's secret sauce was some secret Alex Cora shit

ha didnt even think of that

btw really looking forward to Astros being serenaded w/Bang the Drum All Day/Bang a Gong/She Bangs/etc all season long.

true lol

bang bang on the door, baby!
bang bang on the door, baby!

hopefully 3 other teams will be busted by April to spread the love

Execs referred to below are RIVAL execs, not from #RedSox. Their overriding point: For many years, Sox made short-term decisions with little regard for future. They were left with a depleted farm system and an expensive roster. They eventually needed to pivot - or crash. https://t.co/5TvJXNAvuP

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 5, 2020

which of those rival execs have won four championships in the last 15 years

it sounds like the criticism is....extremely well-placed

cldnt they have like traded someone else

I hate this.

My kids say they don’t like the Red Sox any more.

Tempted to blame JD for this but it’s not his fault.

i'd think there'd be at least a few teams interested in david price with a three-year $16m/yr contract, which is apparently what the dodgers are getting. i'm unclear why you'd have to throw in a hall of famer to make that work.

and if your biggest need is replenishing your farm system, i'm equally unclear why you'd design a trade for your two biggest contracts that doesn't even begin to do that.

@jay_jaffe
Good nugget here: Mookie Betts joins Hall of Famers Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins and Jimmie Foxx as the only players to put up a 10 bWAR season and then get traded by their respective teams while still in their 20s

From @peteabe: Red Sox to name Ron Roenicke as manager after MLB investigation concludes https://t.co/QyLKTmFLoC via @BostonGlobe

— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) February 7, 2020

that is...not exciting

but another nice piece of news in an all-time terrific offseason

he was cora's bench coach, so i guess they must be confident about the investigation?

or nonapologetic

Good luck, Rene Riggleman.

hunter pence is back in the bay

lol

Twins pulling out of the Betts/Price deal apparently!

whoa

Munching popcorn gif

really don't understand how these things get announced/leaked before they're final

I'm literally pacing the room here

what if some form of the deal goes through anyway and the Sox.... sign Mookie as a free agent next year with the money they're saving on Price

I wanna believe

https://twitter.com/MLBPA_News/status/1225903486006710275

Hmm

Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark today released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/bxzIj9GQmb

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) February 7, 2020

i know of a few in hockey, but i cannot recall a traded player ever returning like that in baseball apart from aroldis

just when I was gonna invite Tracer's kids to become Mets fans

The Red Sox developed reservations about Graterol after examining his medicals, and were denied when they asked the Twins to include another high-quality prospect in return. It's unclear what caught the Red Sox off guard, as Graterol has a known injury history that includes Tommy John surgery and a shoulder impingement. It's also unclear why the Red Sox asked the Twins for more, considering the Red Sox weren't sending any players to Minnesota in the swap.

Just read that Bloom was literally the only external candidate for the GM job - didn't know that. Makes sense though

Bottom line: #RedSox and #Dodgers should be motivated to complete deal. BOS could be left with Betts, Price and all their previous financial concerns, valid or not. LAD would be left with Maeda and Pederson unsettled - and once again they would be shut out on a star.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 8, 2020

"valid or not"

"BOS could be left with Betts" oh no how awful!!!

Saddam Hussein might remain President of Iraq, along with all the concerns about his weapons of mass destruction, valid or not.

wouldn't you rather be rid of him now though?

seems it would be rough going for both of these guys coming back knowing the club preferred them gone

Guess it’s back on?!

wouldn't you rather be rid of him now though?

no

I guess I meant me. I would rather you be rid of him

so in the last week joc pederson learned he was being traded, lost his arbitration case with the team that no longer wanted him, and then found out the trade was off. great system

lmao

boston trades mookie, price and more money to LAD for verdugo and jeter downs
LAD trades maeda to twins for brusdar
LAD/LAA deal is completely off for unknown reasons

LAA is never going to get another pitcher

LAD/LAA deal is completely off for unknown reasons

I don't get it either, this makes no sense at all.

