2016 Baseball Season/Off Season Discussion

[pilferk]

Was a great game 7.   Lets bring on next season now. Free agent time. Pitchers report on what a couple of months?

Fourteen weeks-ish.

[JAEBALL]

I found myself rooting for the Tribe...definitely think the rain hurt them...

I was pulling my hair our with Madden's handling of the whole series.

If those managers flipped rosters... I think Tito would win in 5 ...max.

[pilferk]

News on how this series, and game 7, showed some things about baseball in the u s.

http://sportsworld.nbcsports.com/the-wonder-of-game-7/?cid=eref:nbcnews:text

[TheBaconman]

Pretty much shows the site have these days.   Dead

Last year we had 3 times as many posts regarding MLB.   The main page is a wasteland these days and there is a huge tour going on.   Any conversation starting post gets selected.    I at be looking st other places right away.

[tim_m]

Apparently the Astros and Yankees might be working on a trade.

[tim_m]

So there seems to be a chance of a lockout. God i hope not.

[AxlsMainMan]

So there seems to be a chance of a lockout. God i hope not.

Lockout averted

[tim_m]

So there seems to be a chance of a lockout. God i hope not.

Lockout averted

Yep very happy they worked it out.

[tim_m]

Matt Holliday to the Yankees 1 year 13 million.

[Falcon]

Matt Holliday to the Yankees 1 year 13 million.

Nice to see him land with the Yanks, he was a great Cardinal and beyond that - a great guy all around.

Read this, it'll give you some insight to the kind of guy Holliday is:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/holliday-might-be-moving-on-but-his-impact-in-st/article_ae1e51b7-0752-5d28-847c-b61b778b25bc.html

[pilferk]

Weird move, honestly, to me.

I mean, as a DH, it's fine...and not having to play the field will probably ease any injury concerns...but I think there were candidates out there that would be AS productive, for less money.

Not that he's not a nice guy (he is), and he should be a productive bat....but not SO productive that he's worth 13 mil per, even on a 1 year deal.  There is such a glut at the DH/1B market this year....I think they could have found the same productivity for about 2/3 the price.  The kicker is the 1 year deal, so maybe they're looking at 2018 as a year they can get under the cap or something.

[pilferk]

Sale to the Red Sox

Jeter's number getting retired and Monument Park plaque in May!!

[faldor]

That Chris Sale trade came out of nowhere. I went to bed Monday night thinking he was headed to the Nats. Then around midday Tuesday word trickled in that the Sox were still in it and a little over an hour later it was a done deal.

I feel like I'm not as excited about the trade as I should be. Everyone saying that it makes them the prohibitive favorite in the AL. I mean, I guess it does, but it took Porcello one year to get used to pitching in Boston and can he repeat what he did last year? I hope Price had his feeling out period last year and is far better this season, but that remains to be seen. And who knows how Sale will pitch in Boston year 1. Their bullpen should be improved with the addition of Thornburg and the eventual return of Carson Smith. Hopefully Kimbrel is more consistent this year. Their lineup should still be good, but the loss of Ortiz can't be overstated. One guy is not going to replace 40 and 120. They have to hope that they get better production from LF (Benintendi) and 3B (Pablo) next year to help compensate for that loss. They shouldn't need to score as many runs with the improved pitching, but we'll see. I'm not buying my World Series tickets just yet.

[Falcon]

Chapman back to Yanks per Ken Rosenthal, 5 at 86 mil.

[pilferk]

Chapman back to Yanks per Ken Rosenthal, 5 at 86 mil.

This, ultimately, is a good deal for the Yanks and I have to give Cashman credit on this one (considering how much I bag on him, usually).

They traded him for a boatload of good prospects for a 3 month rental.  And then got him back. Granted, it's a big money deal (17+ per)....but with the reliance on young talent almost EVERYWHERE else right now, they can afford a couple big money deals for the bullpen and SP (thought I have little faith they'll pick up an impact rotation pitcher this year).

They shed CC's money and Arods money after 2017. They just dropped Tex's money.  Now...if they could just find a way to jettison Ellsbury.

I expect them to be in the middle of the pack again this year...maybe contending for a WC spot.  Their "rebuild" actually appears to be working, for now.  But this off season has, so far, been a lot better front office effort than the last couple have.  Nice to see Cashman is finally figuring this thing out. 

[faldor]

Chapman back to Yanks per Ken Rosenthal, 5 at 86 mil.

This, ultimately, is a good deal for the Yanks and I have to give Cashman credit on this one (considering how much I bag on him, usually).

