2016-2017 Hot Stove

this year's Qualifying Offer has been set at $17.2 million.

i feel like that's a big jump.

it is indeed the largest one-year jump

dammit, i was about to start this thread

*sizzles*

lol

three-year extension for mike metheny!

let's just throttle those how do we catch the Cubs conversations right now. jfc

That sizzling was the sound of me peeing on the hot stove FUCK

@Phillies
#Phillies have declined the 2017 club options on Ryan Howard and Charlie Morton.

pour one out

@alexspeier
Zack Scott named VP of Baseball Research & Development, overseeing team's analytics and systems development.

tricky

bad news for the sox, zacks with a k are unreliable and poor decision makers

cards pick up Jaime Garcia's $12 million option for 2017 (he'll almost certainly be traded this offseason)

apparently the cards also hired a "quality control coach" which is mystifying everyone: http://www.todaysknuckleball.com/nl/st-louis-cardinals/quality-control-coach-hiring-means-matheny-cardinals/

red sox picked up buchholz's $13m option

pitchers, man

@Ken_Rosenthal
Maybin, heading to #Angels, has $9 million club option. First to report #Tigers were working on deal: @beckjason.

Starting CF for starting CF.

Or Victor Alcantara.

Jay Bruce and Jonathan Lucroy both got their options picked up by the Mets and Rangers.

torey lovullo is yr new dbacks manager

@pgammo
Great for Tprey Lovullo; I'f hire Alex Cora as bench coach and sign Carlos Beltran, for many reasons

@JonHeyman
Sources: jeremy hellickson will be receiving the $17.2M qualifying offer today #phillies

wow

lol

@Ken_Rosenthal
Craziest prediction I’ve heard so far from a GM: Ivan Nova, five years, $75M.

Hellickson?! Why?!?!?

he did have 3 war this year

i didn't realize how not-bad his 2016 year was. i mean, still not worth 17.5m imho, since i doubt he can repeat that.

starting pitching is so insanely expensive that he doesn't even have to repeat that, really. it's a lot of money but it's only one year.

kinda screws hellickson (insofar as someone being offered $17m can be) tho -- i can imagine someone giving him a longer-term deal but not wanting to give up a first-round pick to do it

ya, he pretty much *has* to accept, or take way less (per year) on a 2-3 year deal I'd imagine.

mariners acquire carlos ruiz from the dodgers for vidal nuno

Last year only 3 players took it: Rasmus, Wieters and Brett Anderson.

xpost*

Noah Syndergaard not nominated for NL Cy Young is bullshit.

r.a. dickey to the braves

these are not 'nominations' dont fall for MLB's bullshit again

Matt Stairs, Phillies hitting coach

BARTOLO TO THE BARVES

@JeffPassan
The Braves have signed two starting pitchers in the last 24 hours. Their combined ages are 85.

lmao

kendrys to the jays, 3 years/$33m

Barvolo :(

it's okay; he still gets to bat

I'd think a couple inning eating starters could help the Braves out pretty well and considering they only have 1 year deals, it's not like it hurts any long team money.

Reds would have been smart to have an innings eater last year and still could use one for next year.

Those starters who every other start can't get through 5 just eats up and exposes a teams bullpen. Colon and Dickey should be able to get 175-200 innings each and keep them in some games.

fwiw, bartolo has outlasted turner field -- both made their baseball debuts in 1997

@JonHeyman
jeremy hellickson accepted the $17.2M qualifying offer

well, yeah

@JeffPassan
There is increasing sentiment coming out of CBA negotiations that the qualifying-offer system, as we know it, is dying as of next year.

Bartolo and RA is a buddy cops film that needs to be made.

Sale to Nats?

http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/MLB/2016/11/14/Washington-Nationals-looking-into-ace-Chris-Sale/7051479167729/

I think every team is looking into ace Chris Sale

everyone on twitter was saying Sale to the Braves last night

i thought he was going to the Dodgers?