There was no chance of the Betts trade falling through and everyone losing face over it.

did Boston just want to get a guy named "Jeter"?

sounds kinda like the LAD/LAA deal is off because . . . arte moreno was upset about the delay

Puig homeless

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/yasiel-puig-is-still-seeking-a-home/

pirates fill their center field hole with . . . 35-year-old jarrod dyson, who has hit .216/.302/.299 over the last two seasons. good fielder tho!

cameron maybin: once, twice, three times a tiger

bravo indians and cubs

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERKF4TqXYAA-ZGh?format=jpg&name=small

Lindor for $500 mil let’s do this!!!

White Sox signed a reliever named Bummer on a 5 year contract. I got a chuckle out of that one.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/white-sox/ct-chicago-white-sox-aaron-bummer-signings-20200222-gnxat5rx4rhdda3hgoauvzebve-story.html

His name shows up as "A. Bummer" on some programs/jumbotrons.

I know it’s not a ton of money, but seems weird to lock a reliever up like that after one good season.

it looks like they just bought out his arbitration years and then added a couple club option years after that, in case he's still good by then.

(i could be totally wrong on that. after all these years i still don't have a reliable go-to for contract information. every source i find presents the information in a slightly confusing or misleading way)

((or i r become dum dum))

That name is fantastic, automatically a name I will start looking up in box scores.

It is a good deal for the player, lots of players take those kind of deals as it sets up their family financially, even often with on the field results stating they could have made more on an open market.

Signing any reliever to a five year deal is almost automatically asking to pay for 2 years of Tommy John surgery recovery. Bound to happen.

yoan moncada signs 5-year, $90 million extension with white sox

so... baseball is on hold.

so is life

i feel like if baseball is cancelled i should be able to lie face down on my bed until it returns with no repercussions (like getting fired and my children starving)

lol this could make mookie a free agent without ever playing a game for the dodgers

Latest MLB proposal includes draft in 2020, likely later than current June dates, sources tell The Athletic. Also includes service time for players if season is canceled; players would get same service for ‘20 they earned in ‘19. Parties earlier had discussed tabling that issue.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 25, 2020

speaking of...would players get paid for seasons where they don't play?

Neil deMause:

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2020/04/02/16013/sports-leagues-plans-for-resuming-play-and-why-probably-none-of-them-make-sense/

Similar:

http://theathletic.com/1723090/2020/04/03/rosenthal-mlb-pondering-games-in-empty-spring-parks-but-many-obstacles-remain/?source=weeklyemail

I can't see that this will get much past "pondering."

This is insane. https://t.co/qKtVXvjjg3 pic.twitter.com/3wDR2j34BN

— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) April 7, 2020

who sources expect to be skeptical of separating from their families for an indefinite amount of time—perhaps as long as 4 1/2 months

scoop!

ACTUAL HOT STOVE CONTENT: puig to the braves

Royals acquire OF Franchy Cordero and pitcher Ronald Bolanos from Padres for pitcher Tim Hill

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 17, 2020

#Rockies have informed OF Matt Kemp, UTL Chris Owings and RHP Daniel Bard -- who last pitched for the #RedSox in '13 -- that they have made the 2020 Opening Day roster, GM Jeff Bridich said.

— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) July 17, 2020

Nice to see Daniel Bard back at it after 7 years out

crazy!

Saw bard in a late September Nyy/Bos game during his rookie season and he was incredible

betts extension with dodgers rumored to be 13 years at $380+ million

! are there even gonna be people in 13 years?

He’s really good and all, but that will pay him until he’s 40!
How’s that Albert Pujols contract working out??

i am . . . pretty surprised. given the financial losses this season and uncertainty about the future, i didn't think anyone would offer him anywhere near that. (also i wonder what sort of pandemic clauses now figure in new contracts)

How’s that Albert Pujols contract working out??

to be fair, betts is five yrs younger than pujols was. though i do appreciate this from espn's sam miller today:

As good as he is, and even as relatively young (27) as he is, he's quite likely already entered his (graceful, gradual) decline, as most players in the majors are.

(and as a red sox fan, if you had given me the choice of paying betts $30m/yr for the last five years of that contract knowing he was going to be dead weight versus paying nathan eovaldi $17m/yr for the next three years, i'd choose betts 100 times out of 100)

Mookie Betts Dodgers deal is official: 365M extension, 12 years, deferrals.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 22, 2020

jeez

Guess he’s not coming back to Boston huh

How’s that Albert Pujols contract working out??

― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, July 22, 2020 4:07 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

I wonder how much the Angels recouped with Albert being a playing legend, sometimes a franchise just want to sell jerseys too. I don’t think the exec. calculations are only based on WAR and on field results.

In any case Mookie is as close a dunk as you’ll get in baseball.

also, mookie makes the dodgers' bowling team instantly better.

so mad about mookie

on the other hand, my kids could benefit from a sip or two from the well of bitter disappointment that has watered the tree of historical red sox fandom

I had a feeling Betts just didn’t want to stay in Boston. His excuse about testing free agency I guess was either just that, or the dump truck full of money he just got made him forget about all that.

also worst fans and worst media and super racist city, but ASIDE FROM THAT.

the red sox made it crystal clear they weren't go to offer him anywhere near the money or years he wanted. they never gave him the chance to decide whether he wanted to stay or not. i hate them for that.

yeah.

Deal includes $65M signing bonus, salaries of $17.5M, $17.5M, $20M, $25M, $25M, $25M, $25M, $30M, $30M, $30M, $27.5M, $27.5M. Total of $115M deferred. By contrast, PA values Gerrit Cole’s deal at straight $324M (9 x $36M) because contract does not include deferrals. https://t.co/bqWLUZh1Kt

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 23, 2020

about a 1/3 of his contract is deferred, so not quite the $365M it seemed to be. you got screwed, Mookie!

lol he is wealthier than many countries now

the real question is whether his deferrals are over before bobby bonilla's

i guess the sox did offer 10 years at 300M? when you compare to bryce harper or trout of course that looks pretty low.

i suspect jbj will be gone soon as well. the whole thing makes me sad. i remember going to see them, and noticing for the first time that if jbj made the last out of the inning, he had a thing with mookie where, as they were both running back to the dugout, he'd throw it - a very long throw - to mookie, who'd catch it over his shoulder like a wide receiver.

there's so much to hate about boston now, and those guys were one of the last things that made me feel like - 'we're the good guys'.

If the Sox offered all that money undeferred, it might be worth more than his LA extension?

tbf . . . jbj is already 30 and his defense won't be able to carry him much longer. and they have at least extended bogaerts (for cheap)

but yeah

i would rather live in LA

I may run past Fenway Park (it’s 2 miles from me) when the Mets are playing in a week or so to check out the atmosphere, but otherwise looking forward to a Boston team tanking for the first time in awhile.

turn the stove off and put on the AC

Foltynewicz DFA'd

We have signed RHP Matt Harvey to a minor league contract. #Royals

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 28, 2020

mets to sign bruce maxwell

jarrod dyson to white sox for international $$

taijuan walker to blue jays

Jays also traded for human refrigerator, Dan Vogelbach

that made me think of refrigerator perry. jeez, that guy has a really sad "personal life" section on wikipedia. :(

siri, tell me about the personal life of another public figure

Well, now I’m sad.

rick renteria fired as white sox manager - not sure why since it felt like they overperformed or at least met expectations this season

that is weird

what team dares hire aj hinch/alex cora

they fired don cooper too

i have no particular opinion on how good a manager rick renteria is, but the way front offices value field managers is just bizarre

if you get hired to manage shitty teams -- which is usually where the openings are! -- you apparently get pegged as a guy who can only manage shitty teams

also ~curious~ which managers get multiple chances and which are never heard from again, e.g. gabe kapler vs. bo porter or willie randolph

also, lol

Huh pic.twitter.com/olaxPlvrll

— B-Mad (@brianm731) October 12, 2020

i mean joe torre was a terrible manager for three different teams before lucking into being hired by a rich juggernaut in 1996. even then he was notorious for killing relievers (where are u now, scott proctor) although i give him credit for keeping all the egos more or less in check

wtf

Can confirm Angels granted White Sox permission to interview Tony La Russa for managerial opening, as @BNightengale said. I don’t know if he has desire to manage again, but he was apparently very invested/involved as a special advisor this year. Still seemingly has that itch.

— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) October 14, 2020

please no

he would be a fun new role model for the young, exciting team they have

so much fun in the clubhouse

make abreu player-manager imo

LaRussa would ragequit once he finds out about the "Relievers must face 3 batters" rule.

he'd be right to it's dumb