They traded him for a boatload of good prospects for a 3 month rental.  And then got him back. Granted, it's a big money deal (17+ per)....but with the reliance on young talent almost EVERYWHERE else right now, they can afford a couple big money deals for the bullpen and SP (thought I have little faith they'll pick up an impact rotation pitcher this year).

They shed CC's money and Arods money after 2017. They just dropped Tex's money.  Now...if they could just find a way to jettison Ellsbury.

I expect them to be in the middle of the pack again this year...maybe contending for a WC spot.  Their "rebuild" actually appears to be working, for now.  But this off season has, so far, been a lot better front office effort than the last couple have.  Nice to see Cashman is finally figuring this thing out. 

That is a lot of coin for a closer. Way too much in my mind. I don't see how he's worth about as much as Encarnacion. But, that's what the market dictates. And it ends up perfect for the Yanks as you mentioned getting the prospects and then getting him back anyway. It's what the Red Sox should've done when they traded Andrew Miller to the O's for Eduardo Rodriguez a few years back. They had the opportunity to sign him in the off season but let the Yankees outbid them by ONE million per year. They felt 9 mil a year was too much for a setup man. Boy were they wrong!

[C0ma]

That is a lot of coin for a closer. Way too much in my mind. I don't see how he's worth about as much as Encarnacion. But, that's what the market dictates. And it ends up perfect for the Yanks as you mentioned getting the prospects and then getting him back anyway. It's what the Red Sox should've done when they traded Andrew Miller to the O's for Eduardo Rodriguez a few years back. They had the opportunity to sign him in the off season but let the Yankees outbid them by ONE million per year. They felt 9 mil a year was too much for a setup man. Boy were they wrong!

While I agree it is a lot of money over time, and will probably be a bit of a burden (like Ellsbury and ARod), the Cubs and Indians have shown that the closer role in big spots can be a much more strategically deployed asset. I think the idea of 'Bullpen Ace' vs traditional closer will start to spread across the league and raise the cost of that pitcher too.

As much as I am bred from birth to hate the Yankees (being a Boston guy), I really like what Cashman has been doing to keep in striking distance of the middle of the pack while building up the farm system during the trade deadline last year. For a team to be selling at the deadline like they were and still stay above .500 all while collecting assets and putting them in a good spot over the next 3 years... good work.

[Falcon]

Chapman back to Yanks per Ken Rosenthal, 5 at 86 mil.

This, ultimately, is a good deal for the Yanks and I have to give Cashman credit on this one (considering how much I bag on him, usually).

I like the deal for the Yanks - and Chapman.

The money is goofy but if they weren't going to give it to him the Marlins seemed poised to do so.

[pilferk]

Chapman back to Yanks per Ken Rosenthal, 5 at 86 mil.

This, ultimately, is a good deal for the Yanks and I have to give Cashman credit on this one (considering how much I bag on him, usually).

They traded him for a boatload of good prospects for a 3 month rental.  And then got him back. Granted, it's a big money deal (17+ per)....but with the reliance on young talent almost EVERYWHERE else right now, they can afford a couple big money deals for the bullpen and SP (thought I have little faith they'll pick up an impact rotation pitcher this year).

They shed CC's money and Arods money after 2017. They just dropped Tex's money.  Now...if they could just find a way to jettison Ellsbury.

I expect them to be in the middle of the pack again this year...maybe contending for a WC spot.  Their "rebuild" actually appears to be working, for now.  But this off season has, so far, been a lot better front office effort than the last couple have.  Nice to see Cashman is finally figuring this thing out. 

That is a lot of coin for a closer. Way too much in my mind. I don't see how he's worth about as much as Encarnacion. But, that's what the market dictates. And it ends up perfect for the Yanks as you mentioned getting the prospects and then getting him back anyway. It's what the Red Sox should've done when they traded Andrew Miller to the O's for Eduardo Rodriguez a few years back. They had the opportunity to sign him in the off season but let the Yankees outbid them by ONE million per year. They felt 9 mil a year was too much for a setup man. Boy were they wrong!

Its a lot, but.....its pretty much market. Marlins offered him more, reportedly.

The other thing is, with the new cba..lthe soft cap comes up for the next few years, which means salaries probably will, too.

They are also somewhat protected by the 3 yr opt out. If hes as good as he has been for the next 3 yrs...you know he will opt out. If not....the yanks shoukd have the room in years 4 and 5 with the cap raise to make the move the equivalent of about 10 million per in those last 2.

[Falcon]

Fowler to the Cards per every baseball writer on twitter..

Early reports have it around 90 over five..