Mets 'pen shopping

http://www.amazinavenue.com/2017/1/26/14405322/new-york-mets-free-agency-rumors-sergio-romo-joe-smith-jerry-blevins

@dgoold
BREAKING: #MLB hammers #Cardinals for hack: Must send 2 draft picks to #Astros, pay $2m fine.

i suggest that we send them the draft picks from rounds #39 and #40 of the 2014 draft

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3cNxxYUMAAXQen.jpg:small

also colby rasmus to tampa 1 year/$5m + incentives

fwiw, chris correa (the cardinals/astros hacker knower of top secret passwords) put out this statement:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3gU15qW8AELgGe.jpg:large

https://twitter.com/chriscorrea/status/826435422834266112
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/01/chris-correa-alleges-that-astros-improperly-utilized-cardinals-data.html

Nolan Ryan was 70 yesterday

13 days til ST

Nationals signed veteran relievers Matt Albers and Joe Nathan.

rockies send eddie butler to the cubs for minor league reliever james farris

Cardinals agree to a five-year, $51 million extension with Carlos Martinez.

with 2 club options, too. i think it's fantastic, i irrationally love martinez

i bet his agent was stoked after martinez said "I want to spend my entire career with the Cardinals" a few weeks ago

Rays are set to sign right-hander Cory Rasmus to a minor league contract, cornering market on Rasmii.

@USATODAYmlb
Hal Steinbrenner says Yankees fans love Aroldis Chapman despite DV incident. "Sooner or later we forget, right?"

cool

let's see if a Wilpon says something similarly classy about Familia

on the guys like richie shaffer who have been waived and claimed multiple times this winter: http://www.si.com/mlb/2017/02/01/waiver-wire-rollins-shaffer-lavarnway

@Ken_Rosenthal
Source: Sergio Romo to #Dodgers, pending physical.

3 mil ain't bad for the guy.

napoli to texas

chris carter to the yankees!

Saw a preseason Fantasy guide on the magazine rack today that had Russell Martin on the cover. They may want to rethink their marketing strategy.

Just pandering to the Canadian market.

I know these publications have multiple covers aimed at specific markets, but still--Russell Martin? There's got to be at least a half-dozen guys you'd want on there ahead of a 34-year-old catcher with a .398 slugging average and iffy health. Even if you do give him some citizenship points.

"Guys" meaning "Jays": Donaldson, Sanchez, Tulowitzki, Estrada, Happ, Osuna, Travis, Pillar, Stroman maybe, even Bautista.

regardless of Martin's season last year, he's still a face most people will recognize. you throw Estrada or Happ (or even Sanchez, despite how much he's earned it), a lot of people are going to wonder who the fuck they're looking at!

Brandon Phillips to the Barves.

Dodgers sign Chase Utley, Franklin Gutierrez for one year

Prince Fielder apparently launching a cooking show called "Fielder's Choice", good for the big fella

@BaseballAmerica
Baseball America has been sold to Alliance Baseball LLC, owners of the Omaha Storm Chasers and Richmond Flying Squirrels

breaking: completely revamped Baseball America top prospects list includes 46 players from Omaha Storm Chasers and Richmond Flying Squirrels

i hope Richmond plays the Bullwinkle theme during pitching changes

grady sizemore to the indians!

as a player development advisor

adam lind to the nats

aint done yet

http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2017/2/15/14630606/blue-jays-discussing-deal-with-mat-latos

not content with the yankees' arbitration win over dellin betances, randy levine proceeds to shit on the three-time all-star from a great height

Jered Weaver and his 80-mph fastball to the Padres for one year, three million dollars.

@euqubud
When the pitch clock hits MLB, does it restart when the pitcher throws the ball or when he gets it back? Asking for Jered Weaver

Donaldson's hurt, but supposed to be ready by Opening Day.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/josh-donaldson-felt-something-calf-misses-1st-full-workout/

Phony selective stat, I know, but I think he's got a chance to be the second third basemen ever with five consecutive seasons of 7.0+ WAR. (Boggs's five seasons are clearly superior, and Schmidt and Matthews just missed much longer streaks.)

I think there's a thread for old players complaining, but I can't search for it. This is good.

http://joeposnanski.com/the-goose-is-loose/

wieters to nats

cardinals sign Adolis Garcia (younger bro of the Barve's Adolis Garcia), a Cuban free agent.

the next generation will be flush with adolii

whooops
(younger bro of the Barve's Adolnis Garcia)

mailman fails to deliver : /

hey man, my real mailman failed to deliver today and it totally screwed my day up. so basically anything goes tonight

basically anything goes tonight

adolis ~ adonis gifs or gtfo

(i don't really mean anything close to gtfo <3)

anything goes!

and for me that means the whole bag of munchies is going down